Through design deeply inspired by the Finnish, modernist architect, Alvar Aalto, Koffka/Phakos Design transformed a 1950’s house into an open, modern home. EPTDESIGN joined the team to curate the canyon site and a grand entry stair, courtyard, and meandering pathways to create a home nestled in the trees.
“The one with the bear…”
Adrian Koffka, co-owner and principal at Koffka/Phakos Design received a call from a family with young children who had recently purchased a house in La Canada.
“You may know our house,” they said. “It’s the one with the bear in the tree.”
They were referring to a viral local news story about a bear who had ambled up from the canyon behind the house and took a dip in the community pool on the lot next to theirs. A news helicopter had spotted and scared the bear who ran into their yard and took refuge in a tree. These tall Redwoods and Cedars became a design theme for the house and surrounding landscape.
EPTDESIGN Joins the Team
Koffka/Phakos immediately suggested the family hire EPTDESIGN as their landscape architect.
Said Koffka, “We prefer to engage landscape designers as early in the design process as possible, so we are exploring options for the house at the same time we are considering options for the site. We like the landscape to soften the architecture and add a layer literally and figuratively.”
Nord Eriksson, Principal at EPTDESIGN, stated, “When the client said they loved Alvar Aalto, I was in. I couldn’t wait to channel Aalto’s landscapes into the design, particularly the front entry steps.”
Eriksson immediately envisioned an expansive landscape stair blending into the site offering a welcoming approach to the house. The stair design has a casual poetry to it, sunken into the ground with flagstone and gravel. He then imagined the possibilities of extending the yard, which prior to design consisted predominantly of tall conifers with beds of pine needles, grasses, and rocks.
Ross Woodley, a member of the EPTDESIGN team, also immediately began exploring design possibilities.
“When we initially met the owners,” said Woodley, “they said they were drawn to house because of the mature Cedar trees prevalent in La Canada. Their property backs onto a canyon, and while the neighborhood feels somewhat suburban, we knew from the beginning we wanted to incorporate the wildness of the canyon into the garden.”
“We wanted to establish the feeling of a house nestled into the woods. Working with the existing Deodar Cedars, we added Coastal Redwood trees and new plantings across the front of the property to slowly reveal the house.”
Delight in Collaboration
Like the melting pot that Southern California is, design of the site and house proved to be the ideal amalgamation of many cultures.
The diversity of the team brought a confluence of ideas and perspectives to the table. The cultural flavors that influenced the design included Northern and Southern California, New England, Germany, China, New Zealand, Australia, Sweden, and Finland. The creative energy of the team gelled, and the ideas came together harmoniously, bringing the wooded canyon onto the site and into the home through nature, light, air, and sound.
The other delight in design was the collaboration.
“The owners were very open to our team’s designs,” said Phakos. “We suggested artistic ideas, designs which evoked emotions while serving a function as well as creating beauty. They loved the ideas.”
Eriksson added, “I especially love how the client and their trust in the design process came through in the project’s success. It’s not something we talk much about, but it is a major ingredient in more interesting projects.”
Phakos added, “In working with EPTDESIGN, we simply had inherent confidence. Once they proposed the grand stair, which was huge, we were delighted when they proposed changing the patio from brick to flagstone. Their ideas flowed seamlessly with the architectural design.”
A House Transformed
The original 1950’s house had a Swedish feel to its design.
“Exploring the house felt like opening a time capsule,” according to Phakos. “We found a telephone closet and a retro cozy breakfast nook. The vibe was expressed through the overall restrained simplicity of the house.”
Committed to connecting the home to its wooded site called for large openings to be framed in natural Douglas Fir to capture picturesque views. The house was partially clad in knotty cedar siding. To bring the outside forest in, a series of pine columns were milled from native trees and placed inside as welcoming sentinels.
Koffka said, “The house and the site are horizontal and the pines pierce these vertically creating a juxtaposition that is very dynamic and pleasing. This happens naturally in the landscape, so we brought this design element inside the house mimicking the dramatic landscape.”
Borrowing from the palette of the modern movement, Koffka and Phakos designed the interior and exterior surfaces with white spaces punctuated by the natural color of raw materials including pine, fir, and oak. Thus, the forest becomes the home from siding and windows to flooring, cabinetry, and ceilings.
With frequent guests, design incorporated guest rooms—a smaller apartment upstairs, and a lower-level guestroom with a large corner window featuring views of the landscape that EPTDESIGN created. The home is designed for the family and their visitors to find community and privacy at different times.
The house includes two concert grand pianos, one on the first floor, the other on the lower level where the client teaches and performs. The studio wall consists of folding glass doors which open onto a terrace and adjacent lawn, allowing guests to enjoy concert performances and recitals.
Transforming the Land
When EPTDESIGN first toured the site, they found a magnificent stand of mature deodar cedar trees, native grasses, and a large amount of native stone. The team started by asking, “What does the site want to be? What are the possibilities with so much land?”
Pathways softened by pine needles meander throughout the mature trees and property encouraging walking and meditation in nature. Bluestone terraces provide spaces for performance and outdoor entertaining and cooking.
At the top of the canyon edge a long, low seating wall made of native arroyo stones provides seating and ties the hillside property and wooded canyon together. The forested portions of the garden allow for informal areas for dining, lounging, and play. Creative flourishes include a tie to the music: a fence and pivot gate with boards of different vertical sizes based on the piano keyboard. Additionally, on the side of the house is an ellipse of meadow grass that adds a splash of artistry.
Visiting the Home in the Forest
Revisiting the home after four years, the effect of revealing the house layer by layer has evolved into place. Trees have grown and plantings have flourished in their native environment.
“Ross Woodley and I spent from morning to night at the house,” said Koffka. “Looking out into the landscape, the plantings shifted from green to blue as the light moved throughout the day into evening. Peering out the large windows was like watching paintings change color and shape as shadows and light moved across the landscape. Inside the white walls morphed too, like cinematic backdrops in the lively home of happy inhabitants.”
Noting that the house has no city lights, no visible neighbors, Koffka said, “The house rests in a forest of layer on layer on layer of hundreds of shades of green.”
Today, the family enjoys the many benefits of bringing the canyon up to meet their home. There is a natural movement forward and backward between the property and its surroundings achieved through deliberate design. The back and forth between birds, insects, animals, and people has been a success.
Are there visiting bears? Quite frequently. The family installed a bear bell and uses flashlights to look around when going out in the dark. And if the bell doesn’t work, one of the daughters assured us that she’s a black belt in judo.
Most satisfying is knowing the clients are loving their new home and environs. “We just want you to know that we are grateful we get to live in your work.”
