Architecture studio Brooks + Scarpa has created a three-storey Manhattan Beach house that capitalises on views and indoor-outdoor living while avoiding standard tactics used in the area’s housing stock.

The residence, called Alma Switch House, sits on a slender, gently sloping lot just a few blocks from the Pacific Ocean in southern California. It was designed by Los Angeles-based Brooks + Scarpa for a couple with three young children.

The house is meant to depart from the norm in Manhattan Beach, where strict ordinances and codes have led to “typical, repeated housing typologies” dominated by solid, blocky forms and tacked-on balconies.

Brooks + Scarpa has created Switch House in Manhattan Beach, California

“Most buildings include large balconies pushed to the extreme exterior edges of the buildings to meet the code-required open space,” the team said.

“Then, the remaining interior lot area is filled solid with building mass, resulting in bulky, block-like structures full of perimeter balconies.”

The architects took an “opposite approach” with the Alma Switch House.

It was designed to be distinct from the other houses in the area

For the 30-by-90-foot site (9 by 27 metres), the team conceived a rectangular, three-storey box with the central portion carved out to form an open-air courtyard.

This approach breaks “the massing of the structure into smaller, more appropriately scaled forms”, the team said.

The three-storey building has a courtyard carved into the middle

It also allowed for more rooms to be set along the edges of the property, where they are better positioned to “take advantage of ocean and sunset views”.

The home totals 3,965 square feet (368 square metres). Stairs and an elevator connect the three levels.

The top floor is the home’s main public zone, where the team placed spaces for cooking, dining and lounging. Glazed, oversized doors blur the boundary between inside and out and open onto walkways and inset balconies.

Glass walls blur the boundaries between the internal and external spaces

The middle floor contains the primary bedroom and three additional bedrooms, while the ground floor holds a bedroom and a communal space with a kitchen and den. The ground level also contains a three-car garage.

In addition to white stucco, an abundance of glass was used on the exterior to usher in daylight and provide views. Glazing along the courtyard allows adults to observe kids while they play in the courtyard.

An elevator connects the levels of the house

To provide privacy, an anodised-aluminium screen was incorporated along the eastern elevation, which faces a busy street. The screen adds visual interest, as it shimmers and creates shadows.

“Bright lighting conditions make the facade go soft and silver in just a few seconds,” the team said.

“It’s a quick-moving phenomenon that bends light and casts shadows depending on the time of day.”

The screen also helps mitigate solar heat gain, helping reduce energy costs. Operable windows facilitate natural ventilation and enable the home to capture ocean breezes.

According to the team, the Alma Switch House is 40 per cent more efficient than a similar structure designed in a conventional way.

An exterior screens helps provide privacy and mitigate heat gain

Other projects by Brooks + Scarpa include a North Carolina house that has roofs with exaggerated gables and a residential building in Los Angeles that features white siding and a curving aluminium screen.

The firm has won numerous awards, including two of its leaders, Angela Brooks and Lawrence Scarpa, receiving the AIA Gold Medal Award in 2022.

The photography is by Tara Wujcik and Lawrence Scarpa.

Project credits:

Architect: Brooks + Scarpa
Architecture team: Lawrence Scarpa, Jennifer Doublet, Angela Brooks, Micaela Danko, Jeffrey Huber, Iliya Muzychuk, Chinh Nguyen, Fui Srivikorn, Diane Thepkhounphithack, Yimin Wu, and Arty Vartanyan
General contractor: PD Construction, Peter Borrego
Structural engineer: Paniagua
MEP engineer: Antieri & Sotelo Consulting
Civil engineer: Coastal Water Development
Landscape architect: Plan(t) Landscape

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