35 Years - A Look Back

Looking through our design archives at the number of projects and the terrific clients we’ve enjoyed serving, three and a half decades has added up to a body of work we are excited to celebrate and share with you, along with commentary from principal architect Marc Whipple. 

I. The Early Days

Marc has been drawn to modern lines since his 20s when he was hired and mentored by the uniquely diverse Los Angeles architect, George Vernon Russell, one of the original California modernists. He admired Russell’s devotion to simplicity, clarity, and a clean approach. 

Managing diverse projects with Russell over the next years brought Marc to work at the Natural History Museum - Los Angeles County starting in 1985. The firm completed over 30 projects at the 400,000 ft. facility in Exposition Park. 

Marc: Museum work is complicated because it's a multi-headed client. There's a board of directors, there's a director and an assistant director of the museum. There are curator groups, and the exhibits department, historians–the list of groups that you've got to integrate and work with is something close to a dozen. I loved it because it was complicated and interesting, all the different departments are fascinating in the focus of their work… insects, fish, birds, dinosaurs, it's the full gamut. 

George Vernon Russell passed away in 1989 and Marc continued work under the name The Russell Group. Along came an opportunity for a major ‘down to the studs’ remodel of a midcentury modern. Rustic Canyon was designed for a commercial director. Note the use of clerestory windows and the double-height ‘lightbox’ entry in this very modern house. Previews of what has become Marc’s signature style.

Here’s a few more projects of interest over the next few years, and Marc’s take on what makes them modernist designs.

Petersen Automotive Museum -1994

The challenge here was to transform a former department store into the largest automobile museum west of the Mississippi. The ground floor featured a dedicated display of automobiles set in their historical context, with more than 150 rare and classic cars, trucks, and motorcycles. 

Siena Hotel + Spa - 2003

This large project was completed in 2 years–from design to opening. There were 250 rooms and suites, a casino, banquet facilities, and spa, with a pool on the roof. 

In Marc’s view, the above projects reflect modernism as a strategy.

Marc: It's not a style necessarily, you can bring the modern design approach to a project that to everyone else looks like a traditional building, but it still has that modern design methodology. 

Modern basically manifests in the floor plan. The floor plan is the organization of the building.  And then, modern design tells you, form follows function. The function is the floor plan. The form is the skin, if you will, the third dimension. And in the case of these other projects, the same thing, the strategy is modern. The floor plan is modern, but it may not look that way from the outside.

Essential to the modern design are view axes, circulation axes, a certain amount of symmetry, definitely balance and harmony between the spaces. But, not - here's a room with four walls and a door. Here's another room with four walls and a door, you're free of all that. So, that's the main difference.

In the case of the Siena Hotel, the process of checking into the hotel is actually more popular now than it was then. It was, come in and sit down and, have an experience with the person behind the desk, as opposed to getting in line and getting up to a counter. So, it was a different type of thinking, a sort of re-examining. And that's what modern philosophy is, you just look at things a little bit differently. What would be enjoyable, as opposed to just following the norm, what would be appropriate, what would be a different way of doing that particular thing?

II. Turning Points

There are certain pivotal projects that stand out as creatively transitional or just gratifyingly successful, and which raised our visibility and opened up possibilities going forward.

Chesebro - 2000

A prime voice in the planning of this project was the land itself; a vacant piece of golden, Southern California chaparral, perfect for a simple barn-like house with trusses in a T-shape that could easily be added on for future expansion. 

Marc: That house is all about the central living space and the volume of it. A loft style, with a huge volume of space, that was the anchor of the whole thing. 

Mandeville Canyon - 2001

A romantic blend of contemporary and Mediterranean architectural sensibilities. The style derives from the all-important floor plan, where decisions regarding use, light, and the day-to-day performance of the spaces are made. This plan called for open, cleanly outlined spaces that flowed one into another. Thick, clay colored walls with many deep portals create sculptures of light in constant variation. This is the first design where the pool meets the edge of the house at a large expanse of glass, producing a dazzling effect indoors and out.

This is also Marc’s first use of his now signature narrow, vertical, “ribbon” windows.

Marc: The row of ribbon windows are a way to bring in natural light without exposing a wall full of glass. You can use them on more private sides of the house, you can use them in the front where the house is facing the street. It’s a really successful way to set up rhythm and a design so that it's graphic.

The famous architectural photographer, Julius Shulman, came and visited the Mandeville house. He heard it was going up and that it was different.  

Marc: Shulman told me cellular architecture was what came to his mind. Our client was really into how natural light changes at different times of the day. Because we had a south facing room and wanted north light in it, we pulled the roof up which provided space for north facing windows. And that's what gave rise to all the different roof heights, and contributed to the decision of a one story design. 

Buckskin Drive - 2006 

This house was designed for a repeat client In Laguna Hills, a sloping property high on a hill, featuring a stunning 180-degree view. Frank Lloyd Wright pioneered the Prairie Style at the turn of the century, it was called the first uniquely American architecture. This version, with an exterior of natural materials – brick, wood, and plaster – is framed by clean lines and long eaves. It was the first project where Marc also did the hardscape design; patio, pool, and outdoor eating areas. Another consistent dramatic feature in Marc’s work is emerging in this project - water and fire together.

