8743 Ashcroft Avenue

Patrick Tighe, AIA, Architect :: Writer's Retreat :: Within walking distance of Cesar Pelli's monolithic Pacific Design Center and the showrooms of West Hollywood's design district, Patrick Tighe's latest creation is in good aesthetic company. Here, the architect refines and develops themes initiated in earlier work, and introduces new moves that portend the future. The open plan of the living, dining, kitchen area tapers in a forced perspective out toward the garden beyond, reminiscent of the widely-published and award-winning Collins Gallery of 2002, but open to the live-work mezzanine above in a capacious double-height gesture that opens up the space. The folded planes of the bonderized metal exterior are consistent with a post-structuralist vocabulary, yet the interior design is pure minimalism. Generous white walls washed with clerestory light and numerous sculptural niches set the stage for a private art collection to come. A luminous floating island in the kitchen warms the interior and gathers people to the metaphoric hearth and heart of the home. Bamboo floors, European cabinetry and fixtures, stainless steel and glass tile complete the palette of materials. A separate guest house anchors the back corner of the site, providing an ideal home office environment or in-law apartment, with the potential for rental income. The eye-catching sculptural form of the overall composition is exemplary of the architect's signature style, the most recent data point on the upward curve of a promising career trajectory.