Zeke Ruelas
Mid-sized trendy backyard gravel patio photo in Los Angeles with a fire pit and no cover

This massive 7-figure project in Martis Camp (Truckee, California) began in April of 2106 when Jon invited a few members of the Throughstone Group to fly there and walk through the site to see what ideas they could collectively form for the client from a "blank slate". A theme was then proposed; a rough plan was approved; and phase one site preparation began that same Fall. It's a one-of-a-kind collaboration involving every member of the Throughstone Group from Colorado, California, Washington and Italy. Phase two began in May of 2017 and finished six months later in November. The final phase will be complete in the early summer of 2018. Jon's stonesmith travel team relocated to Truckee for six months and installed approximately 300 tons of basalt and granite stone. The SB Forge + Iron crew designed and built numerous bronze-plated and bronze-sculpted features. The Seattle Solstice team co-designed and built Jon's sculptures up in Seattle, transported them to the site and flew down to install them. Jay of Stellar Jay Designs built all of the wood works in Durango, Colorado and trucked them up himself to put them all in place. Craig and Mary from NW Outdoor Lighting will complete the lighting system in 2018.

Example of a cottage pool design in San Francisco

The proposal analyzes the site as a series of existing flows or “routes” across the landscape. The negotiation of both constructed and natural systems establishes the logic of the site plan and the orientation and organization of the new home. Conceptually, the project becomes a highly choreographed knot at the center of these routes, drawing strands in, engaging them with others, and propelling them back out again. The project’s intent is to capture and harness the physical and ephemeral sense of these latent natural movements as a way to promote in the architecture the wanderlust the surrounding landscape inspires. At heart, the client’s initial family agenda--a home as antidote to the city and basecamp for exploration--establishes the ethos and design objectives of the work. Photography - Bruce Damonte

This backyard paradise began with a muddy site, with all the grading sloping directly to the proposed poolside patio. The design for this outdoor living area would need to incorporate many challenges: * The grading issues would be corrected with retaining walls, which would create a warm yet expansive area and provide additional seating. * The pillars would require careful notching to insert the hardware for the pool gate. * The patio would need to incorporate stormwater storage underneath. * The edge of the poolside patio would require stabilization to prevent future settlement adjacent to the concrete pool deck.

View of kitchen from the dining room. Wall was removed between the two spaces to create better flow. Craftsman style custom cabinetry in both the dining and kitchen areas, including a built-in banquette with storage underneath.

Joe Fletcher Atop a ridge in the Santa Lucia mountains of Carmel, California, an oak tree stands elevated above the fog and wrapped at its base in this ranch retreat. The weekend home’s design grew around the 100-year-old Valley Oak to form a horseshoe-shaped house that gathers ridgeline views of Oak, Madrone, and Redwood groves at its exterior and nestles around the tree at its center. The home’s orientation offers both the shade of the oak canopy in the courtyard and the sun flowing into the great room at the house’s rear façades. This modern take on a traditional ranch home offers contemporary materials and landscaping to a classic typology. From the main entry in the courtyard, one enters the home’s great room and immediately experiences the dramatic westward views across the 70 foot pool at the house’s rear. In this expansive public area, programmatic needs flow and connect - from the kitchen, whose windows face the courtyard, to the dining room, whose doors slide seamlessly into walls to create an outdoor dining pavilion. The primary circulation axes flank the internal courtyard, anchoring the house to its site and heightening the sense of scale by extending views outward at each of the corridor’s ends. Guest suites, complete with private kitchen and living room, and the garage are housed in auxiliary wings connected to the main house by covered walkways. Building materials including pre-weathered corrugated steel cladding, buff limestone walls, and large aluminum apertures, and the interior palette of cedar-clad ceilings, oil-rubbed steel, and exposed concrete floors soften the modern aesthetics into a refined but rugged ranch home.

