The Fold is a home addition project for an artist in Los Angeles’s Glassell Park. The client sought a revamp of his home to incorporate an art studio and other improvements—all on a $320,000 budget. Local firm Byben thus divided the brief into four parts to make the most use of the budget: expanding the connection to the outdoors with a larger porch and new deck, expanding the living room, creating an ADU and art studio, and creating a conditioned attic space to house storage. Strategic moves and geometric tricks stitch all the movements together into a cohesively buoyant home and ADU.
The yellow-clad home is located on a small corner lot, so each expansion was economically considered. Upon entry, the main intervention is felt within the new light and airy living room. Byben removed an existing fireplace to create an addition to the room, as well as a new deck. Large glazing opens up to the outdoor area while drenching the seating in natural light.
To emphasize the space even more, the architects raised the ceiling above the living room. A swoop is carved into the ceiling from this gesture, delineating the refreshed space with a playful and dramatic change in height. Wooden millwork, a yellow sofa, and plethora of various patterned textiles enliven the room.
Behind the living room, stairs lead upstairs. In the compact attic, a bed and bright yellow shelf rests atop a blue carpet. It runs next to a new skylight, positioned above a grated floor plate. This allows even more light to hit the living room below and brighten the middle of the home. It also improves airflow on hot days.
In the fourth part of the project, Byben added an ADU, slotted just 6 inches from the main structure due to planning requirements. The addition frames the new backyard deck and is built on the original yard level, requiring three steps down from the deck to get to its entry. The structure connects to the new studio space, slotted in the converted garage. Also clad in yellow, the position of the ADU near to the home creates a folded rear facade.
Like the main structure, the ADU is light-filled and wood-clad. The entry and kitchen continues to play with ceiling heights, between the slanted and taller ceiling, topped with a skylight, above the entryway and the shorter, planar ceiling above the kitchen. The bathroom falls under another slanted roof. The compact space is small but bright, featuring a blue-tiled shower with more apertures.
From the entry, stairs connect to a slightly lower level which holds the studio. This white-clad section retains the shape of a garage with its industrial floor and pitched roof. But the neutral space allows the client to hang up new and in-progress artwork to brighten the walls. Two skylights further the use of daylighting that runs throughout both structures. The studio, in tandem with the whole project, uses light and geometry to create a joyful, creative live and work space.