Canyon View

Canyon View in Los Angeles, California by Kanner Architects

Housing a psychologist's office, the Canyon View office by Kanner Architects also acts as a guesthouse. Situated on a lushly-vegetated hillside behind the main residence, the small structure is a wood-wrapped oasis, built to alleviate a long commute for the psychologist, but definitely more than a functional working space.

Before ascending the steps to the entry, the most notable aspect of the house is its cladding and the angular walls that make up the exterior. The architects designed the office/guesthouse to blend into the natural environment, the angled wall planes and corner windows eroding parts of the building while also framing generous views of the hillside vegetation.

The alcove-like entry surrounds the visitor in wood on three sides, an elegant transition to the interior, where white finishes set off the wood trim, furniture, accents and structure. Its 1,000 s.f. is composed within a broken box, which helps blend the small structure into the landscape - as mentioned - but also articulates the building into separate spaces, as opposed to one large box subdivided at will.

At a cost of $200,000, the office and guesthouse is an attractive addition to the property that will increase its value beyond its dual functionality. And it is the structure's dual functions that helps its success, divorcing the design from trying to appear like a house or an office. Its physical manifestation finds more kinship with the landscape than its function, an integration that will benefit the psychologist as much as his patients.