An entirely new construction on a rare vacant hillside lot within walking distance to the town center of Laguna Beach, the Laguna Residence is a study in the integration of traditional residential planning and modern aesthetic sensibility about space and form. The design of the house was conceived as a modern interpretation of traditional hillside Mediterranean home and village design utilizing simple forms and volumes to create an aesthetic of accretion instead of mass. This design concept attempts to break down the scale of the house by weaving a connection between the two main volumes of the house, connecting the front of the site through the house to the private garden in the rear creating a transparency and a theoretical "street" from front to back that integrally connects the house to the surrounding landscape.

The interior planning of the house includes traditional elements such as formal and informal dining areas, large bedrooms, and family areas, but these are arranged in a semi-open plan that allows for occasional large-scale entertaining as well as day-to-day intimacy. The plan is arranged around the main outdoor deck to maintain privacy from the neighboring houses and to give a sense of enclosure. A lower floor apartment allows for an in-house caretaker if one should be required, and an elevator is provided for easy floor-to-floor access.

The Laguna Residence is about creating intimacy and privacy. As the clients approach their retirement years, the design allows for the enjoyment of the natural scenery from a more intimate and traditional vantage point within the context of a modern interpretation.