Ehrlich House

Ehrlich House, completed in 2020 by John Friedman Alice Kimm Architects in Santa Monica, serves as a retreat for a client with a transient lifestyle. The brief emphasized achieving refuge and calm while prioritizing sustainability within a contemporary, spatially dynamic home. The site’s temperate climate informed the building’s orientation and plan to allow for passive cooling and warming, facilitated by outdoor-indoor connections that encourage natural ventilation and daylighting. The house forgoes mechanical air conditioning, utilizing a koi pond to precool incoming air and concrete slab floors to moderate interior temperatures by absorbing and releasing heat. Skylights and clerestories bring daylight deep into the living spaces, reducing reliance on artificial light systems. A series of active sustainable features support the environmental agenda, including Santa Monica's first residential gray water system to irrigate the landscape, a rooftop photovoltaic system supplying most of the electrical demand, and in-floor radiant heat. Material selections further reflect the commitment to sustainability, incorporating recycled cotton insulation, sustainably sourced wood, low-emissions cabinetry and finishes, and quartz surfaces. Landscape design and lighting consultants contributed to the integration of house, site, and environment. Ehrlich House has been referenced in educational contexts and features in local green building literature.