Marc: We’ve probably done five or six projects for this client altogether over the years. He built this house himself, he was a carpenter and a craftsman. Their desire for Buckskin was to have a modern house, but they had fallen in love with a neighborhood that wouldn't allow a true modern, this was the early 2000s. It needed to be a traditional style, so we chose Prairie style as a way to get what they wanted and still fit in the neighborhood. 

Harold Way - 2008  

This Hollywood Hills bachelor pad is a pure modern, with out-to-the-edge glass for viewing the shimmering lights below. The floor plan surrounds an all-white, open fireplace in the living area, and in the dining area sits a modular marvel of a modern, motorized dining table. When not in use the seating is pushed together into a glossy cube. And there is room for a sports car in the living room.

Marc: The whole house was edgy and that was the mandate. It was a bachelor pad, overlooking Sunset Boulevard up in the Hills. The kitchen is tiny, everyone ate out. It was the LA lifestyle at that time. And, the client was a car collector. And the dining table, that was his thing, we had nothing to do with it other than there's no formal dining room and I felt something special was needed. So they invented, designed, and constructed a robotic table.

9342 Sierra Mar - 2008

An early hillside project, this house shows the W^R attention to outdoor spaces and views, and water up close to the house. This home is view oriented, but also creates the feel of a multi-level residence wrapped around a central courtyard of walkways and water. A slight Asian accent can be found in the slatted entrance gate edged with bamboo, the dark honey mahogany floors, and the roof rafter details. The project expanded the firm’s work into the Hollywood Hills, starting its run of exceptional hillside homes. 

Marc: Sierra Mar was really about outdoor spaces, views, and the Asian flavor. It was a major remodel that honestly should have been a tear down, there wasn't much left of the existing house by the time it was done. 

The Asian influence came from the existing house. We had to think, what can we do with this to make it feel modern, but not destroy the whole thing? And it worked. Half the house has the existing roof lines. It was the genesis of our warm, contemporary vocabulary, it just worked. It had a really warm, dark colored exterior plaster, and mahogany interior, but in a very contemporary setting. The house garnered a great deal of media exposure, which was really exciting for us. 

Hopen Place - 2010 

The infinity pool had met the right architect, and the hillside home was becoming a W^R specialty. With the pool positioned at the edge of the property, an indoor and outdoor living experience brings unobstructed views to the horizon line and sky. Add fire bowls, reflecting ponds, outdoor rooms, and this mid-century classic in the Hollywood Hills is rejuvenated.

Marc:  It started as a remodel and it grew to be a big remodel, in the end half the house was an addition.  

The Hopen house has windows in the wall of the pool that look into the home theater. You walk by a waterfall wall to get into the screening room, sit down, and there's the underwater view of the pool.  

Marc: The pool windows were one of the first times I think that had been done in LA. Hopen Place was definitely a turning point for us. We did the interior design, working with the clients, two fairly young English guys with impeccable taste. Much of the interior, including the furnishings, was ordered from Europe. Our collaboration was a definite success and it was photographed beautifully by William MacCollum. 

III. Fully California Modern 

Now we move into a period where Marc and the team are able put their focus on thoroughly modern houses. An emphasis on unobstructed views, open entry volumes, clean horizontal lines, and optimized functionality. He revisits the courtyard, sinking it below grade, transforming what normally would be a dark basement into a lower floor with light and views – the anti-basement. 

Summit House - 2011

Summit was a complete tear-down of an existing home, with everything recycled as much as possible. It also features a grey water reclamation system. This house was a turning point in the evolution of Marc’s “living small” design theory. The family wanted a fairly large house to still allow everyone to see one another and feel connected. This includes a connection to the outdoor spaces as well, through the use of glass walls, floor to ceiling glass, and the lower level bowling alley sharing windows with the pool. 

Marc: I think they tried to articulate that they wanted a larger home because they felt that that was appropriate to the site and appropriate to their new lifestyle, but they didn't want it to feel like too large a house. The design theory I developed, which I termed “living small” seemed to solve the problem for them. Planning everything around a central volume allows a visual connection along different axes within the house, reminders of where you are going and where you have been. 

Laurel Way -2013

Laurel Way began when the developer saw the Summit House going up nearby and sought out the firm. It has been dubbed the wedding cake for its terraced hillsides, and a jewel box for its interiors. Another standout was the extraordinary use of a moat water feature surrounding the house. 

Marc: It's a promontory site, meaning it is hillside on three sides. It's at the end of a ridge. There are beautiful views in all three directions. But the hillside is steep enough that just for safety reasons it warrants a guard rail. So, the moat is in lieu of a guard rail. The view is unobstructed and it also gives a feeling of tranquility and a feeling of safety. There are public streets at the bottom of the hill on all three sides, so you do feel a little bit exposed. The moat, even though it's only five, six feet wide, in most places, it gives you a sense, like medieval times, of protection. It solves multiple objectives.

