We tour Silver Lake House, an architecture couple's ultimate Los Angeles 'urban sanctuary'
Silver Lake House by Standard Architecture | Design is the practice founders Jeffrey Allsbrook and Silvia Kuhle's idyllic personal home in California
Silver Lake House, the home of Jeffrey Allsbrook and Silvia Kuhle, partners of Standard Architecture | Design, may be recently refreshed, but it is organically anchored to its site, born out of lengthy, extensive research and a deep knowledge of the California region's rich legacy of modernist architecture.
'We live in the Silver Lake neighbourhood near early modernist homes designed by Richard Neutra, Rudolph Schindler and others,' says Allsbrook of their inspiration. 'The materiality, the deep overhangs, and the glass walls that let the outdoors in reflect a similar concept of living in the hills of Los Angeles.'
Step inside this Silver Lake House
His partner in life and business, Kulhe, concurs on their mood board and influences in the design development: 'We drew design elements, such as the use of redwood siding as an interior and exterior finish, from 60s and 70s California residences.'
As a result, the pair worked on their home's refresh imbuing modernist charm and the studio's inherent knack for minimalist architecture by crafting a clean, deceptively simple backdrop for their everyday life and possessions.
Allsbrook and Kuhle bought their home - two older structures on-site - in 1997. Their property comprised a duo of detached, modest, hillside, 1950s cabins, where the pair lived for years before they took the plunge and decided to rework their residence. They moved into the rear one and enlarged it, putting their energy into developing the building refresh and the landscape around it into their forever home.
The surrounding grounds unfold in a lush California garden full of native plants. Among them is a Mexican Ash tree which the architects ensured was preserved during the works. Responding to this context, Allsbrook and Kulhe envisioned their home as a green oasis, wrapped in a verdant landscape, and full of generous openings offering long vistas of the Los Angeles cityscape beyond.
'We lived in the former house on the site for years before we rebuilt, and we wanted to preserve the enormous Ash tree. We designed the concrete deck to slip past the tree’s trunk and installed large windows upstairs to frame the leafy canopy,' Allsbrook describes.
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Kuhle adds: 'We had always wanted a south-facing property. Shaded floor-to-ceiling glass walls connect the interior to natural light, the sky, and city views. Smaller openings are carefully placed East, West, and North to create privacy for the neighbours while allowing for cross ventilation.'
Natural materials, such as redwood, concrete and natural plaster give the house a tactile feel, while the couple's wealth of personal objects and art make it vibrant and add personality. There is a selection of mid-century applied art pieces, including Curtis Jeré’s metal wall art and a collection of Jens Quistgaard Dansk teak pepper mills. Rocks collected from hikes fill a niche at the entrance.
Protecting privacy was equally important, Kuhle explains. 'We created an urban sanctuary, a space which is at the same time remotely perched on a sloping site surrounded by native plants and closely connected to its urban surroundings through open 180-degree views.'
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
‘I was captivated by the idea of merging two iconic brands’: Nigo on his collaboration with Moncler and Mercedes-Benz, which features a 1990s-inspired riff on the G-Wagon
Unveiled at Moncler’s ‘The City of Genius’ event in Shanghai this past weekend, Japanese fashion designer Nigo unpacks his three-way collaboration with Moncler and Mercedes-Benz, which includes a play on the G-Class alongside a fashion collection in his eclectic style
By Jack Moss Published
-
Cathay Pacific’s new business class Aria Suites take flight
Cathay Pacific raises the bar for business-class travel with the launch of the much-anticipated Aria Suites
By Lauren Ho Published
-
Volvo’s ultra-efficient EX30 compact EV gets its first real competition, the new Smart #3
We experience the highly rated Volvo EX30 and Smart’s most recent foray into pure electric cars, the #3. Which is the best executed small SUV?
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
First look: step inside 144 Vanderbilt, Tankhouse and SO-IL’s new Brooklyn project
The first finished duplex inside Tankhouse and SO-IL’s 144 Vanderbilt in Fort Greene is a hyper-local design gallery curated by Brooklyn studio General Assembly
By Léa Teuscher Published
-
Tour Ray's Seagram Building HQ, an ode to art and modernism in New York City
Real estate venture Ray’s Seagram Building HQ in New York is a homage to corporate modernism
By Diana Budds Published
-
Populus by Studio Gang, the ‘first carbon positive hotel in the US’ takes root in Denver
Populus by Studio Gang opens in Denver, offering a hotel with a distinctive, organic façade and strong sustainability credentials
By Siska Lyssens Published
-
This Californian home offers the unexpected through ‘deconstructed’ desert living
Gardens & Villas, a home in La Quinta, California, brings contemporary luxury to its desert setting through a collaboration between architects Andrew McClure and Christopher McLean
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
First look inside 62 Reade Street, a clock factory turned family home
62 Reade Street, a boutique New York residential project by architects ODA, unveils its first apartment interior, styled courtesy of Hovey Design
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Paul Rudolph at The Met: ‘from Christmas lights to megastructures’
‘Materialized Space: The Architecture of Paul Rudolph’ opens at the Met in New York, exploring the modernist master's work through a feast of an exhibition
By Stephanie Murg Published
-
Jewel Box is a Californian project of small scale and big impact
Jewel Box by Red Dot Studio is the reimagining of a Californian 20th-century gem through a creative addition
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Germane Barnes exhibition explores notions of classical architecture and identity
Germane Barnes exhibition 'Columnar Disorder' opens at the Art Institute of Chicago
By Ellie Stathaki Published