Placed in a serene landscape in the Santa Ynez Valley of California, TERREMOTO restores this barren landscape with a native environment.
Before TERREMOTO visited the site, the terrain was in disrepair and the land was bare; a result from the activity of heavy construction and its former role as a grazing area for livestock.
The main idea behind the landscape design was to seamlessly integrate these sprawling acres with its natural surroundings, yet, also forge connections between key focus points on the site with a comforting sense of belonging for its future inhabitants.
Nestled halfway up the hill from the barn which houses animals on the ranch, stands a modern and striking prefabricated home with a bold, rectangular shape and dark hues in sharp contrast to the lush, green surroundings.
With organic shaped gardens exhibiting a mix of textures and colors, a meandering gravel pathway leads residents and guests through the garden, suggesting an invitation to explore or enter the property.
Constructed from the ground, the modern architecture with large windows, provides views beyond landscape to the hills in the background with depth and a sense of serene expansiveness.
Adjoining the distinct contemporary building within the native landscape, includes an open patio lifted above the landscape.
With a swimming pool part of the outdoor patio, the connection between interior and exterior spaces are seamless.
Designed by Modpools, the swimming pool embedded in the patio repurposes an old shipping container into a basin for water.
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Comprised of two buildings (main living and guesthouse) consciously placed on the site, the pre-built homes designed by Hygge Supply evokes the essence of a lifestyle deeply rooted in the principles of mindfulness and minimalism.
With the house sitting atop a gently sloping hill, the pastoral land overlooks rustic grazing grounds with Scottish Highland Cows and other livestock.
TERREMOTOs approach to landscape design is site-specific and reflects the client’s needs.
Through the firm’s core values, the practice aims to challenge historical and contemporary landscape construction methods, materials and conventions, embracing a self-critical and ideas-based process of gardenmaking.
With each project, incorporating native plants where possible and responding to local climate conditions with the use of low-impact design techniques is essential to landscape design.
The firm, which was founded in 2013 by David Godshall and Alain Peauroi, operates out of Los Angeles and San Francisco on residential and commercial projects.
Landscape Architecture by: TERREMOTO Landscape
House & Architecture by: Hygge Supply
Shipping Container Pool by: Modpools
Landscape Construction by: M&M Landscape
Interior Design by: Brass Tack
Photography by: Caitlin Atkinson
