Pacific panorama - architectural design of a house in Malibu, CA - includes floor plans

Architectural Review, The, March, 1996 by Raymund Ryan

A few years ago, Lorcan O'Herlihy built a Barraganesque home for his parents in the Malibu foothills. Now together with partner Richard Warner, he has completed a residence one lot f rom the beach which exploits a steep and narrow site by opening up its structure. The Miller Residence is a cage tuned to topography and orientation. It is about gravity and direct light and spectacular views.

Unlike many of its neighbours, the genesis of the Miller Residence is in response to soil and perimeter conditions. The site falls south towards the beach and plummets energetically with the gradient. it is thin along the contours and is serviced above and below by rough Malibu lanes. Conceptually, the house reinforces its site. It is a layering of trays from the lowermost garage through reception zones to the master suite above, after which it breaks to allow for an elliptical pavilion, an independent unit for guests. You can climb the site either externally via steps and a secluded terrace or internally via a staggered system of stairs.

The lowest level, the garage with utilities behind, is a three-sided cave with a perforated door, dematerialising when backlit. The uppermost level presents the guest pavilion as a kind of gazebo marking the property before leading one onto a private footbridge into the master suite. The house proper is arranged between these limits. The base construction is poured in-situ concrete shelving up the site both vertically and in lateral shifts so that the principal pieces of the house lock into the land. But on lop of the garage, O'Herlihy + Warner switched to a steel frame. Here the opacity of shear walls gives way to a clear high internal volume that seems to suck in the Pacific ambience.

The key to this work by O'herlihy t Warner is its section. The house is both shelter and outlook. The steel frame lifts the oceanside end high in the air to be surrounded by glass. From the lower lane - the surfers, route - it appears almost swollen. This bold crystalline box with its pattern of millions (and soffits behind) accommodates living and dining areas on the first tray, with principal bedroom on the deck above. Spacious walk-through closets, bathroom, secondary bedrooms and a galley kitchen are tucked inland from these display volumes. Doors and other interior barriers are kept to a minimum. The internal stair switches around an orthogonal core to pop from a vitreous cubicle into the master suite. From bed, the owners enjoy an ideal panorama out to the expanse of ocean beyond.

The great pleasure of the house is its maritime air. The entry patio already suggests the nautical with its variegated walls of bright aluminium - the Eames House is nearby - and an ad hoc little canopy. You walk directly into the living space as into a New York loft and notice the illumination. Floors are of birch ply; the frame is primer red; there are no curtains. There is clear glass towards the view with sandblasted and translucent channel glass against the flanks. A tapering fireplace posits flame against the backdrop of water - a favourite classical allusion - and in this side bay, a canting kiosk, a large window pivots up to a horizontal position. On the deck upstairs is another four-poster canopy - a little temple in the breeze - and an inserted square of pebbles. On a tight budget (for Malibu), the Miller Residence exudes firmness, commodity and delight.