One Of Predock_Frane’s Famed Twin Houses, $4.85M

Author:Philip Ferrato

In 2008, the renowned architecture firm Predock Frane built a pair of nearly-identical houses in the Marquez Heights neighborhood of Pacific Palisades. Sited adjacent to each other within an environment of conventional Mid-century homes on a wooded, sloping lot, they were dubbed the Twin Houses; one of them has just come on the market. Predock Frane has since amicably disbanded, but their practice ranged from residential and multifamily design to public spaces, and included two appearances at the Venice Biennale. Deeply influential, both Hadrian Predock and John France have had long-term curatorial and teaching responsibilities at USC; Hadrian is the son of the late Albuquerque, NM architect Antoine Predock, known for “his unwavering commitment to pushing the envelope of architectural expression.” 

Constrained by municipal setback, height and volume limitations, the architects designed the 4-bed, 4.5-bath house with staggered volumes moving down the slope, but pierced from above with a pair of courtyards to illuminate space within; the exterior is simply clad in dark stained wood with a standing seam roof in contrast with the bright white and pale wood interiors that are master classes in the meeting of spacial surprise and millwork, all immaculately rendered.

What We Love: The Los Angeles area posesses an extraordinarily diverse range of housing– from the McMansions loaded with crystal chandeliers to the most soulless of apartment blocks to endless tracts of single-family ranch-style homes, but sometimes, architecture shines through with intelligent, intellectually driven homes like this that redefined residential design within a Southern California vernacular.

More: Go to the listing for additional images and details. An opportunity to own a significant property—a key component of the architectural heritage of Pacific Palisades—represented by the architecture specialists Jennifer Parker-Stanton and Jake Lazere at Compass.