Brooks Avenue House

The clients for this project needed more space to accommodate the needs of a growing family, but they were reluctant to leave their location in Venice - one of the few walkable neighborhoods in Los Angeles. The
solution was to maintain and remodel their existing 2000 square foot home, while creating a 1700 square foot addition and courtyard on the rear lane side. With an ideal climate for much of the year, a primary design driver was to create a seamless connection between inside and outside, while eliminating the need for air conditioning To this end, a central sculptural staircase links the ground floor with the rooftop deck, while doubling as a chimney to draw cooling breezes through the house. On the main floor, a sequence of pivoting doors opens the house to the courtyard, while on the second floor, windows fold back and full-height exterior panels slide into walls. A system of cedar battens serve as a shading device along much of the addition.
The volume of the new master bedroom extends out from the second story, creating a carport below. Its exterior is clad with a living wall system on three sides, visually tying together the courtyard greenery with the planted roof. All landscaping is fed with a combination of captured rainwater and recycled domestic greywater. The roof’s softscape is divided between a highly productive vegetable garden and indigenous, low-maintenance grasses and shrubs. The roof also supports a solar panel array that is sufficient to meet household needs.
The house features a high-efficiency combination boiler, which supplies both radiant in-floor heating and domestic hot water. A hot water recirculation loop makes hot water available “on demand,” while reducing
consumption. Other features include low-flush toilets and non-toxic, low-VOC finishes, which are used throughout the house.

GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS
Please identify, where known, the manufacturer (or fabricator, if a custom design) of any GREEN building products and components in each of the categories listed below, as well as the model number or name. Please focus on the GREEN products and/or materials.
Structural system:
Steel frame with timber frame infill

Cedar Batten / Shading System:
Custom design / produced on site

Living Wall:
Elevated Landscape Technologies Inc. [HDPE Living Wall panels and irrigation system]

Windows:
Riverside Builders Supply, Inc.

Glazing Glass:
Double-glazed

Glassblock:
Seves Vetroarredo Glass Block

Garage Door:
Roll-up steel doors

Low-slope roofing:
TPO roofing / wall membrane by Allied Waterproofing

Green roof:
Elevated Landscape Technolgies (ELT)

Flashing, accessories:
Bowdered metal flashing

Cabinetwork and custom woodwork:
Cactus Custom Cabinets, Inc. (Lawndale, CA)

Paints and stains:
Low VOC Paint, American Clay

Special surfacing:
Terrazzo by Hermosa

Floor and wall tile (cite where used):
Red tile, Sicis from Studio Tile & Stone (Los Angeles, CA): master bathroom shower, powder room

Flooring:
Maple wood flooring
Cork Rubber XCR3, Expanko
Natural Cork, Expanko

Office furniture:
Aron chairs, Herman Miller

Other furniture (use additional sheet if necessary):
Nysan Greenscreen Eco Pearl Shading solar reflective shading, PVC-free
Nysan Greenscreen Balance,Grey Metallic solar reflective shading, PVC-free

Interior ambient lighting:
Halogen dimmers

Photovoltaics:
Energy Efficiency Solar (Pomona, CA)

Plumbing:
(include water fountains and water-saving fixtures as applicable):
Hot water recirculating Loop
Hot water on Demand
Triangle Tube Prestige Combination boiler, 95% efficiency Grey water ready