Street smart

Laid out like a village, a Brentwood bolthole, by Masastudio and Kelly Wearstler, is a carefully-considered gem

- PEI-RU KEH

As far as creative dream teams go, it rarely gets better than pairing the sculptural stoicism of architecture firm Masastudio with the decadent sensuality of Kelly Wearstler. The two LA-based studios are the forces behind a stunning home located on two acres of land in Brentwood, on the west side of the city. Made up by combining three adjacent properties to form a sprawling site, the home was built from the ground up over a period of three years, and boasts a pool pavilion, guest house and garden, in addition to the main house.

‘The clients had never done a new construction before,’ says Wearstler. ‘They’re art collectors with a passion for design, and they wanted to assemble a diverse team to set out a great project. They had visited the Amangiri resort in Utah, so they brought on Marwan [Al Sayed, of Masastudio], and reached out to me because they wanted something modern but also warm with a soulful materiality. So we both worked very closely with the client from the beginning. The entire project took about five years.’

Together with Andrea Cochran, who oversaw the landscape design, Al Sayed and Wearstler worked in tandem to create a unified approach that is palpable from the clarity in which the architecture, interiors and landscape dialogue with each other. From orienting the house around a series of majestic Chinese elm trees already on site to creating large, expansive windows that frame views of the landscape or equally stunning pool house, all aspects of the house’s design have been well considered.