Conner + Perry Architects

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Club James is a new entertainment annex constructed adjacent to John Lautner’s iconic Sheats-Goldstein Residence. Its angular concrete, glass, and stainless steel form emerges from the lush tropically landscaped hillside. The complex consists of a rooftop infinity tennis court, private nightclub, offices, library, and outdoor terrace with full dining/bar facilities and 90 foot pool with spa. The architects designed the new structures to be in dialogue with the original house, adapting its minimal material palette and dynamic geometric language to the new site and programs.

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Inside the Goldstein office the minimally detailed canted frameless glass pushes the space out into the void beyond. Below one can see the latest additions on the outdoor terrace including the ninety-foot infinity pool. The sparse material palette of glass and stainless steel juxtaposed with board-formed concrete relates the original Lautner-designed residence that peeks out between the jungle foliage in the distance.

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The plan is organized around three gardens: an atrium garden featuring two California live oaks around which smaller private rooms are arranged and a double height glazed stairwell rises, a pool courtyard that parallels the circulation of the house, and the rear garden that connects a deck and outdoor dining area to the canyon views beyond. A key design feature are the fully pocketing glass doors that completely open the ground floor up to the pool courtyard and rear garden, offering the perfect balance of indoor-outdoor living. Every view in the house was designed to captivate with nature or art.

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Rustic Canyon Residence is nestled in a wooded lot in the eponymous neighborhood of the Pacific Palisades originally serving as a test station for the Forestry Service during eucalyptus tree testing in the 1910-20s.  Felled trees were repurposed for key elements throughout the project and dramatic copper eaves cantilever with a sharp profile, extending the interior ceiling plane out into the landscape at key moments. At the front of the home one is greeted by the California live oak and Eucalyptus trees that define the local landscape while a hangar style garage door finished with charred siding “disappears” when closed.

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The Club James nightclub framing a panoramic nighttime view of Los Angeles in the distance: the entire south facade is completely opened up with frameless operable glass made possible by the post-tensioned concrete roof structure which is supported on only eight columns. The fully functioning club has an impressive array of commercial grade lighting, effects, and sound system, including a twenty-six foot LED display wall, cantilever stainless steel DJ booth, and a stainless steel dance floor surrounded by a built-in concrete and leather banquette.

Conner & Perry Architects was founded in 2015 in Santa Monica, California by partners Kristopher Conner and James Perry, who came together while working with Architect Duncan Nicholson.  There they both were trained in the philosophy and tradition of Organic Architecture as it was taught to Duncan by world-renowned master of modern Architecture, John Lautner. We apply this philosophy of design to a contemporary practice that addresses the challenges and concerns of today’s clientele and marketplace, while maintaining a sense of timelessness that is inherent in an Architecture that is at once unique, profound, and useful.

The philosophy of Organic Architecture is rooted in the individual calculus derived uniquely for each and every project from three overriding aspects.

The Site: Architecture is in and of its environment. Materials, form, and details are inspired by and relate to the milieu of the building’s ecology.

The Program: Architecture is of use, fulfilling its intended purpose through form and organization. 

The Client: Architecture is a reflection of the person(s) for whom it is designed.

As the Architect we invent a structural and formal solution that marries these three aspects into a complete work of art and provide a clear path forward to making that vision a reality.  The core idea behind this solution permeates every aspect of the project, from the overall site strategy to the smallest details.  Our goal is to provide a design for each client that will exceed their imagined possibilities while meeting their concrete expectations.

Address:

5855 Green Valley Circle, Ste 305

Culver City, CA 90230

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