Project Data: 

Completion Date:     1/13/2026 

Square Footage:      4750 

Building Use:           Single Family Residence 

Project Description: 

The hillside does not bargain. It is a mass of terraced contours, dry sage, and ancient Breccia rising steeply above the asphalt below. There’s a reason this site is empty. To build here is to negotiate with gravity; to live here is to undertake a pilgrimage.

Ascent
The journey begins at the curb, at elevation seventy-four. The road is left behind as you enter the driveway, a steep, twisting climb that forces a slow, deliberate pace. Floating stairs step upward against the slope. Each riser is a physical step away from the noise of the street below, a rhythmic climb where the salt air grows cooler and the dust settles behind you. You are climbing the mountain, but you have not yet seen the sea.

Portal
At the mid-level landing, the earth gives way to architecture. You step under a cedar ceiling that casts a deep, cool shadow. This is the portal. A precisely framed threshold that separates the exterior terrain from the interior sanctuary. To pass through this gate is to leave the street behind and enter a world of quiet order, where the immediate view is withheld, sharpening your anticipation for what lies above.

Spine of Light
Inside, the pilgrimage turns vertical. You do not simply walk through this house; you rise through it. The circulation is a vertical spine of wood, steel, and stone. As you ascend the stairs, daylight cuts down from skylights above, slicing through the vertical shaft like a blade of white coastal light. With every step upward, the light shifts, mirroring the rhythm of the day and drawing you toward the summit.

Revelation
You emerge at elevation one-hundred-eight. The house opens up completely, transforming from a defensive hillside shelter into a light-filled pavilion. Living, dining, and kitchen zones are unified under a continuous, wood-slatted ceiling that seems to levitate on a ribbon of glass. Massive pocketing glass doors disappear into the walls, erasing the boundary between the interior travertine and the vast Pacific horizon. The ocean is no longer a view framed through a window; it is a physical presence filling the room.

Return
From the open living pavilion, you step out onto the stone deck. Here, the earthy scent of native plants fills the air from the green roof above you, while at your feet, suspended in the air, sits the pool, cantilevered dramatically over the hillside. As you stand at the water's edge, you look straight down. Directly beneath you, thirty-five feet down, is the driveway entry where your journey began. You are surrounded now by the living soil of the green roof on one side and the vast expanse of the Pacific on the other. You are suspended between earth and sky, looking through the circular void of the Sun Oculus carved into the canopy above. The oculus tethers you to the sky, casting a perfect, moving circle of sun on the water. You have stepped on up, arriving back where you started, but now elevated, both physically and spiritually. 

Design for Integration, Design for Ecosystems, Design for Water , Design for Economy, Design for Energy, Design for Well-being, Design for Change 

Design for Integration
Good design elevates any project with a thoughtful process that delivers beauty and function.

•The Spatial Narrative: At its core, "Step On Up" is an exercise in integrating architecture with topography. The home does not fight the 11,318-square-foot hillside site; it choreographs a vertical "pilgrimage" that steps up from the street curb (elevation 74') to the panoramic roof terrace (elevation 125').
•Unified Form & Flow: Beauty and utility are fully integrated as the circulation serves as both the home's structural spine and its primary experiential journey. The vertical climb transitions from a physical workout on the floating concrete stairs into a serene arrival in the light-filled, open pavilion above
•The Living Horizon: The green roof integrates the building's physical mass with the topography of Lookout Drive. Visually, the structure recedes into the hillside when viewed from the ridgelines above, replacing hard, reflective surfaces with a soft, natural texture that respects the coastal community context.

Design for Ecosystems
Good design mutually benefits human and nonhuman inhabitants, creating habitat harmony.

•Restoring the Hillside Footprint: Hillside construction naturally displaces local flora. By utilizing the two main upper roof planes as living green roofs, the project actively reclaims this footprint.
•Pollinator Havens: Planted with drought-tolerant, non-invasive succulents and native California coastal wildflowers, the roofs restore micro-habitats for local coastal birds, bees, and beneficial insects. This creates a high-altitude ecological stepping-stone that ties the building back to the natural wildlands of Laguna Beach.

Design for Water
Good design conserves, filters, and manages water as a precious resource.

•On-Site Stormwater Sponge: In a steep hillside zone where civil engineering, grading, and drainage compliance are strictly regulated, managing runoff is critical. The upper green roofs act as a natural sponge, absorbing rainwater, filtering out pollutants, and slowing storm runoff before it ever reaches the city's street gutters or storm drains below.

Design for Economy
Good design adds value for owners, occupants, and the planet, regardless of budget.

•Compact Footprint Efficiency: Building on a steep slope is structurally demanding. Rather than utilizing a sprawling layout that would require massive, cost-prohibitive excavation, the home utilizes a highly efficient stacked vertical program. Stacking the garage and entry on the first floor, bedrooms on the second, and primary living zones on the third minimizes earthwork and reduces the footprint of the concrete retaining walls.
•Material Durability: By choosing long-lasting, low-maintenance materials like cast-in-place concrete, tempered glass, and steel, the design reduces long-term maintenance and replacement costs, maximizing the project’s financial and environmental value over its lifespan.

Design for Energy
Good design reduces energy use and eliminates dependence on fossil fuels while improving performance and comfort.

•High-Performance Envelope: The home utilizes a high-performance envelope. It features spray foam insulation at all roof assemblies, slab edge insulation in conditioned spaces, and batts insulation at concrete furred walls to minimize thermal bridging.
•Active & Passive Solar Strategies: The home relies on photovoltaic solar panels (integrated into the flat roof planes) to offset electrical loads. Deep overhang canopies, high-performance glazing, and automated skylight shading regulate passive heat gain on the west-facing facade, ensuring thermal comfort is managed with minimal mechanical reliance.

Design for Well-being
Good design supports health and well-being, considering physical, mental, and emotional effects on occupants.

•A Spine of Daylight: To prevent a multi-story hillside home from feeling dark or buried at its core, the house features a central circulation axis punctuated by modular Velux skylights equipped with automatic night shades. These skylights pull natural daylighting deep into the stairwell, creating a moving column of sunlight that connects occupants to the natural rhythm of the day.
•Biophilic Connection: The living and dining spaces open completely to the ocean through expansive pocketing glass doors. This fluid indoor-outdoor connection—culminating in the dramatic cantilevered pool deck and circular sun oculus—fosters an atmospheric oasis designed for profound stillness and mental restoration.

Design for Change (Resilience & Adaptability)
Good design is resilient and adaptable, seeking to enhance usability and value over time.

•Wildfire Resilience: Situated in Laguna Beach's high hazard zone, the home prioritizes life safety and resilience. The building features V-B fire-resistant construction, an automatic interior fire sprinkler system with a dedicated Fire Department Connection (FDC), and custom heat-deflecting walls along both side property lines and the rear yard.
•Universal Lifetime Usability: Recognizing that a vertical pilgrimage can present accessibility challenges as owners age, the home features an elevator that seamlessly accesses all three levels from both inside and outside. This design choice ensures the home is adaptable for multi-generational living and allows the owners to age-in-place safely. 

Completion Date:     1/13/2026 

Square Footage:      4750 

Building Use:           Single Family Residence 

Location:                 Laguna Beach, CA 

Design Architect:

Anders Lasater

Associate Architect or Firm:

Landscape Architect:

Micheal Wilkes

Owner / Developer:

Joe Kramer, JKramer Corp.

Engineer:

Toal Engineering

General Contractor:

Joe Kramer, JKramer Corp.

Consultant:

Photographer:

Anders Lasater Architects