305 TROUSDALE PLACE, BEVERLY HILLS, California 90210

Description

In Beverly Hills, the owner lived in a height restricted neighborhood where he and his builder decided to dig more than 80 feet into the hillside behind the home to maximize the views. Soon after they finished, the code was changed to prevent a similar project. This important grandfathered-in structure is truly irreplaceable and will allow a new owner to re-construct this property like none other in Trousdale Estates. Completed in the 1980’s, the home has an indoor racquetball court, a pool and separate guest quarters for family. Renovate the existing 10,000 plus square foot home or build new with the allowable 18000 sqft floor area ratio and utilize the extremely rare grandfathered-in two story structure where all levels of this home capture mind-blowing city views! When visiting this site for the first time you get a liberating sensation—feeling the soft breeze on your face while witnessing a majestic, unobstructed city view to the south, from downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Ocean. The new design for the Trousdale house, “The Butterfly house”, required the modern intellect behind the building’s aspirations to coexist with the calm nature of the rolling hills. Every element of the site was important: the grandfathered existing building envelope, the shape of the lot at the end of the private cul-de-sac, the terrain, and topography. The context is far more complex than its immediate surroundings, and the intervention needed to be sensitive to the perception that the site was creating the experience of being there. This was an opportunity for translating the site’s evocations into architecture: The sense of freedom. The sense of lightness: The sense of being at one with this extraordinary place, as if the building embraces it.