ARMSTRONG RESIDENCE
DETAILS
Location:
Los Angeles, CA
Architect:
Los Angeles Design Group
Builder:
Via Veneto Construction
Published:
Domus Digital
Exterior Siding:
CUSTOM charred cypress
#2 Common
Burnt on face only, sealed face & back
13/16” thick X 5-1/8” wide
Tongue & Groove
The Armstrong Residence is an 1,800 square foot renovation and addition to an existing house in Los Angeles. Sitting atop the Silver Lake neighborhood hills, the home uses contrast of both form and aesthetic in the exterior facade. From the Los Angeles Design Group’s website, “The design is similar to the stepped form of Marcel Breuer’s Whitney Museum in New York – albeit in reverse.” reSAWN’s CUSTOM charred shou sugi ban exterior siding is accented by natural blonde cypress that emphasize the cuts made into the dark facade.
In addition to the stepped nature that’s reminiscent of Breuer, the eye-catching windows are references to his angular forms. The use of the blonde cypress for the cut outs make the windows appear to be an optical illusion that protrudes from the facade. Positioned facing the Silver Lake Reservoir, the residence utilizes the Californian weather with a large top floor balcony that allows ample sunlight to flow in through floor-to-ceiling sliding doors.
reSAWN’s CHARRED offering features cypress, western red cedar, Accoya, Kebony, black walnut, red oak, white oak and reclaimed hemlock that is burnt in the Japanese tradition of shou sugi ban. Our award-winning CHARRED products pay homage to the traditional Japanese technique of “shou-sugi-ban” aka “yakisugi” without being literal. Historically very specific in their definition, “shousugi-ban” and “yakisugi” have become common nomenclature for modern charred wood designs in general. Shou sugi ban exterior siding is intended to weather beautifully in place, and maintain its performance standards. All of reSAWN’s CHARRED products are made in the USA, in their facility in Telford, PA.
Established in 2004, The Los Angeles Design Group (The LADG) is led by principals Claus Benjamin Freyinger and Andrew Holder. The founders see their work as contributing to a longer history of ideas, and draw on this history to craft unexpected solutions to conventional problems in architecture and design. The firm works at all scales, with completed projects in California, Colorado, Hawaii, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, and the United Kingdom. Recent work includes a free-standing indoor-outdoor restaurant in Southern California and the installation of a contemporary picturesque garden in Loeb Library at the Harvard Graduate School of design. The firm has received numerous professional honors and recognitions, including a 2017 Progressive Architecture Award Honorable Mention, the 2014 League Prize from the Architectural League of New York, and multiple citations from the Los Angeles Chapter of the AIA.
