little bird

The Three Step House derives its name from the design approach we took to addressing the site. The steep vacant hillside lot presented peculiar creative and technical challenges. The lot was virgin, a rarity in the dense Silverlake area. The slope profile was inordinately steep and local codes demanded inventive grading strategies.

We took cues from the rich history of modernist Los Angeles precedents. The architecture emphasized embracing topography, avoiding elevators or stacked floors. The “Three Step” concept made sure the dwelling incrementally stepped back and created relationships between interior and exterior at each corner and successive step.

The design process involved significant planning for excavation, shoring and grading. It needed deep familiarity with hillside logistics, codes, topography, grading, framing, sustainability and cost implications of each idea. Our expertise with hillside design helped us create this widely featured house in Silverlake Los Angeles.

The architectural result is therefore a crafted piecing together of grading pads tied together with exuberant roof overhangs. Every level had a corresponding open space, deck and view. Inhabitants can therefore find privacy and communal spaces in the open, under shade and facing the city in numerous ways. The design therefore compensated for the lack of flat open areas by accumulating a series of connected terraced yards and decks.

What made the project special was how every level had a corresponding open space, deck and view. The design compensated for the lack of flat open areas by accumulating a series of connected terraced yards and decks. Inhabitants could find privacy or communal spaces out in the open, in the shade or facing the city.

The Three Step House therefore lies at the intersection of the horizontal and the vertical.