One Window House, an anti-McMansion in a tight spot

摘要

In the fight against McMansions, Venice, California, firm Touraine Richmond Architects' One Window House serves as a demonstration project. Technically an addition to a 1950s home, the residence measures only 1,500 square feet and fits on a tight urban site in Venice. Yet it feels about twice that size, thanks both to the architects' skillful maneuvering around building codes and their maximization of space, light, and natural surroundings in the project. Architects Olivier Touraine and Deborah Richmond, AIA, live with their toddler in the steel-and-wood-framed house, which they completed in 2005. After securing the 5,600-square-foot site in 2002, just a few yards from their old house (which they now use as offices for their five-person firm), the couple-accustomed to living in tight urban locations in Paris, Rotterdam, and Osaka-didn't want (nor could they afford) anything too large. "I can't imagine how people live in 6,000-square-foot houses," remarks Touraine. "They need cell phones to call each other. Some people say too much is not enough. I think too much is too much."