Designed in 2014 by Ehrlich Architects, McElroy Residence is a private home located in Laguna Beach, California, USA. This 7,800-square-foot house is nestled at the end of a cul-de-sac in a private community with spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean. The owners asked Ehrlich Architects to design a contemporary house for indoor-outdoor living. The clients, who swim or surf daily, wanted panoramic views of the water, sustainable materials requiring little maintenance in the salty air, and a design that adhered to a strict 11-foot height limit set to preserve views throughout the gated community. The house is designed to reduce artificial heating and cooling: a south-facing overhang shades the building from the sun, large glazed openings allow natural ventilation, and stone floors absorb heat.
also view another project in Laguna Beach: Contemporary Boutique Hotel: Seven4one in Laguna Beach
The challenge was to provide gracious and open living spaces despite a restrictive eleven-foot height limit imposed by the homeowners association. Limestone, marble, and wood walls enclose the interior spaces, where large expanses of glass afford generous views of and access to the outdoors. According to the architects: ” The solution was to create a series of horizontally expansive spaces underneath a floating horizontal plane supported on stone masses, wood walls and slender steel columns. Oversized sliding glass doors can pocket completely away to literally dissolve the physical boundaries between the interior and the exterior, creating an uninterrupted flow from the rear courtyard to the main living space to the pool area, all against the backdrop of the Pacific Ocean. The extension of the stone floor to the outside along with a composition of teak, concrete and landscaped areas provide a variety of outdoor entertaining and living areas in which to enjoy the Southern California climate. The garage, health room, storage and service areas are all located in the basement which frees up the entire ground plane for living.”
