California Houses: Creativity in Context

Thirty of the best architect-designed Californian houses of the last few decades, from glamorous beach houses to urban infills, set in context by an introduction tracing a century of innovation in perhaps the most geographically diverse state. Chosen for their unique response to a particular site, this book features thirty of the best houses built in California since 2000. As well as being architecturally interesting buildings, they are first and foremost homes.

A lengthy and richly illustrated introduction sets the scene for California as a place of architectural experimentation and some incredible homes over the course of the 20th century. These houses draw on that legacy, with light, space, lateral living, a connection to nature and a sense of adventurous spirit represented in each in its own way - but they are also reflections of considerations that hadn't occurred to 20th-century Americans: resilience to climate change, the need to live and work in the same space, and the environmental cost of building a new house. The selection includes Tadao Ando's famous Bell House in Malibu, Olson Kundig's monumental Collywood, a huge 15,600 sq ft megalith overlooking LA's Sunset Strip, a house in Santa Monica wrapped in a rubber raincoat, and a cabin on a rocky outcrop in the Yucca valley desert.