Page 90 - Designing Ways 238

In order to accommodate an additional regulation requiring a second
exit, based on the home’s total floor space, Heusch made another
innovative architectural tweak. To meet the requirement, he built
a small bridge and staircase exiting the elevated master bedroom,
which leads down from the hillside to a pool area and adjacent Zen-
style garden.

The daily commute
After completing the house in 2006, Heusch spent the next few years
living in Argentina, where he was commissioned to work on a hotel
project. After returning to California in 2010, he found that his heart
lay with the idea of working from the same inspirational environment
that he was living in. It was time to build his new office, with a fresh
underground design that wouldn’t disturb his floating treehouse.

Heusch decided that he would build his office beneath the pad of
the Zen-like garden, a process which began with the excavation of
80 truckloads of dirt in front of the retaining wall. The adjacent pool
area was left completely intact, and he carefully avoided disturbances
to the main support columns of the house. However, in the end, one
of the existing support columns was incorporated. With the help
of a local sub-contractor, Heusch erected the walls of the concrete
structure, welding custom fixtures to the rebar reinforcements before
pouring the cement in order to accommodate electrical and other
wiring needs as he had done for the house. He cut a window out of
the existing retaining wall, as well as an entrance in a new concrete
wall. To descend from the main entrance into the office space,
he built a staircase, with its cantilevered treads also welded to the
rebar. Once the structure was built, Heusch sealed the space with a
concrete ceiling. He then reintroduced the sand and pavers of the
former garden space above and added strategically-placed boulders
extracted from the dig, as well as two panels of new glass flooring.

90 Issue 238 • dw