_edited_edited_edited_edited_ed.png)
veil house
LOCATION:
SIZE:
PROGRAM:
COMPLETION:
TYPES:
Venice, CA
3,700 ft²
Duplex House
2019
Residential
The Veil House is our study in filtered privacy: a layered relationship between interior and surroundings that creates an urban retreat without closing the building off. On a single Venice lot, two homes share a garden, with perforated block walls, mesh, screens, and dense landscape forming the layered thresholds.
The entry serves as a deliberate spatial transition from the active urban fabric of Venice into a serene, private refuge. A series of layered thresholds—defined by perforated block walls, metallic screens, and dense planting strategies—screens the inner courtyard and protects the domestic life within.
The architecture utilizes a tactile palette of permeable boundaries, pairing industrial metallic mesh with perforated masonry block. This built framework is heavily softened by an integrated landscape of aloe trees and lush groundcover, establishing a deeply immersive garden sanctuary that veils the primary massing.
A central courtyard anchors the duplex, serving as a shared urban sanctuary that physically and socially connects the two residences. This lush, protected core fosters a communal indoor-outdoor living experience, expertly balancing shared social spaces with essential individual privacy for extended families or neighbors.
Maximizing the coastal Venice climate, operable glazing allows the interior living spaces to extend seamlessly into the central courtyard. This extended indoor-outdoor living zone is framed by a highly sustainable exterior environment. Responding to extreme regional drought conditions, the courtyard utilizes a strict framework of drought-tolerant xeriscaping, while the home's ecological footprint is further offset by a rooftop photovoltaic array.
Principal:
Design Team:
Matthew Royce
Meike Kroger
Swetha Arunkumar
Photography:
Edmund Sumner