The proposal analyzes the site as a series of existing flows or “routes” across the landscape. The negotiation of both constructed and natural systems establishes the logic of the site plan and the orientation and organization of the new home. Conceptually, the project becomes a highly choreographed knot at the center of these routes, drawing strands in, engaging them with others, and propelling them back out again. The project’s intent is to capture and harness the physical and ephemeral sense of these latent natural movements as a way to promote in the architecture the wanderlust the surrounding landscape inspires. At heart, the client’s initial family agenda--a home as antidote to the city and basecamp for exploration--establishes the ethos and design objectives of the work. Photography - Bruce Damonte

The proposal analyzes the site as a series of existing flows or “routes” across the landscape. The negotiation of both constructed and natural systems establishes the logic of the site plan and the orientation and organization of the new home. Conceptually, the project becomes a highly choreographed knot at the center of these routes, drawing strands in, engaging them with others, and propelling them back out again. The project’s intent is to capture and harness the physical and ephemeral sense of these latent natural movements as a way to promote in the architecture the wanderlust the surrounding landscape inspires. At heart, the client’s initial family agenda--a home as antidote to the city and basecamp for exploration--establishes the ethos and design objectives of the work. Photography - Bruce Damonte

The La Calandria residence is a custom home situated in the heart of Los Angeles with views spanning all the way to Pasadena. The 2,234 square foot home has modern aesthetics including spanning views of the skyline below and consists of 4 spacious bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms. Our client proposed two adjacent homes on a downslope lot which required various civil and structural engineering services. Our structural design team designed the hillside home on piles which included permanent shoring techniques that saved the client a substantial amount of money by not resorting to temporary shoring which can add time and cost to the project pipeline. The stormwater on the site was managed and directed to Low Impact Development flow-thru planters which are required in the city of Los Angeles whenever you are adding or proposing over 500 sqft of construction. The planters serve as a filter for contaminants in the stormwater and are beneficial for recharging the ground water system. Whether you are entertaining a group of friends on the roof top deck or below in the garden, the La Calandria residence is a perfect fit for those wanting the peace of a hillside home while catching any of the major freeways within minutes.

The La Calandria residence is a custom home situated in the heart of Los Angeles with views spanning all the way to Pasadena. The 2,234 square foot home has modern aesthetics including spanning views of the skyline below and consists of 4 spacious bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms. Our client proposed two adjacent homes on a downslope lot which required various civil and structural engineering services. Our structural design team designed the hillside home on piles which included permanent shoring techniques that saved the client a substantial amount of money by not resorting to temporary shoring which can add time and cost to the project pipeline. The stormwater on the site was managed and directed to Low Impact Development flow-thru planters which are required in the city of Los Angeles whenever you are adding or proposing over 500 sqft of construction. The planters serve as a filter for contaminants in the stormwater and are beneficial for recharging the ground water system. Whether you are entertaining a group of friends on the roof top deck or below in the garden, the La Calandria residence is a perfect fit for those wanting the peace of a hillside home while catching any of the major freeways within minutes.

The La Calandria residence is a custom home situated in the heart of Los Angeles with views spanning all the way to Pasadena. The 2,234 square foot home has modern aesthetics including spanning views of the skyline below and consists of 4 spacious bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms. Our client proposed two adjacent homes on a downslope lot which required various civil and structural engineering services. Our structural design team designed the hillside home on piles which included permanent shoring techniques that saved the client a substantial amount of money by not resorting to temporary shoring which can add time and cost to the project pipeline. The stormwater on the site was managed and directed to Low Impact Development flow-thru planters which are required in the city of Los Angeles whenever you are adding or proposing over 500 sqft of construction. The planters serve as a filter for contaminants in the stormwater and are beneficial for recharging the ground water system. Whether you are entertaining a group of friends on the roof top deck or below in the garden, the La Calandria residence is a perfect fit for those wanting the peace of a hillside home while catching any of the major freeways within minutes.

