Venice HighRise Modular
Completion Date: January 2016
Client: Jennifer Siegal
Location: Venice, CA
The Venice HighRise Modular is a triple-stacked steel-framed addition to Siegal’s existing 1920s Venice bungalow home. Craned in over the existing home and installed in one day, the 560 sf modular addition uses a diagrid structural system wrapped in Polycarbonate panels to maximize light, energy, and efficiency. Designed as a prototype for future residential infill projects, V.V3 introduces less material waste, faster construction time, a tighter building envelope, green finishes, and higher insulating properties, resulting in a lower total life-cycle cost of the home.
The first floor open plan emphasizes the strong relationship between the indoor living/kitchen/dining/play space and the outdoor patio and garden. East and West facing operable windows at the ground and second floor levels provide passive cooling year-round, while the house is partially heated with a RAIS Gabo wood-burning stove. California-sourced White Oak t+g flooring connects the existing to the new levels and combines the open tread stair with a secret built-in 142” projection screen.
The airy 10’-3” high second floor includes the master bedroom, bathroom, and closets. Green finishes include LED lighting fixtures, reclaimed wood planking on a roller barn-style door track, ‘overstock’ handcrafted Heath Ceramic tile, and a Japanese-style soaking bathtub.
The inhabitable rooftop provides 360 sf of additional green space by incorporating synthetic turf upcycled from Santa Monica’s airport park. Additional green systems include an on-demand Navien water heater, three operable skylights, and a grey water drainage system. Responding to the housing crisis and meeting the latest requirements from the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety, the V.V3 offers a solution to urban dwellers looking to increase density without unsettling the neighborhood.
Photographer: ©Dominique Vorillon
