Moving or building, from the owner’s side of the table: why we chose to add a second story to our Hollywood Hills house instead of buying, and the Mulholland Scenic Parkway, Baseline Hillside Ordinance, and 50% replacement value thresholds that decide what we can actually build.

What you can build on a Los Angeles lot is decided before anyone draws a line: the base zone, overlays like Hillside and the Mulholland Scenic Parkway, Residential Floor Area limits, and the site itself. Here is how we run a feasibility study, and what to assemble before design begins.

Why the Palisades is rebuilding Spanish Revival — and why the window package is one of the most important decisions you make.

On a hillside lot, RFA tells you how much house the code permits — grading tells you how much the site can actually deliver. A working guide to navigating LA’s Baseline Hillside Ordinance, from the architects of Mount Holyoke.

It All Begins Here

An architect's perspective on what it takes to rebuild in the Palisades & Altadena.