Located high above Pacific Coast Highway in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles, the Rochman Residence is an extensive renovation to an existing late 50’s house. The house sits on the edge of a steep downhill slope with spectacular panoramic views of the ocean and the Malibu coastline. Originally conceived with Frank Israel, the project has since been developed and executed by CALLAS SHORTRIDGE architects.

Referred to by the clients as an “upside –down house,” the 3,500 square foot project appears as a single story residence on the street side, which quickly drops to two stories on the ocean side. Due in part to the neighborhood’s strict height requirements and the prominent horizon line, the roofline is a continuous horizontal parapet shared by exterior walls which lean outward from the core of the house. The outward tilting walls are reinforced from the coastline below against a backdrop of cliff, where the living room corner of the house emerges through the trees in a two-story wedged volume embedded in the slope.

On the street level plan, the exterior walls splay away from a central core, which divides the private areas from the living spaces. These living spaces are organized in an open plan culminating in the living room with a 25-foot wide window, which wraps the corner of the house and hangs over the edge of the slope. Extending from the dining room is a cedar trellis that cantilevers over the deck expanding the living area outside. Tucked behind a colored plaster wall, the interior stair bisects the private and living spaces and descends to the master bedroom suite and outdoor garden. This garden completes the experience with a landscaped pathway and terraces the meander down the slope.