The Cabrillo Residence began as the renovation of an existing residence with a guest house and evolved into the complete re-planning of a large hillside property in Beverly Hills into an estate property with a clean modern architectural vision integrated with a textured and original interior design. The design was developed in collaboration with Melinda Ritz Interiors, Venice Studio Landscape Architects and numerous specialty consultants and contractors to realize a final project of the highest quality and integrity as possible.

The project strategy had three basic components. First, the existing residence and guest house were stripped down to the structure to provide the most potential for reorganizing the space to meet the client's needs while providing cost savings through maintaining the existing foundation and column/beam structure. Second, an addition to the main house provided a large master bath and closet in order to expand the master bedroom into a suite including a private sitting room.

The third and most technically challenging strategy involved extending the backyard to provide additional lawn, a 20'x60' pool and 10'x30' cabana with dining, dressing and toilet facilities. The planning code did not allow for terraced retaining walls to create this expansion. As a result, a strategy was developed to construct a subterranean concrete building into the hillside of the backyard.

This creative approach to the code not only allowed for the desired expansion of the backyard and new facilities but provided for 4,500 square feet of additional interior space. The extended lawn, pool and cabana were constructed on the roof of the structure, and the interior was developed with a gym facility, second guest apartment, additional storage, four car garage and emergency generator for the property. The gym and guest apartment were provided with substantial south facing light as the south face of the building emerged from the hillside as the natural slope of the yard continued down the hill. This approach required significant technical development of a waterproofing system that would protect the interior building from pool and irrigation water that would be a constant overhead presence on the roof.

The challenge of the Cabrillo Residence was to maintain the architectural vision of the design and the detailing of the many technical, interior and site design elements while, together with the General Contractor and financial managers, effectively coordinating the construction of the project.