I was just introduced to a development firm based in Los Angeles called SuperLA. They are focused on sustainably built infill apartments and last year they completed what is the first ever mass-timber multifamily housing project in Southern California. Located at 3520 Marathon Street in Silver Lake and called the "Bungalows on Marathon", the project is 3-storeys (with parking underneath that takes advantage of the slope of the site) and has 9 homes.

Six of the homes are one-bedroom (~660 sf of interior space) and three of the homes are two-bedroom (~1,320 sf of interior space). It's a beautiful project. And because it's LA, all of the building's circulation is outside and tucked toward the back of the site. It's also not a huge site -- my rough Google Map take-offs have it at approximately 12m x 40m. So let's call it the equivalent of two Toronto single-family lots.

Based on suite count, this is similar to the kind of density that you could get in single-family neighborhoods throughout Toronto. However, the built form here on Marathon is decidedly more urban. Despite its horizontality, LA is not as low-density as many might think. For more on SuperLA, here's their website. They've also done a great job with their brand and identity.

Photos via SuperLA

I came across the above photo this morning. If you can't see it, click here. It's a photo of the Koblick House in Los Angeles designed by Richard Neutra and Gregory Ain for art professor Harry Koblick. Built into the hills of Silver Lake in 1937, the house is a three-storey duplex with about 1,620 square feet according to some sources. (I couldn't find any plans or drawings, but I'd really like to see the section.) The upper unit has 2 bedrooms and 1 bath. And the lower unit has 1 bedroom and 1 bath.

Richard Neutra was a prolific modernist and designed numerous "international style" buildings, like the Koblick House. His work was included in the seminal 1932 MoMA (New York) exhibition on modern architecture, which was an important moment for modernism in the United States. It helped to import the international style from Europe at a time when exhibitions did things like that. It is perhaps easy to forget that ideas didn't spread as quickly around the world back then.

I love the simplicity of this house. The double car garage that services the two units. The side stair that leads to the front door. And the two large terraces that probably look out over some kind of landscape. Over 80 years later and it still feels contemporary. Perhaps some of you will be equally inspired by this archive photo.