It’s always fun to see the evolution of our projects, as they change hands with new ownership. Our original client for Benedict Canyon was from the sports world, and he wanted an open-plan house for entertaining, that would also include a photography studio and gallery space for displaying his large scale artworks.

We continue our exploration of biophilic design, its benefits, and the ways we incorporate this practice into our modern resort style homes with part II of our blog, The Nature of Biophilic Design.

Psychoanalyst, social psychologist, and sociologist Erich Fromm first introduced the word “biophilia” in 1973, with the meaning, attraction to that which is alive.

Coral House, named for the iconic Santa Monica tree that stands at its entrance, is located on a coveted street overlooking the canyon, with views to the beach and the blue and white surf of the Pacific.

Harry Gesner comes from a long line of inventors, adventurers, and artists, and his own life is an encapsulation of those all.

Here is part II of our exploration of iconic modern homes featured in film:

Each of our designs is inspired by the lives of those who will work, live, and play in them. The lives that occupy the work, inspire the body of work. Architectural spaces hold the stories of our lives, and similarly, movie settings are containers for unfolding storylines.

This project was built adjacent to the Mountain Course in the Bighorn Golf Club, Palm Desert, California, in the foothills of the Santa Rosa Mountains.

The desert is open space and long views, but also the close-up, detailed perfection of the cactus flower. It is nature’s serene minimalism. This is the setting for our project inside the gated community of The Vintage in Indian Wells, California.

A house open to the outdoors is now a staple of modern residential design and is a defining hallmark of Whipple Russell’s design for a West Coast lifestyle.