Stroke of Genius: A Modern Live-Work Space in Pacific Palisades

By Claudine Zap

When architects create a home for themselves, it’s fair to wager it will be a jaw-dropping domicile.

That’s certainly the case with architects Mark Cigolle and Kim Coleman’s live-work space on the market in Pacific Palisades, CA.

“The result is a lot more adventurous, and therefore more cutting-edge,” listing agent Mike Deasy says.

The husband-and-wife team built the home for their family and their architecture practice. In addition to a work studio, the home features sleek and modern living quarters with four bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms.

And what better calling card for their business than their own custom-designed home? In fact, the building is featured in the 2010 book “California Cool,” by Russell Abraham, who dubs the project a “stroke of genius.”

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The glass-and-steel structures on an up-sloping lot caught the attention of the American Institute of Architects Summer Home Tour of Pacific Palisades in 2007, which featured the home just after the owners had moved in.

“What we enjoy every day is the connection with the outside,” Coleman says. “It’s very bucolic, serene here. You feel like you’re out in the middle of nowhere, and yet you’re very conveniently located.” In fact, the locale is close to the beach, town, and wilderness.

Coleman and Cigolle are moving on, with another project in mind. “We’re architects, and we are our very favorite clients,” she says. “Every few years we buy and build ourselves a new house.”

With grown children, the two plan to build a smaller place in Venice, CA, leaving behind this modern gem for the taking.

The main floor of the three-story residence was designed with the surroundings in mind. “The main level is transparent to the outside,” the agent says, describing it as a “glass cube that’s one large space.”

The reason: “The house is set on a slightly descending meadow,” he says. So while in one direction your view is the ocean, in the other direction, “You’re sitting in a meadow, essentially,” among wild grasses and a natural landscape. The open space indoors includes a “floating kitchen” and living and dining areas.

The upper level, with bedrooms, is more private. The lower level includes a guest suite and media room, with a green roof that doubles as a lawn.

Between the main house and the work studio above the garage, a sparkling lap pool and spa feature views of the Santa Monica Bay.

The glass-and-steel studio, with bathroom and kitchenette, could also work as a guesthouse. While the property’s price tag is a hefty $15.5 million, Deasy notes that “it’s a little bit high—but it’s also very unique.”

The only downside: You’ll have to be in a very good place financially to buy it.

It’s worth it, says Coleman: “We will never live in a house as nice as this house. It’s a very special environment.”