The La Calandria residence is a custom home situated in the heart of Los Angeles with views spanning all the way to Pasadena. The 2,234 square foot home has modern aesthetics including spanning views of the skyline below and consists of 4 spacious bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms. Our client proposed two adjacent homes on a downslope lot which required various civil and structural engineering services. Our structural design team designed the hillside home on piles which included permanent shoring techniques that saved the client a substantial amount of money by not resorting to temporary shoring which can add time and cost to the project pipeline. The stormwater on the site was managed and directed to Low Impact Development flow-thru planters which are required in the city of Los Angeles whenever you are adding or proposing over 500 sqft of construction. The planters serve as a filter for contaminants in the stormwater and are beneficial for recharging the ground water system. Whether you are entertaining a group of friends on the roof top deck or below in the garden, the La Calandria residence is a perfect fit for those wanting the peace of a hillside home while catching any of the major freeways within minutes.

The proposal analyzes the site as a series of existing flows or “routes” across the landscape. The negotiation of both constructed and natural systems establishes the logic of the site plan and the orientation and organization of the new home. Conceptually, the project becomes a highly choreographed knot at the center of these routes, drawing strands in, engaging them with others, and propelling them back out again. The project’s intent is to capture and harness the physical and ephemeral sense of these latent natural movements as a way to promote in the architecture the wanderlust the surrounding landscape inspires. At heart, the client’s initial family agenda--a home as antidote to the city and basecamp for exploration--establishes the ethos and design objectives of the work. Photography - Bruce Damonte

The proposal analyzes the site as a series of existing flows or “routes” across the landscape. The negotiation of both constructed and natural systems establishes the logic of the site plan and the orientation and organization of the new home. Conceptually, the project becomes a highly choreographed knot at the center of these routes, drawing strands in, engaging them with others, and propelling them back out again. The project’s intent is to capture and harness the physical and ephemeral sense of these latent natural movements as a way to promote in the architecture the wanderlust the surrounding landscape inspires. At heart, the client’s initial family agenda--a home as antidote to the city and basecamp for exploration--establishes the ethos and design objectives of the work. Photography - Bruce Damonte

The proposal analyzes the site as a series of existing flows or “routes” across the landscape. The negotiation of both constructed and natural systems establishes the logic of the site plan and the orientation and organization of the new home. Conceptually, the project becomes a highly choreographed knot at the center of these routes, drawing strands in, engaging them with others, and propelling them back out again. The project’s intent is to capture and harness the physical and ephemeral sense of these latent natural movements as a way to promote in the architecture the wanderlust the surrounding landscape inspires. At heart, the client’s initial family agenda--a home as antidote to the city and basecamp for exploration--establishes the ethos and design objectives of the work. Photography - Bruce Damonte

The proposal analyzes the site as a series of existing flows or “routes” across the landscape. The negotiation of both constructed and natural systems establishes the logic of the site plan and the orientation and organization of the new home. Conceptually, the project becomes a highly choreographed knot at the center of these routes, drawing strands in, engaging them with others, and propelling them back out again. The project’s intent is to capture and harness the physical and ephemeral sense of these latent natural movements as a way to promote in the architecture the wanderlust the surrounding landscape inspires. At heart, the client’s initial family agenda--a home as antidote to the city and basecamp for exploration--establishes the ethos and design objectives of the work. Photography - Bruce Damonte

The proposal analyzes the site as a series of existing flows or “routes” across the landscape. The negotiation of both constructed and natural systems establishes the logic of the site plan and the orientation and organization of the new home. Conceptually, the project becomes a highly choreographed knot at the center of these routes, drawing strands in, engaging them with others, and propelling them back out again. The project’s intent is to capture and harness the physical and ephemeral sense of these latent natural movements as a way to promote in the architecture the wanderlust the surrounding landscape inspires. At heart, the client’s initial family agenda--a home as antidote to the city and basecamp for exploration--establishes the ethos and design objectives of the work. Photography - Bruce Damonte

Marc Frayne
Design ideas for a modern landscaping in Philadelphia.