“Variety Is The Spice of Houses”
Wherever owners of multi-million houses put great effort into building grand yet conventional abodes, a standing odd-one-out may be an unwelcome sight.
But then there’s Nader Ghassemlou. He merely wanted to build his dream house, which he designed himself, regardless of whether or not his neighbors considered his concept to be radical. His home’s style, he added, is aptly called industrial contemporary.
Ghassemlou, his wife and his daughter live in a house made of corrugated metal and interspersed with large window panels that occupy nearly 3,000 square meters of his 7,800-foot lot. The house has four bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. "We wanted the feeling of a box floating on glass," said Ghassemlou, adding that his "clean and functional" house on 2299 Molino Avenue is about 40% glass.
That’s right! 40%!
It took Ghassemlou four years to build his dream home, which boasts of Spanish moss-colored walls in the living room, and a steel-plated fireplace.
A 32-foot long skylight on the ceiling allows the two-story house–living room, bedrooms and balconies–to be soaked in natural sunlight. A 60-foot long, 2-foot tall ribbon window near the skylight complements this.
Aside from maximizing natural light, Ghassemlou also took advantage of the ocean nearby. The master bedroom has two sliding glass doors that allow the ocean breeze to cool practically the entire house, thus eliminating the need for an air conditioning system. This unique combination has helped Ghassemlou to save on heating and cooling costs.
The same bedroom also features two types of copper-colored tiles, two glass-bowl sinks, and a bathtub measuring 5 by 7 feet by 2 feet.
The cost of this grand home, however, was enough to drain Ghassemlou's resources. Roughly $212,000 was spent on the home, while building costs averaged $200 per square foot. However, Ghassemlou was able to save on labor costs, as the corrugated metal took only two weeks to fasten together. Most of his money was consumed on materials.
If he hadn’t run out of money and not been required by the city to spend on sidewalks and transformers, Ghassemlou would have wanted to add more solar panels and a 50-foot-long narrow pool.
"He had a very difficult time when he went to the Planning Commission. A lot of the neighbors were opposed to the project initially. They were fearful it would be too different," said Gary Jones, community development director of Signal Hill.
There was much opposition to Ghassemlou's home and its design.
"Eventually the Planning Commission decided that a little diversity was good for the neighborhood. After it was built, I even had comments from people who were initially opposed it that they kind of like it," Jones said. "There's some serious investment going on up there," he added. "They're building their dream homes. A lot are putting in upgraded tiles, high-end fixtures and appliances. Some of the backyards are going to be very upscale, with pools and spas and upgraded landscaping."
Although Ghassemlou's house is now estimated to earn millions if sold, this businessman from Iran isn't in a hurry to sell it.
"This is a promotional for me, my style of architecture," said Ghassemlou, a Cal Poly Pomona graduate who owns Objekt Design Studio and also works for an architecture firm in Los Angeles.
For now, Ghassemlou, 44, hopes to spend more time working in his futuristic home, developing his own design firm. That can be accessed at www.objekt22.com.
But then there’s Nader Ghassemlou. He merely wanted to build his dream house, which he designed himself, regardless of whether or not his neighbors considered his concept to be radical. His home’s style, he added, is aptly called industrial contemporary.
Ghassemlou, his wife and his daughter live in a house made of corrugated metal and interspersed with large window panels that occupy nearly 3,000 square meters of his 7,800-foot lot. The house has four bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. "We wanted the feeling of a box floating on glass," said Ghassemlou, adding that his "clean and functional" house on 2299 Molino Avenue is about 40% glass.
That’s right! 40%!
It took Ghassemlou four years to build his dream home, which boasts of Spanish moss-colored walls in the living room, and a steel-plated fireplace.
A 32-foot long skylight on the ceiling allows the two-story house–living room, bedrooms and balconies–to be soaked in natural sunlight. A 60-foot long, 2-foot tall ribbon window near the skylight complements this.
Aside from maximizing natural light, Ghassemlou also took advantage of the ocean nearby. The master bedroom has two sliding glass doors that allow the ocean breeze to cool practically the entire house, thus eliminating the need for an air conditioning system. This unique combination has helped Ghassemlou to save on heating and cooling costs.
The same bedroom also features two types of copper-colored tiles, two glass-bowl sinks, and a bathtub measuring 5 by 7 feet by 2 feet.
The cost of this grand home, however, was enough to drain Ghassemlou's resources. Roughly $212,000 was spent on the home, while building costs averaged $200 per square foot. However, Ghassemlou was able to save on labor costs, as the corrugated metal took only two weeks to fasten together. Most of his money was consumed on materials.
If he hadn’t run out of money and not been required by the city to spend on sidewalks and transformers, Ghassemlou would have wanted to add more solar panels and a 50-foot-long narrow pool.
"He had a very difficult time when he went to the Planning Commission. A lot of the neighbors were opposed to the project initially. They were fearful it would be too different," said Gary Jones, community development director of Signal Hill.
There was much opposition to Ghassemlou's home and its design.
"Eventually the Planning Commission decided that a little diversity was good for the neighborhood. After it was built, I even had comments from people who were initially opposed it that they kind of like it," Jones said. "There's some serious investment going on up there," he added. "They're building their dream homes. A lot are putting in upgraded tiles, high-end fixtures and appliances. Some of the backyards are going to be very upscale, with pools and spas and upgraded landscaping."
Although Ghassemlou's house is now estimated to earn millions if sold, this businessman from Iran isn't in a hurry to sell it.
"This is a promotional for me, my style of architecture," said Ghassemlou, a Cal Poly Pomona graduate who owns Objekt Design Studio and also works for an architecture firm in Los Angeles.
For now, Ghassemlou, 44, hopes to spend more time working in his futuristic home, developing his own design firm. That can be accessed at www.objekt22.com.
posted by realestatevegas | 9:32 PM
