Glass Ridge House by OWIU Design

OWIU Design has transformed an original modernist residence in Los Angeles into a contemporary home with strong references to Japanese design ideals.

Architect Ray Kappe, who was greatly inspired by the forerunners of Californian modernism, is widely considered one of the era’s greatest innovators. His legacy lives on through Southern California Institute for Architecture (SCI-Arc), the design school he founded in 1972, as well as through his large body of work in Los Angeles encompassing around 100 homes.

Gunawan describes the experience of working on a Kappe project as a “full circle” moment.

Glass Ridge House in the La Cañada Flintridge neighbourhood is one such home and has been renovated and restored by OWIU Design. Originally designed by Kappe in 1973, the dwelling sat vacant for 30 years before its recent reimagining. In a fitting turn of fate, OWIU Design’s founders and directors Amanda Gunawan and Joel Wong both attended SCI-Arc, citing Kappe’s architectural discourse as deeply influential and the school itself as the ultimate foundation for their work.

Gunawan describes the experience of working on a Kappe project as a “full circle” moment. “Having studied at the school he built and then being able to do this project, it’s almost spiritual.” She continues, saying “there’s a little more added pressure – but not in a negative way – to do it right and truly embody the work of someone we really respect, which for us, meant being thoughtful and taking our time.”

Guided by the existing layout and proportions, Gunawan and Wong made a series of interventions and additions in the pursuit of openness and light.

Glass Ridge House sits on a ridge overlooking a forested valley, and though it was dilapidated after years of neglect, its bones were good and many of the original features remained intact. What’s more, Kappe’s vision for a home embedded in nature with compelling spatial arrangements prevailed, and OWIU Design’s ensuing approach was grounded in respecting this original intent.

Guided by the existing layout and proportions, Gunawan and Wong made a series of interventions and additions in the pursuit of openness and light. The most significant of these occurred at the rear, where the architects replaced the south-facing facade with sleek, black steel-framed windows and doors. “The connection to the land is quite remarkable,” says Wong. “The views look down over the landscape and you can see the Pacific Ocean on a clear day.” They also removed an internal wall, opening up the layout and allowing vistas and natural light deeper into the footprint. Outside, the pool and terrace have also been updated, bringing a sense of cohesion to Glass Ridge House for the first time in decades.

“Volumetrically, everything was great, the layout is very well thought out, so we were able to mostly preserve it,” says Gunawan.

Elsewhere, the layout is almost identical to Kappe’s original floor plans, which Gunawan and Wong discovered in the Getty Museum’s archives. “Volumetrically, everything was great, the layout is very well thought out, so we were able to mostly preserve it,” says Gunawan. The L-shaped plan sees two forms meet at a right angle; the first, which runs from east to west, contains the primary and guest bedrooms, and in the second, the shared living spaces unfurl to the south. Carefully crafted gardens and courtyards – one with a koi pond – punctuate the plan, bringing greenery and water to the fore of the internal experience, while clerestory windows are a veritable marker of the home’s lineage.

Another striking original feature is the redwood ceiling and wall panelling. “We felt this was such an iconic Ray Kappe move, so that was something we wanted to preserve,” says Wong. The golden-hued panelling appears throughout alongside materials like shikkui – a type of Japanese lime plaster made from hydrated lime, seaweed glue, hemp fibres and water – and tatami mats. Vintage furniture by the likes of Charlotte Perriand, Charles and Ray Eames and Alvar Aalto cultivate the decidedly modernist feel alongside artwork by Japanese artists and craftspeople, including an ink-on canvas piece and a painted folding screen.

The coupling of Japanese tenets and Californian modernism doesn’t feel at all contrived, rather inherent to the spirit of Glass Ridge House, thanks to the varying geneses of these elements.

The coupling of Japanese tenets and Californian modernism doesn’t feel at all contrived, rather inherent to the spirit of Glass Ridge House, thanks to the varying geneses of these elements. Some are products of Gunawan and Wong’s affinity for Japanese cultural traditions and design ideals, such as the tea bar clad in custom panels created by Japanese ceramic artist Hashimoto Tomonari, whereas others, like the existing sakura tree at the entrance, were inherited with the house. “We had no idea it was there until it flowered and the whole area became littered with cherry blossom petals,” says Gunawan.

In recent years, this sakura tree stood alone at the entrance. Today, it is but one element of a Japanese garden replete with rocks imported from Japan and a flowing water feature. This idea of adding to the home through an informed lens grounds Gunawan and Wong’s ongoing approach. The couple plan to continue cultivating the plot, tending to the citrus trees and watching bees thrive in the meadows. There is also the dream of adding a teahouse someday. This idea of evolution is not only part of their role as custodians of Glass Ridge House but is suitably redolent of their design philosophy.

Architecture, interior design and landscape design by OWIU. Build by Inflexion Builds.