ABOUT ︎


T A L L E R (tah-yehr)—
An LA-based architecture studio working at all scales. We believe in a deliberate architecture. We do not follow trends, nor do we aim to create them. We work toward thoughtful design for the betterment of our built environment.


NEWS + INSIGHTS ︎



SELECT WORK ︎


A New LA Modern
BCCS
Beverly Oracle
Brannick
Central 102nd
Coronado Apartments
Fallbrook Barn
Finley
Franklin
HS01
Jorejick Home
LADU 1
LB Home
Nelson Homes
Ninth on Averill
NOB
Quartz Hill
Quinta House
Reflect
Tiny Home Village
Uproar
Van Ness Apartments
Van Ness Homes
Walnut

CONTACT ︎


hello@taller.la
t. +1 310 955 1331
7610 Beverly Blvd. #48144
Los Angeles, CA 90048
Mark


A New LA Modern

Los Angeles


Program Residential community with restaurant space
Client LRLA
Type Rental housing
Status Competition proposal
Collaborators: Evan Farley, Cass Nakashima


Our goal with this proposal is to provide a roadmap to building beautiful inclusive housing communities that are firmly rooted in their distinct neighborhoods and bask unapologetically in the beauty of the LA outdoors. We take inspiration from the aspirations of the Case Study program, but look to modernize to LA’s current needs. We aim for a new LA Modern.

First, we address cost. Cost is, after all, a major concern to just about any Angelino. We approach this issue in a couple of ways: size and construction method.

Instead of appointing space by accepted formulae, we carefully considered how much area each unit actually needs. To defer to a trope, it is the quality, not the quantity of the space we choose to focus on. We do this to give each unit more “breathing” room which allows us to create a connection to the outdoors in every room of the project: all rooms can be easily passively ventilated and lit because all rooms have light on all four sides. The added benefit, of course, is that a smaller space costs less to build than a larger ones.

We also propose to build with Cross Laminated Timber (CLT). By centering the construction of our scheme around CLT panels—a renewable resource with low embodied carbon footprint—we look to minimize construction time and reduce construction waste. The panels are precisely cut in a controlled environment and assembled on site in a manner of days. This is weeks faster than traditional stick-framed building and translates to significant cost savings in labor and financing carrying costs. Expressing this construction within each unit, further lowers finishing costs and provides a healthier interior environment with the exposed wood.

Our approach is simple: we break down the dwelling unit into component living modules of a fixed size. These individual element modules (bedrooms, living rooms, kitchens, etc.) are interchangeably connectable at their corners, allowing for myriad configurations that can adapt to specific program needs. Propagating this unit approach across the site creates a collection of intimate, shared outdoor spaces. The result is that each unit block has direct access to a variety of outdoor spaces: private roof decks, semi-private courtyards and collective outdoor areas, which can be programmed according to the needs of each specific community. These spaces are shaded by thoughtful landscaping and the building blocks themselves, which are near each other to benefit from self-shading and help keep outdoor spaces cool and usable, another concern brought up in the CLS videos. It is a spatial structure where the dwellings are related and courtyards and interior gardens blur the boundaries between individual apartments. The control of scale of the volumes and of the intermediate spaces between them creates a sense of both privacy and belonging.

Our scheme is adaptable to any number of LA communities. We believe the approach provides a roadmap for a new type of affordable housing in LA. By promoting a sense of community deeply rooted in local context and effortlessly connecting to comfortable outdoor living the design leads to a new manner in which to consider LA living; we build a new LA modern.



Blue Clay Country Spa

Latvia


Program Spa, guest house, service house
Client SRED Global
Type Hospitality
Budget Confidential
Size 720 m2
Status Competition
Collaborators: Cass Nakashima


The Blue Clay Country Spa (BCCS) competition brief imagines a seamless relationship between the private experience of retreat and the shared experience of a spa. Our proposal weaves this interconnected program through the site, engaging its most prominent features: the oak trees and lake. The  result of this makes for a curated architectural narrative as the visitor makes their way through the site, a narrative which is both prescribed and open ended. The undulations of the building's form creates an interplay between intimate moments that embrace the trunks of the oak trees and more expansive panoramic vistas that open out to the landscape. Almost hidden from view and never experienced as singular object, the building is not an imposition on its context but a platform from which to appreciate it.


Diagrams





Beverly Oracle

Beverly, Massachussetts



Program A space for contemplation
Client Confidential
Type Art installation
Budget $250,000
Size 50 sf
Status -

Commissioned by a MacArthur Grant-winning artist to design a structure to house a public art installation in the town of Beverly, MA. Minimal in program, the structure was intended to reinforce the ethereal and contemplative nature of the art project, which was largely audio in nature.


BRANNICK 

East Los Angeles, CA


Program: 4 Single family homes
Client: TALLER
Type: SFR on Compact Lots
Budget: Confidential
Size: 6,000 sf
Status: Final Permitting


Our proposal is a novel approach in Los Angeles. We are taking an existing single-family lot in East LA and redeveloping it into four individual residential lots, each with a structurally independent, fee-simple single family home. A new zoning ordinance at the County level allows us to do this. Our project is, in fact, the first project in all of LA County to be approved under this new Compact Lot Ordinance.

We believe in the power of good design and don’t think that it should be reserved only for those with means or developed only in high-priced zip codes. To that end, the Brannick Homes are a deliberate investment into a working class neighborhood with deep roots in Los Angeles. The homes are state-of-the-art projects that prioritize contextual aesthetics, sustainability, great design, and—of course—attainability. They have been thoughtfully wrought to maximize efficiency to keep building costs low, allowing for the new homes to enter the market at below-median prices and still remain profitable to investors. In effect, the project aims to address the “missing middle” in the LA housing market and provide quality home ownership opportunities to a broader swath of households.

The design is at once contextual and contemporary. We use neighborhood cues to shape the project profile and scale to ensure that the homes fit beautifully into the surrounding urban fabric of the neighborhood. Using the gable roof as a starting point, we trim the excess to allow for a sleek timeless profile that will revitalize the streetscape. From exterior to interior, clean lines and modern materials elevate the character of this East LA neighborhood.

The design is also efficient and sustainable. We work around standard material dimensions to reduce waste and labor, and the use SIPs instead of traditional framing makes for a greener home that saves on construction costs, reduces waste, achieves overall quicker assembly, and maintain a tighter building envelope, which reduces the carbon footprint of each unit. The design also captures rainwater and employs solar panels to further minimize the homes' carbon footprint.

Keeping production costs low allows units to be sold at a reasonable price that competes with existing home prices in the area and makes them profitable under the median home price for the County, something all but unheard of for new construction in the area. This is the single-family home rethought; it is a new form of attainable home ownership in Los Angeles.

If your are interested in the project and would like learn more about investment opportunities, reach out to us to join our interest list at invest@taller.la.


Coronado Apartments

Los Angeles, CA

Program 12 micro-units in four blocks of three.
Client Everelle Building Corp.
Type Multi-family
Budget Confidential
Size 11,600 sf
Status Construction Documents - Permitting

A study in maximizing envelope efficiency, the Coronado Apartments redefine urban living by creating four shared communities under one roof. Instead of treating each unit as the individual module, every dwelling is further discretized into a micro community of three living studios with shared living and kitchen space. By treating each "bedroom" as a quasi-standalone efficiency unit we can introduce a flexibility in the leasing model that provides more--and more affordable--options to tenants.

In effect, this approach allows us to create 12 homes that act as a community, instead of the would-be four standard apartments prescribed by Los Angeles' dated zoning code. Creative approaches such as these are needed to address the housing crisis in the City while conforming to an aging zoning code.