Locust House is the first project built by Nicholas Design Collaborative.  Built in 1990, Locust House was inspired by the work of Irving Gill, a turn of the century architect who was a pioneer of modernism at the time.  As in many of Gill's projects, the Locust House has clean and spare details, but projects the solidity of the Spanish style homes found in the area.  Built as a speculative venture, the site for the home was a canyon with a tennis court for a neighboring home.  The scale of the front of the house presents two stories to the street which matching the neighboring homes, but the home drops down into the canyon and the house has a taller scale and character, surrounded by canyon walls.  Located in the flight path near San Diego International Airport, soundproofing strategies were employed throughout and perform effectively to make plane noise a non-factor.

Residential Architecture

Locust House

Type 
Single Family Residence

Status
Built in 1990

Location
San Diego, California

Project Team
Peter Nicholas

General Contractor
Westway Construction