Perched on an up-slope site overlooking the Silver Lake hills and reservoir, this 2,400-square-foot single-family residence is conceived as a tightly stacked volume embedded within the hillside. The design negotiates the challenging topography through a layered architectural strategy – carving, retaining, and bridging – to create a home that is both spatially dynamic and deeply connected to its landscape.

The garage is recessed into the hillside, forming a solid base upon which two floors of living space are carefully arranged. By pushing the structure into the slope, a series of retaining walls shape a private outdoor terrace at the rear of the home – an unexpected, occupiable landscape room sheltered by the earth itself. This carved condition establishes a quiet counterpoint to the openness of the street-facing façade.

Above, a bridge extends from the second floor to meet the upper portion of the site, stitching the architecture directly into the hillside. This gesture not only provides access to the elevated landscape but reinforces the home’s integration with the terrain, allowing circulation to flow seamlessly between built and natural environments.

At the center of the residence, a continuous skylight – aligned with views at each end, stair, hallway, and bridge – introduces daylight deep into the plan. This linear aperture creates a visual corridor from front to back, enhancing spatial continuity and reinforcing the connection between the deck, terrace, and lawn. Light filters downward through the stairwell, animating the circulation spine and visually expanding the compact footprint.

The primary living spaces are open and contiguous, organized to promote fluid movement and layered views. From the deck at the street edge, sightlines extend through the living and dining areas toward the private rear terrace, dissolving boundaries between interior and exterior. Glazing strategically frames distant mountain and reservoir views while maintaining privacy from neighboring properties.

The resulting home is compact yet expansive in experience – a carefully calibrated response to its hillside context. Through carving, stacking, and bridging, the design transforms a steep up-slope parcel into a series of connected spatial moments, balancing openness and enclosure, exposure and refuge.

Project Team: Aaron Neubert (Principal), Eric Nulman, Jina Seo, Jeremy Limsenben / Structural Engineer: Craig Phillips Engineering / Civil Engineer: PS Engineering / Geotechnical Engineer: Irvine Geotechnical / Photography: HANA