Eclectic store owners, writers, creatives, new parents --

these are some of the roles that inform the daily patterns of the Youn/Kim’s lives and in turn, inspired our design of their home.

We began with meetings and an extensive written survey to get to know the Youn/Kim family, and what spatial flows and overlaps, overall layouts and home details would best support their family's lifestyle.

They shared with us their desire for a distinction between more private and communal spaces. The Youn/Kims also wanted to draw in nature through expansive windows, while balancing this with the potential for privacy through interior and exterior shading strategies.

Site Analysis

With a design scheme begun, we moved into the detailed work of understanding the topography and geology of the Youn's hilly lot in the Mount Washington neighborhood.

The site also lies within the Mount Washington/Glassell Park Specific Plan area which necessitated consideration of the community's ideals for the built environment.

Youn House V.1

We then began to develop the design of the Youn residence from the program brief we had developed in collaboration with the Youns. The first iteration emphasized more curved forms with an open living space and separate work area for Mrs Kim/creating a distinction between work and live space.