Designed by Robert Thibodeau of du Architects

Our House is a modern, 3,000 square foot, single story, green home located on a flat, 11,000 square foot lot in Venice, California. The clients for "Our House" are a young, professional couple and their two children, ages 5 and 1. The house is designed in the tradition of California modernism, emphasizing indoor/outdoor living and an open plan. Floor to ceiling glass floods the interior with daylight while cantilevered eaves provide shade and reduce solar heat gain. The architectural design includes passive solar and natural ventilation to accentuate the emphasis on green building. Solar panels on the roof provide power for hot water, heating, and electricity. Natural materials were selected to create warm living spaces.

It was important to the clients to use local resources to infuse the project with a sense of community. The project was approached as a traditional barn-raising, where friends and neighbors join together to erect a structure. The owners, architect and contractor are neighbors and friends. Because the property is located on a street made up of single-story homes, the clients chose to build a single-story home rather than a taller home in an effort to keep it from appearing out of scale with their neighborhood.