Ha-Ha Hills

During excavation for this new modern home, large granite boulders rose to the surface from the primordial hillside. Instead of displacing these monoliths from the site from which they were created, they were arranged to define space. A circle of boulders stand guard around a custom built fire pit, providing protection from the wind while offering a place to climb or sit. The extended landscape view from the lawn is kept intact by the introduction of a ha-ha, a traditional landscape feature, that hides the productive garden and keeps it from breaking the view. Native and drought tolerant plantings hug the outer edges of the property for minimal use of irrigation and to visually blend into the surrounding hillside. This project also features a custom ipe bench with integrated lighting, waterjet address numbers with night lighting, and hardscape that complements the form and materiality of the architecture to create a harmonious transition into the horizontal plane. Photography: Louie Jeon Photography