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Eric ReinholdtHouzz Contributor, Residential Architect, Founder 30X40 Design Workshop... More 2

t a basic level, our homes are little more than pragmatic containers for our everyday lives,

charged with holding the assortment of objects that define who we are and the specifics

of how we interact with the world. This is because home design often prioritizes functional

requirements above all else.

But what if your home’s design was derived from the unique place where you live rather than

simply rational solutions to functional necessities? What if the places you retired to for

relaxation, the living spaces, even the bathrooms, were arranged according to a larger order?

If that were the starting point, the result might look something like this.

               

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Design Workshop: Connecting OurBuilt and Unbuilt WorldsRenderings of an unbuilt project in California show how using place to inspire architecture isworth getting right

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Though unbuilt, these renderings imagine a project with a grander plan in mind. Termed

the Four Eyes house, it was dreamed up by Edward Ogosta Architecture of Culver City,

California, a firm that believes in “making buildings with experiential depth.” It was

conceived as a weekend retreat in the Coachella Valley east of Los Angeles for a family of

four. 

In this rendering, an apparently simple, minimalist composition of rectilinear forms appears

stationed in an austere landscape.

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Edward Ogosta Architecture

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Outward appearances can be deceptive though. Simple forms conceal complex spatial

variety and experience. The design consists of four mysterious vertical towers, each with a

different orientation linked informally on the ground floor by the primary living spaces. 

These four sentinels rise above the flat, shadowless landscape marking distinct

constructions in the natural environment. Each tower houses a single private bedroom

positioned to capture views while offering shade, creating an oasis of sorts.

By modulating between solid and void, open and closed, the architect designed primitive

forms along with our most basic building elements — the floor, the roof, the wall and the

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window — to forcefully

manipulate the inhabitant’s

experience. The sitting room

seen here is bound by two

angled walls and faces

southwest. The angle of the

walls correlates to the human

field of view — roughly 60

degrees, connecting the

interior with the exterior and a

broad, panoramic view.

By angling the walls this way,

the architect allows the interior

space to capture light during a

greater portion of the day and

suggests there are larger

forces at work in the design.

Clipping the walls in a

rectangular arrangement

would’ve precluded this

relationship and an opportunity

to control the light entering

the home. The angle along

with the strong contrast between the windowless interior and the sun-washed exterior move

the eye outward.

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Edward Ogosta Architecture

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Located between towers are the public spaces — the kitchen, dining, living, porch and

entry. This in-between area, accessed via grade level, is also the most permeable. Situated

between floating roof and floor planes, it feels impermanent — almost as an encampment

beneath a tarp, sheltered from the sun but little else. It’s positioned to allow the inhabitants

to experience the changing winds, the storms, the night air. 

Traditional notions of enclosure, privacy and shelter have been eschewed to heighten a

connection to the land. There’s a friction between the structure, the user and the

environment. They all feel vulnerable in different ways.

View over a million photos:

bathroom · closet · deck · exterior · home gym · kids ·kitchen · living room · media room · patio · pool ·porch · staircase and more.

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The living spaces are primarily bound by walls of glass. The solid bases of the towers and

the roof planes modulate the light. Crisp shadows delineate the time of day on the interior

surfaces, creating moving pools of shade along with an ever-changing hue of sunlight.

Circumscribing the passage of time enriches the interior spaces and marries the inhabitants

to the circadian rhythms of the site. It’s a powerful gesture because it’s rooted to deeper

ideas about place. It’s asking deeper questions of its inhabitants. This deferential attitude I

find quite appealing. The project reacts to the environment rather than subjugating it.

Each tower is named not for the bedroom or owner of that bedroom but for its position and

2Edward Ogosta Architecture

http://www.houzz.com/photos/3426429/Four-Eyes-House---Coachella-Valley-modern-living-room-los-angeleshttp://www.houzz.com/photos/3426429/Four-Eyes-House---Coachella-Valley-modern-living-room-los-angeleshttp://www.houzz.com/pro/edward-ogosta-architecture/edward-ogosta-architecture

orientation. The “sunrise

bedroom” (seen here) with a

slot window faces east; the

“mountain bedroom” faces a

mountain range visible to the

south; the “cityscape

bedroom” faces the city lights

to the west; and the “sky

bedroom” replaces the roof

with a plane of glass to reveal

the cosmos.

