Diaphanous House

As Los Angeles continues to evolve under the pressures of urban growth, its horizontal densification presents a unique response to seismic and spatial constraints that limit vertical expansion. This project explores the potential of compact horizontal development by consolidating all service and utility components into a prefabricated horizontal core, allowing greater flexibility in material, structure, and enclosure. Unlike the vertical density strategies of cities such as New York or Chicago, this design leverages LA’s low-rise fabric to create adaptable, efficient housing solutions. Drawing inspiration from steel structural precedents like Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth Pavilion, the project reinterprets the precision and transparency of modernist detailing within a denser urban context. However, rather than pure openness, it embraces hazy and diaphanous spatial boundaries that offer both privacy and permeability. By night, the structure transforms into a semi-translucent lantern, symbolizing a balance between density, lightness, and the preservation of open ground within LA’s expanding residential landscape.

Use: Multi-Family Residence

Year: 2008

Location: Venice, CA, USA

Gross Floor Area: 5,000 sf