It's an incredibly well-known house. It was just very well received and I think it epitomized contemporary, warm modern at that time. It sort of defined it, and people are still coming to us as a result of it. 

Another interesting concept was the detailing. The client was concerned, for instance, about the master bathroom. The footprint for it is small due to code restrictions and height limits and so forth. And it had to be that size. So the strategy I suggested was rather than a big palatial master bath, let's make it small and functional, then detail it like a jewel box. That's where that phrase originated and became the mantra of the project, and we applied the concept to all the rooms. The house is 10,000 plus square feet, so it's not a huge house, but every finish, every detail, everything is just top drawer. It's all considered, and well thought out. 

Benedict Canyon - 2016 

Our original client, former California Angels and Texas Rangers pitcher and current auto racing team owner, CJ Wilson, wanted an open-plan house for entertaining that also had a photography studio and a gallery space suitable for hanging his art projects. The double height X in the glass in the gallery represents the straight-edge, no drugs or alcohol, lifestyle that Wilson advocates. 

Marc: This is an example of a design that was heavily influenced by the site and the topography and very specifically designed to the client’s programming needs. The big hallway off of the bedroom wing was for him to display his photography. And he wanted guest rooms right off the pool area. It’s in the category of super custom for the person that's going to live in it.

Georgina Avenue - 2017  

Located in a quiet Santa Monica neighborhood, this was a close collaboration with our client. She was inspired by the openness of the Summit House design and the central volume with stairways was part of the original concept, as was the goal that one could open the front door and see all the way through the house to the outdoors.

Marc: The client is a designer and wanted to project manage and do the interiors. The thing was she had an average suburban site and wanted it to accommodate a substantial program. The central volume with a skylight makes this work. The atrium is open to below grade, making room for a bar, screening area, and gym. It was a great collaboration, she really loves design and was game to learn. Project management is not for the faint of heart. 

Trousdale – 2018

Marc continues to find solutions to getting a lot of functionality into a limited space, and have a house that “lives small.”  Marc further explores the possibilities of a central open volume topped by a skylight. The large skylight pulls the dramatic focus upwards as well, so this vertical volume contains both dynamics, which can be seen when crossing the glass bridge. Signature elements reappear–the dark-grey rough stacked-slate exterior is capped with crisply contrasting white stucco and horizontal rooflines. Also part of the team were Robert Wright and Jason York of McCormick and Wright, who did the interior design and were a distinct pleasure to work with. A commissioned Richard Erdman sculpture sits at the entry.

Marc: Trousdale was another well-received project. And again, the living small means if you are going to bed you aren’t going up a closed stairway and down a hall to the third door on the left. The idea is that right outside your bedroom you can look back to where you were, catch a corner of the kitchen, or see into the family room to say goodnight to someone. In this design you can be downstairs next to the theater and see someone near the front door, or be practicing your golf swing and in a few steps see who is up in the kitchen. Absent this strong design drive of the central volume, the family connection is lost. This strategy guides a lot of decisions at our end, and when you explain it to a client they sort of get it – but when they see it and feel it as the house takes shape, they say, “Wow, – I love it.”

The program just didn’t fit the capacity of the house, along with the neighborhood height restrictions, shoving all that into a small box was a challenge. It's architecturally really dense, but it works well. The spaces are on the smaller side, but because they're so open to each other, it on the one hand feels big, and on the other hand, it lives small. 

Los Tilos – 2019  

This project, located in the Outpost Estates area of the Hollywood Hills, is all about the hillside and the views. And those views include both the Hollywood sign and the Hollywood Bowl. Each terrace is the roof of the level below it, a modern Californian interpretation of the terraced hillsides which overlook the Mediterranean Sea.

Marc: The property is situated at the end of a cul-de-sac, and we pushed the site out as far as possible on the slope, so the house is well below street level. This allowed us to do an upside-down house; the approach is a curvy elevated driveway that’s pretty steep. As you go down, the views just get better and better, the gates open, and you are onto the roof of the house, completely surrounded by south-facing “jetliner” views. So, the whole experience for the homeowner or a guest, just getting to the house, is very dramatic. 

Final Reflections

Marc: Until the last 10 or 15 years, LA wasn't overly receptive to modern design. Early on, having a passion for designing modern houses, well, you needed the clients to go along with that and they didn't exist for the most part. Those projects were few and far between. It’s odd because public spaces, the Case Study houses, Bauhaus, were meant to launch a whole modern LA era. But when there was a brand new tract development, the common denominator was traditional homes. The interesting thing is, LA has some extraordinary modern designs of office spaces, museums, commercial buildings, even restaurants. It’s two parallel paths. 

What we're good at and what we wanted to do just recently became more popular. Lucky for us, Los Angeles has finally embraced California Modern. We find it very gratifying to have, in small part at least, contributed to its growth. 

Today, Whipple Russell Architects are bringing California Modern and resort style living Eastward. The word is spreading, and people in other parts of the country want a modern house. We have projects coming up in North Carolina, Virginia, and Arizona, and are looking forward to the next decade with excitement.