Based in California, Ogawa Fisher Architects designed two family homes, both featuring lamps by long-time LZF collaborator Ray Power. With a focus on warm, light-filled, and timeless spaces, the studio’s Engawa House includes Power’s Escape pendant, while its Waverley Street project includes the Irish designer’s Link pendant.
LZF’s Escape pendant hangs above a midcentury-style dining table in Engawa House.
Engawa House
Ogawa Fisher Architects remodelled a 1950s ranch house in Los Altos, California, to create a warm and welcoming family home. Purchased by a couple who saw the house as a ‘diamond in the rough’, it was the remnants of a Japanese garden that helped to fuel their imagination. When planning the dwelling’s layout, Ogawa Fisher Architects imagined the newly revitalised Japanese garden as the home’s central organising element. A wonderfully zen-like courtyard, the garden’s wide, ‘low-slung’ decks were inspired by Japanese ‘engawa’—a traditional elevated walkway, or edging strip, made using wood.
The Japanese garden with wide, ‘low-slung’ decks inspired by Japanese ‘engawa’.
In this sunny Californian home, the wide walkway helps to blur the boundaries between its inside and outside spaces. The home’s bright, contemporary interior carefully balances practical living elements with fresh, decorative design and original features (such as the brick fireplace). LZF’s winning Escape pendant hangs above a midcentury-style dining table.
Escape designed by Ray Power in Engawa House.
The interior of Engawa House with the Escape pendant in the dining space.
Waverley Street
For its Waverley Street project, Ogawa Fisher Architects worked with two existing homes on one plot of land, conceiving a family residence that would house several generations with varied tastes. The architects remodelled a larger property, located at the rear of the plot, adding new volumes to extend the living space and create a connection with the outdoors. Contemporary furnishings and expansive windows ensure the spacious interior is a modern, bright, and airy sanctuary. LZF’s billowy Link pendant hangs in the dining space.
LZF’s Link pendant hangs in the dining space of Waverley Street’s larger residence.
The smaller street-facing property has a formal ‘all-American’ facade in keeping with the neighbourhood’s character. Its light-filled open-plan interior features a mix of heirloom furniture pieces and built-in furniture. A lush courtyard connects both homes, inviting family and friends to gather.
Link in Waverley Street’s remodelled larger property.
Link by Ray Power.
Photo credits
Engawa House (Escape): Mikiko Kikuyama.
Waverley Street (Link): Cesar Rubio.
