{"id":112027,"date":"2025-12-29T06:13:26","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T06:13:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/112027\/"},"modified":"2025-12-29T06:13:26","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T06:13:26","slug":"ppaa-utilises-subtractive-design-for-concrete-house-in-los-angeles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/112027\/","title":{"rendered":"PPAA utilises “subtractive design” for concrete house in Los Angeles"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mexican studio PPAA<\/a> has created a blocky concrete<\/a> house on a narrow site in Los Angeles<\/a>, California, USA, carving out courtyards and voids into the form. <\/p>\n

Known as Mar Vista, the 4,488-square-foot (417-square-metre) house is a practice in what the studio called “subtractive design”, a way of reframing the site’s restrictions and opportunities.<\/p>\n

\"\"PPAA has designed a concrete house in California. Photo by Luis Garvan. Top photo by Luis Garvan<\/p>\n

“The project embraces the setbacks, height limits and footprint regulations of its site and transforms them into spatial strategies,” said PPAA<\/a> founder Pablo P\u00e9rez Palacios.<\/p>\n

“By carving out patios and carefully aligning openings, the house creates a sequence of spaces where light, air and landscape are always present.”<\/p>\n

\"ConcreteIt has stepped massing that works with the small site. Photo by Luis Garvan<\/p>\n

It features stepped massing that adapts to the narrow lot, allowing it to be open to the climate with patios and voids that blur the boundaries between interior and exterior spaces.<\/p>\n

“The focal point is the alignment of openings that run across the house, generating long transversal views and connecting interior spaces with patios and the surrounding landscape,” the studio said.<\/p>\n

“This spatial continuity ensures that the central courtyards and voids become the true heart of the project, bringing daily life into direct dialogue with light, vegetation and the sky.”<\/p>\n

\"WoodenIt is made up of a series of courtyards that connect to interior spaces. Photo by Fabian Mart\u00ednez<\/p>\n

The circulation spaces run through the courtyards, creating a rhythm of open and closed spaces, curved and rectilinear forms, while ensuring that natural light and ventilation carry through the house.<\/p>\n

“The success lies in demonstrating that a house can be both a response to limitations and an act of freedom,” the studio continued.<\/p>\n

“By aligning openings and using subtraction, the project achieves generosity and openness within a constrained urban context. The lesson is that restrictions can generate stronger, more poetic architecture.”<\/p>\n

\"WoodenThe house is a demonstration of “an act of freedom”. Photo by Fabian Mart\u00ednez<\/p>\n

The design is composed of exposed light-toned concrete with a raked finish. In addition to plaster, light stone and untreated wood, the concrete was selected for its durability and natural weathering pattern in the coastal climate.<\/p>\n

“The restrained palette of raw and tactile materials allows it to feel both grounded and discreet within the neighborhood fabric,” the studio said.<\/p>\n

\"PPAAThe studio utilised a “restrained palette”. Photo by Fabian Mart\u00ednez<\/p>\n

Inside, the studio introduced refined elements like oak joinery and polished concrete floors to the honest materials of the outside, creating a consistent atmosphere between interior and exterior.<\/p>\n

In addition to the passive ventilation strategies, the design employs deep overhangs to shade the spaces and photovoltaic panels and rainwater collection systems to reduce the environmental footprint.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Xiao<\/p>\n

ZAO\/standardarchitecture snakes concrete art gallery around courtyard in China\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

“The interplay of curves and straight lines, solids and voids, gives the house a sculptural quality while maintaining a human scale,” the studio said.<\/p>\n

“Rather than projecting as a statement, the house integrates itself quietly into its context, privileging intimacy, light and material honesty.”<\/p>\n

\"PPAAThe interiors and exteriors have a sculptural quality. Photo by Fabian Mart\u00ednez<\/p>\n

Previously, PPAA has worked on a coastal guesthouse<\/a> with rammed earth in Baja California, a terraced home<\/a> in the forest of Valle de Bravo \u2013 both in Mexico \u2013 and a Swiss villa<\/a> with a reflective “water mirror” near Lake Zurich.<\/p>\n

The photography is by\u00a0Fabian Mart\u00ednez<\/a> unless otherwise stated.<\/p>\n

Project credits:<\/p>\n

Architecture: PPAA
Team: Pablo P\u00e9rez Palacios, Emilio Calvo, Miguel Vargas, Alice Moreno, Jonathan Res\u00e9ndiz, Nancy Est\u00e9vez<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mexican studio PPAA has created a blocky concrete house on a narrow site in Los Angeles, California, USA,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":112028,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[7,60102,57682,48,52,51,47,50,49,60103,37992,37993,1264],"class_list":["post-112027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-california","tag-californian-houses","tag-concrete","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-ppaa","tag-sectionall","tag-sectionarchitecture","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112027"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112027\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}