Guesthouse, is an interior and facade renovation project for a residential guest house in Bel Air, Los Angeles. Located on a 1.69 acre lot, JMDS designed the guesthouse to feel natural in terms of material choice, illuminated to create a luxurious and elegant facade, and welcoming from all axes.

The first level is designed to house a gallery space, featuring artwork and sculptural elements. Walls have been relocated to center around an open concept gallery, with custom track lighting and large pivot doors framing the outside landscape. Both the interior and exterior constantly balance and highlight ideas of texture, shadow, and contrast. The material palette is highly neutral and earthen, allowing featured art to introduce color in an impactful way.

The facade system is the building’s primary feature, adding depth and directional qualities by use of extruded vertical wood slats that appear as volumes from a distance, while being porous when viewed up close. Thickness is created through a multi-layered technique comprised of the building’s primary structural and secondary non-structural systems, in which the secondary structure hides the support elements of the first, forming a seamless and captivating facade.

The exterior apertures are framed by angled wood slats that shift toward various directions to create diagonal corner crossings between sides.

Angled visual access helps guide the body through and around the space, making for a highly interactive and inclusive circulation that addresses one’s orientation in a highly dependent way.

Additionally, through angled openings in the facade, privacy and indirect light are achieved based on interior program and function.

A combination of custom ingrade uplights and flexible linear lighting, graze the wood facade and frame exterior apertures, adding a third layer to the visual qualities of the facade. The Guesthouse represents a space for creativity, boldness, and transparency, fostering inclusivity and independence for its user.