Heritage Design Studio: 2010 Kaleidoscope of Homes: Il Nuovo Vecchia

By the time Shane Golden of Venetian Custom Homes and I got together to design their Kaleidoscope of Homes project, I had already completely finished the drawings for the Simmons project (Casa Montecita). Although Shane had some similar ideals in what he was looking for in his design, he also brought some very unique concepts to the table.

First off, Shane was very fixed on the house being a "Tuscan" style architecturally. Tuscan style is a fairly modern and recent interpretation of the mediterranean designs. The historical models for mediterranean design would be either the more formal styles such as Italianate or the Italian Renaissance style; or one could look to the more medieval and expressive interpretations, such as the Spanish Eclectic or Mission Revival styles. Tuscan varies from these models in that is typically a very asymmetrical, yet with a very rough and rustic exterior finish. Most of the historical models emphasis the smoothness or uniformity of the exterior materials. From a detail standpoint, the Italian styles draw from the more refined, simplified and pure geometry of Renaissance Architecture, while the spanish models draw from the more elaborate Gothic and Baroque detailing. The Tuscan style instead draws upon the more simple farmhouses and medieval villages, with the detailing being extremely simple, utilitarian and even sparse.

One of the most successful architectural firms of this style is Bassenian / Lagoni Architects of Newport Beach, California. They have published 3 books on the subject, including "Tuscan and Andalusian Reflections". Shane and I both were drawn to the cover image of this book and based the early concept of the Kaleidoscope on this h ouse. As we further researched the Tuscan style, some ideals became apparent that we wanted this design to express.

We wanted the house to have a sense of history- as if it had been a relic of another time. To achieve this, we made use of several materials, and massed the house in such as way that they structure had the feel of once being comprised of several smaller buildings. This gave the design a sense of having grown organically together over time, and became our interpretation of a small portion of a village in the Tuscany region. We looked at the way that these small medieval villages evolve, creating tight passageways and then opening up to large public spaces. We wanted this house to capture that sense of of a variety of spatial experiences, and for the people going through the home to have a sense of discovery and exploration as they moved through the house. This is a dramatically different experience spatially from the majority of homes in the metroplex.

The way we went about achieving this was to constantly reorient people as they walked through these spaces. For example, a hallway terminates and you are left with a view (or a peek into another spaces). At the same time you then must make a decision as to turn to the left or right. Doing so brings you into another volume of different characteristics- a tight space opens into a long room, or a vertical space, for example. The real challenge in doing this was to also make the house function well. To accomplish this, we split the functions of the house at the foyer into living spaces and entertaining spaces. Yet they remain connected by the foyer and outdoor spaces also, providing a high level of livability.

Shane also wanted to eliminate the formal spaces from the house and to make the livable spaces more grand (an aspect that both he and Scott Simmons shared). However, rather than orienting the house, as most do, towards the backyard; we made the early decision to instead orient the main views of the house toward the side yard and then across the street, at the openness of the main Shady Oaks water feature. Providing for the privacy of the house and yet allowing for this open exterior spatial experience, we took advantage of the higher elevation of the lot relative to the street and used the features of the pool to create half walls that block views into the house from the street, yet allow the field of vision inside the house to extend outward toward the water feature.

All of these ideals and concepts came together wonderfully, and I believe that Shane was able to carry out the intent of the design for this Kaleidoscope of Homes project. The flow of spaces for this house is probably one of the more unique and satisfying features, and I hope that you come to the show to experience it for yourself. For more information about the Kaleidoscope of Homes including times, location and pricing, please visit www.TheKaleidoscopeOfHomes.com

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