Project Type : Residential Location : Venice, CA Building size : 3,700 SF Completed : 2019 Photographer : Edmund Sumner Two homes on a single lot, this unique duplex creates a shared indoor/outdoor garden experience for neighbors to live in a communal space. Veiled by dense landscape, solid/void planted walls and a mesh screen, the entry is a study in how to transition from an urban public street to a calm private refuge. Sustainable features include solar panels, and drought tolerant landscaping. This veiled house eschews the proliferation of massive single family boxes with a small multifamily program providing space for two families, generations, friends, or neighbors across a courtyard. A series of layered, veiled thresholds and experiences within a dense landscape surrounds and protects the inner life of the two homes. Perforated block walls, aloe trees, lush groundcover and metallic screens all create a journey from the gritty streets of Venice to a soothing private garden sanctuary, transporting you to a different world. In an era of extreme drought, the landscaping was carefully planned within a framework of low water usage.