Malibu --:-- PT

Index/Residential/No. 01

Saltgrass House

A low courtyard house on a coastal bluff, arranged around a single old sycamore.

Saltgrass House at dusk: dark timber volumes, glazed living room and a large sycamore
Malibu, California — Completed 2025Photography: stock, illustrative
01

The site

The house sits twelve metres above the Pacific on a bluff it shares with a single western sycamore, older than the road that reaches it. Every early decision — the L-shaped plan, the low roofline, the open courtyard — was made to keep the tree and the horizon in the same view.

02

The plan

Living spaces form one long bar facing south; sleeping rooms fold back into a quieter wing to the west. A detached studio closes the courtyard on the east, leaving its fourth side open to the afternoon sea breeze.

03

Light & material

A raised clerestory admits the low winter sun deep into the plan, while a 1.8-metre overhang shades the glass from summer’s high sun. Inside, three materials repeat throughout: lime plaster, white oak and board-formed concrete — nothing is painted.

(ii) Drawings

Plan 1:200 — Section 1:150

Ground floor

One storey, three volumes, one courtyard. The section line A—A cuts through the living room and clerestory.

  1. 01Living — 64 m²
  2. 02Dining — 22 m²
  3. 03Kitchen — 28 m²
  4. 04Primary — 41 m²
  5. 05Bedroom, guest & bath
  6. 06Studio — 26 m²
  7. 07Lap pool — 25 m
Ground floor plan, Saltgrass House L-shaped plan: a long south-facing living bar, a sleeping wing to the west, a detached studio to the east, all around a courtyard with a single sycamore. A lap pool runs along the southern terrace. AA N Bedroom Bath Guest Primary Living Dining Kitchen Studio Entry Courtyard Western sycamore Lap pool — 25 m Terrace Pacific → 0510 m
← Swipe drawing →
Ground floor planFig. P-01
Section A–A, Saltgrass House Section through the living bar showing the bluff, board-formed concrete plinth, raised clerestory and the roof overhang that admits low winter sun (33°) and shades the glass from high summer sun (79°). Winter sun 33° Summer sun 79° +0.00 FFL +3.60 Clerestory +4.80 Lime plaster Board-formed concrete plinth 1.8 m overhang Pacific Sycamore Island Section A—A
← Swipe drawing →
Section A—A, sun angles at 34° NFig. S-01

We spent the first month only watching where the shadows went.

Ines Halvard, AIA — Founding Principal

(iii) Gallery

Rear elevation at dusk with the sycamore
Rear court, dusk01/08
Charred cedar screens around a lit entry
Entry, west02/08
Living room opening to the terrace
Living room03/08
Kitchen with white oak and black joinery
Kitchen04/08
Stone bath against lime plaster
Primary bath05/08
Minimal bedroom with tall black-framed glazing
Bedroom, wing06/08
Living and dining from the kitchen
Dining, looking out07/08
Garden elevation with lawn and tree
Garden08/08

(iv) Materials

Six, and no more

Board-formed concrete

Plinth, hearth · #9C978F

Charred cedar

Cladding, screens · #2B2622

Lime plaster

Walls, ceilings · #E7E1D6

White oak

Floors, joinery · #C7A57E

Patinated bronze

Frames, hardware · #6E5A3E

Terracotta tile

Courtyard, baths · #B0532F

(v) Timeline

Four years, start to finish

  1. 2021Commission & site study — twelve months of observation
  2. 2022Design and Coastal Development Permit
  3. 2023Ground broken; plinth poured in board-formed concrete
  4. 2025Completed and planted