Completed Residence · Hillside · Hollywood Hills

8693 Franklin

A narrow residence constructed vertically within a steep rear hillside lot, transforming severe access and structural constraints into terraces, double-height space and panoramic views across Los Angeles.

Design evolution

Original intent · built result

The original design proposed a more sculptural concrete composition beneath a single rising roof plane. During construction, the exterior evolved while preserving the essential response to the site: a narrow vertical house organized through terraces, light and movement.

Presented together, the concept and completed residence reveal architecture as both a clear intention and an adaptive process shaped by construction.

Photorealistic visualization of the original proposed design for 8693 Franklin

Original design

Concept

Completed 8693 Franklin residence after changes made during construction

Completed residence

Built

A vertical hillside house

Built within the cut

The limited frontage and abrupt slope required the residence to rise as a sequence of compact occupied levels. Concrete walls stabilize the site while large openings, glass guards and outdoor terraces keep the interior connected to light and the distant horizon.

The completed house demonstrates how a difficult rear lot can become an architectural advantage: circulation becomes spatial experience, the roof becomes an outdoor room, and each level gains an individual relationship to the city.

8693 Franklin illuminated at night, revealing its stacked interior levels

Double-height interior with suspended lights, glass bridge and wood stair at 8693 Franklin

Interior · exterior continuity

Living room opening through full-height glass toward the Los Angeles night view

Pool terrace and panoramic daytime view from 8693 Franklin

Illuminated pool terrace overlooking Los Angeles at twilight

Aerial view of the roof terraces, glass guards, stair and pool

Aerial context showing the completed 8693 Franklin terraces embedded in the hillside

Construction process

Making the hillside buildable

Construction required deep excavation, staged shoring and dense reinforced-concrete work within extremely limited access. These images reveal the engineering and field coordination behind the finished simplicity.

The sequence is retained as part of the project story—and as a record for future presentations on the challenges of hillside design and construction.

Deep excavation and restricted construction access at 8693 Franklin

Reinforced-concrete structure rising between the excavated hillside walls

Dense vertical reinforcing steel during hillside construction

Constraint

A narrow rear parcel and extreme slope established the project’s vertical organization.

Structure

Shoring, excavation and reinforced concrete made occupation of the hillside possible.

View

Terraces, glass walls and the roof-level pool extend daily life toward the Los Angeles horizon.

8693 Franklin · Hollywood Hills

The challenge of the hillside becomes the architecture of movement, light and view.