A futuristic Venice Beach villa lists for $5.8m

Photography: Eric Staudenmaier (c) Engel Völkers

This house in Venice Beach by Austrian practice Coop Himmelb(l)au has an avant-garde structure that echoes the lifeguard towers that pepper the nearby beach.

Tectonic House was built by the Viennese studio in 2001 with a design celebrating the location’s vibrancy and diversity. It consists of two steel-framed glass towers linked by an upper bridge designed to draw the air upwards through roof openings for natural ventilation.

Inside, angular walls of concrete and glass enclose airy, minimalist spaces. The main tower has a voluminous vertical volume anchored by a central steel staircase. Wrapped around is an organic plywood shelving installation by Shawna Poliquin. Other highlights include an impeccably neat Bulthaup kitchen, wooden ceilings and a private roof deck.

The LA home was revamped by its owners, Simpsons scriptwriter J Stewart Burns and his producer-screenwriter wife, Lillian Yu. Burns bought it as a family home in 2014 and watched as architecture fans regularly gathered outside to study it. He told the Wall Street Journal that owning it ‘is a bit like being a celebrity in very weird, eclectic circles’.

The couple has listed the home for $5.8m with Engel & Völkers. It’s currently being used as an arts space.