Majestic Views, Modern Style

In fall 2001, the Leonard family was about to embark on a complete demolition and rebuild of their 1940s-built Hollywood Hills home. At the time they were temporarily living in New York, which created the ideal situation to rebuild their house while they were living elsewhere. As the events of that time unfolded, however, they wondered whether demolishing their only physical asset and rebuilding was the right decision.

“But,” says homeowner Josh Leonard, “we were too in love with the design of the new house, and somehow the idea of building something new, a step toward the future, seemed like the right thing to do even in light of world events. So we gave the go-ahead for the bankers and bulldozers to begin.”

The resulting home is only 4,000 sq. ft., but took two full years to build. The extremely steep, narrow and difficult-to-access lot, paired with strict foundation and building requirements, were the primary challenges faced by architect Steven Ehrlich and builder Horizon General Contractors.

The home’s lot provides some of the most amazing views in Los Angeles of mountains, water and skyline out the same window. Yet the house is sited perfectly so views are focused outward, and there is complete privacy from neighbors, despite the glass walls.

“This home is about two functions — living on the hill, and the amazing classic Hollywood Hills view,” Ehrlich says. “We used architecture as the means of how these functions are done.” This included careful editing and framing of the views so they are taken in but still allow privacy, and also the design philosophy of the home, which Ehrlich has coined Multicultural Modernism. This is a philosophy Ehrlich developed over the past three decades, and says it isn’t a design style as much as a guiding principle. It includes blending architectural features of many cultures and eras, yet espouses the use of modern materials. For this project, it means a lot of glass, cement and wood. There is also a focus on softening by bringing the dwellers outdoors instead of hiding them behind the glass panels.

“Our goal was view, view, view on both sides of the house and we definitely achieved that,” Leonard says. “We also wanted simplicity, clean lines and a peaceful, uncluttered environment.” This may be epitomized at the main corner of the home that faces L.A.’s twinkling lights. A frameless corner where window meets window without supports means nothing obstructs the panorama, and sets off the sleekness of the home. This corner was accomplished using corner-butted glass, which was mitered and held together using silicone.

While this side of the home is virtually entirely windows, the rest of the home’s exterior is brown coat stucco. Stucco traditionally is applied in three coats — scratch, brown and finish. The design team, however, decided to stay at the brown coat stage to accomplish a unique feel that is both modern and rustic.

Steep Approach

The home has three floors on account of the 45-degree hillside, and building codes in the Hollywood Hills involve complicated formulas that allow building only so high and so far out into the surrounding canyons. The entrance is in the middle, and all floors have a view across the front. Each floor features an outdoor living area; The middle entry-level floor features the public areas of the home, and has a courtyard that connects the outdoors with it and acts as an outdoor living room. The master suite occupies the top level of the home, which also features the roof terrace. This provides the most expansive views, and is also walled for privacy. The deck and hot tub on the ground level are extremely private by the nature of their site and landscaping.