With its redwood cladding and contrasting gull-wing roofline, the Ridgeline residence perches high above Pasadena, with breathtaking views of the city below and the Rose Bowl. Constructed in 1967 by Mortimer J. Matthews, the original home’s post and beam construction allowed for floor-to-ceiling glass windows and doors, providing flexibility and visual connection to the surrounding landscape.

The principal interest while renovating the residence was to preserve the original glass and redwood materiality while taking advantage of the structural logic to improve spatial organization, enhance natural light, and increase the dialogue between building and landscape. Removal of interior partitions united dark, disengaged spaces into open rooms where floor-to-ceiling window walls and sliding glass doors disappear into the restored redwood siding, blurring the distinction between landscape and room and tying the old and new together.