Each tower is roughly of equal size and accommodates only a bed. The experience is

meditative and monastic in the way it deprives the senses. It forces a quiet reflection. These

deeper connections to places are possible only when we remove ourselves from the

expected, everyday experience of life.

2Edward Ogosta Architecture

http://www.houzz.com/photos/3426433/Four-Eyes-House---Coachella-Valley-modern-bedroom-los-angeleshttp://www.houzz.com/photos/3426433/Four-Eyes-House---Coachella-Valley-modern-bedroom-los-angeleshttp://www.houzz.com/pro/edward-ogosta-architecture/edward-ogosta-architecture

It’s not unlike the experience

of travel. When we’re removed

from a known and comfortable

environment, we’re more

sensitive and open to new

experiences, and those create

powerful lasting memories.

Moving upwards into each tower is also a carefully designed experience. The sky and

mountain towers are accessed via scissor stairs of differing configurations traversing

intermediate spaces. The cityscape bedroom is reached via a circular stair, and the sunrise

bedroom via the ladder seen here.

2Edward Ogosta Architecture

http://www.houzz.com/photos/3426442/Four-Eyes-House---Coachella-Valley-modern-bedroom-los-angeleshttp://www.houzz.com/photos/3426442/Four-Eyes-House---Coachella-Valley-modern-bedroom-los-angeleshttp://www.houzz.com/pro/edward-ogosta-architecture/edward-ogosta-architecture

In this way, vertical movement

is celebrated. It enhances the

perceived physical

disconnection of these private

spaces from others and from

the earth. It also creates a

morning and evening ritual

specific to each bedroom.

Going to bed at night and

rising in the morning are

heightened, celebrated

events. These aren’t merely

rooms collected and presented

for use; rather they contain

surprise gifts of experience.

Each bedroom was designed

to be used by anyone. There’s

no distinction between master

bedroom or guest bedroom or

child’s bedroom — they’re

meant to be appreciated by all

depending on mood or whim.

2Edward Ogosta Architecture

http://www.houzz.com/photos/3426432/Four-Eyes-House---Coachella-Valley-modern-bedroom-los-angeleshttp://www.houzz.com/photos/3426432/Four-Eyes-House---Coachella-Valley-modern-bedroom-los-angeleshttp://www.houzz.com/pro/edward-ogosta-architecture/edward-ogosta-architecture

The exterior of the home is rendered in bright white. It’s the canvas against which we can

appreciate the infinite variability of the sun’s light, from the welcoming and warming early

morning light, to the harsh and unrelenting light of mid-day and finally transitioning to the

relaxing, contemplative light of early evening.

Views to the exterior from inside the towers are tightly controlled, as visible here in the

carefully positioned openings on the exterior facades.

I find that the most appealing architectural solutions leverage the latent, unappreciated and

often mundane aspects of our world — the passage of time, the changing of seasons, the

weather, capturing breezes, creating darkness and embracing light. This project resonates

deeply on all of these accounts.

2Edward Ogosta Architecture

http://www.houzz.com/photos/3426424/Four-Eyes-House---Coachella-Valley-modern-exterior-los-angeleshttp://www.houzz.com/photos/3426424/Four-Eyes-House---Coachella-Valley-modern-exterior-los-angeleshttp://www.houzz.com/pro/edward-ogosta-architecture/edward-ogosta-architecture

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Yet, it remains unbuilt.

Perhaps it will remain just that,

a collection of ideas in digital

space, on paper and in the

imagination. A dream. Or

perhaps the inspiration and the

ideas about place and creating

deeper connections

represented here can find life

in your projects and your

practice.

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Materials That Tell a Story

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2Edward Ogosta Architecture

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