This massive new home is slated for construction in the hills of Bel Air, California. Clocking in at 26,800 sq ft we’d be inclined to call it a McMansion, but the home will in fact be built underground, rendering it virtually invisible. Chris Painter, a technology entrepreneur, had been on the lookout for a perfect spot for his new home and found it on a bluff atop Moraga Canyon in Los Angeles. As part of the deal he has placed 500 acres into a conservation easement and will blend his home into the terraced landscape with views down over the hills and onto the water. The home, designed by Culver City, CA-based Shubin + Donaldson Architects, is certainly huge, but since we are pretty big fans of underground homes, we’ll cut it some slack.
The earth-sheltered mansion will have four bedrooms organized around a sunken living room space and will also include an office/entertainment room, exercise room, formal dining room, breakfast room, lower exterior courtyard, two swimming pools, and outdoor dining area enveloped by lush vineyards. The home’s entrance is accessed from the top and is marked by a nondescript wall and descending staircase into the home. Floor-to-ceiling windows open up to an infinity pool which spills off into the landscape and affords views of the canyon below.
Seen from the home, the surrounding hillsides will perfectly frame the Getty Center below, as a way of combining contemporary architecture and landscaping. The boundary of the architecture and the landscape are blurred making the home seem like an extension of the terraced vineyard. Except for a few distinct lines, the concrete structure covered with planted roofs will be near imperceptible.
Via ArchDaily
