33rd Street Residence
Located off a walk street with views of the Pacific Ocean and Malibu coastline, this residence is an exercise in careful space planning. Working within the confines of a narrow 30 x 90-foot envelope, the design team pushed the house to the limits of height, width, and depth, which left little perimeter space to satisfy the client's desire for a garden.
The solution was to create an open green space in the center of the structure, at the ground floor level. On one side of this are the children's rooms, on the other are the master bedroom and bath, which open to what has become an interior Zen garden.
Status: Completed in 2008
Project Size: 4,500 s.f.
Architectural Team: Christopher Kempel, AIA, Rocky Rockefeller, AIA,
Kate Dunworth
Photography: Eric Staudenmaier
Press: Los Angeles Times Online, MARU Magazine, Coastal Living,
Southbay Magazine, Sophisticated Snoop Home Tour
Awards: Dream Home Awards
This simple builder’s house was built in the 1940s and a poorly conceived addition in the 1960s drastically altered its appearance. The firm's assignment was to keep the existing foundation and structure but change its aesthetic and spatial configuration. The owners had lived in this beach-side community most of their lives and were hoping to achieve something that felt less like a house by the beach, and more like a beach house. With this in mind, the architects created a home with a stronger connection to the outdoors, bathed in natural light, informal, and very comfortable.
Status: Completed in 2000
Project Size: 3,500 s.f.
Architectural Team: Rocky Rockefeller, AIA, Brian Pera, Christopher Kempel, AIA, Peter Rittner, Anna Gay Del Vescova
Inheriting the project from a client frustrated with their former architect, rPA was called upon to salvage a design that wasn’t theirs. Using the formerly established programmatic arrangement, rPA adjusted and improved a design that initially lacked order and balance. The project was carried through construction documents in record time. The result was a pragmatic and attractive arrangement that skillfully maneuvered a compact and steep site.
Status: Under Construction
Project Size: 3,953 s.f.
Architectural Team: Christopher Kempel, AIA, Rocky Rockefeller, AIA,
Keith Ireland, AIA, Anthony Laney