Heyday Partnership’s Lincoln Heights house: the cheapest lot in L.A.
Lincoln Heights dates to the 1880s and is one of Los Angeles’ first neighborhoods outside downtown. But here, carved into a bluff, sit twin houses that look like 21st century refugees from a modern architecture magazine. Sleek and boxy, with the top floor sheathed in unpainted cedar siding, the contemporary designs were built by Hardy and Kevin Wronske of the Los Angeles-based Heyday Partnership. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)
Anthony Plamondon, part-time DJ and full-time director of membership at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, owns one of the houses. I love it. Its totally modern, says Plamondon, shown here in one of his three bedrooms, converted into storage for his vinyl collection. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)
Although the three-bedroom, two-bath house is less than 1,700 square feet, it feels larger. The open floor plan on the top floor is bound by a long wall of glass at the front of the house. A large, X-shaped steel sheer panel stands rooted in the center of one window. A high-end architect would have just built a steel frame for the houses that would have cost 40 or 50 grand, Hardy Wronske says. “We needed lateral support, so we had our engineer design the sheer panels that cost 800 bucks. Construction costs ran about $165 a square foot. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)
Anthony Plamondon first saw his future home in photos: “I said to my Realtor, I want to see this place tonight. I put a bid in on it the next day.” (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)
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The kitchen, dining area and living room all flow freely, graced with natural light streaming in from the front of the house. Theres a lot of people who obviously have an eye and taste for good design but not the income to buy a custom home on the Westside, says Kevin Wronske, 32. We wanted to create good design and give it to people our age in our price range. We had a lot of friends saying that they wanted a good, affordable, modern home. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)
Outside Plamondon’s bedroom, a vertical book shelf. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)
Plamondon and friend Mandy Fujimoto Atkins jam on the top floor of his house. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)
The balcony view. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)
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Plamondon and Fujimoto Atkins relax on the deck, which is at the back of the house and accessible from the living room as well as the master bedroom. Theres a real niche for building something thats nice but not super, über nice, Hardy Wronske says. Just something respectful in a contemporary style.
For a peek inside more Southern California houses, condos and apartments, check out our Homes of The Times archive. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)
