The three-story house is located on a hilltop with an infinity pool overlooking views of the canyon. A contemporary modernist garden, inspired by Italian landscapes and Roman streets, creates a relaxed yet refined outdoor living room that borrows the surrounding expansive views. Unique landscape features include an infinity pool, fire pit, citrus orchard and a palm grove that was inspired by the Vatican gardens.

 

Situated atop an escarpment, the sloping topography posed challenges to circulation and programmatic siting. Retaining walls to enable parking and a smooth entry sequence into the house, enabled a deep planter at the front of the property in which to site medium and large canopy trees, with an understory of shrubs and perennials. The formal entrance was accented by flanking planters and pots with shade plants inside the covered entrance. 

 

The rear of the property was screened on both sides by Italian cypresses, which also accented the manicured square lawns to either side of the central pathway leading to the infinity pool. A built in seating space, and firepit set into the deck surface were also offered privacy through hedges on either side, creating secondary and lower deep screening. Below the pool, the steeper slope was planted with a wildflower mix leading up to a faux orchard of organized malus oriented to follow the shallow contours at the top of the slope.