Roger Sherman Architecture, Santa Monica, CA

This one-storey, approximately 330 SM residence has been designed with change in mind: change in season, change in lifestyle and change in occupancy. Three 3-meter-wide sections of the 25-meter long house float on pontoons which, in warmer weather, enable the beds in each of the 3 bedrooms to slide out onto the water from the main house enclosure on private decks, protected by mosquito-netted "tents". These piers move independently of one another, revealing beneath them a series of leisure/recreational amenities: the pier carrying the master bed slides open to reveal a horseshoe pit/bocce court/shuffleboard court; under the middle pontoon, which is the shortest, is a Jacuzzi/hot tub; and beneath the third deck, a freshwater lap pool (a netted-off portion of the pond itself).

The interior of the house is laid out in a manner which maximizes its flexibility of use: it works as well, for instance, in accommodating a young family as one with adult children. While the kitchen must be shared, different areas of the house are otherwise able to operate and be accessed autonomously, so that the house is easily divisible: 2 couples could comfortably share the house for a week, with the ability to determine for themselves how much privacy or connectedness as they would like. Similarly, an office is provided with direct public access from the street so as to allow the owner to see clients without being disturbed by or disturbing the other occupants.

Aside from the floating "tented decks", the other prominent feature of the wood-clad house is its south-facing roof/sun deck. This sloping deck surface has built into it 3 oversize chaise-lounges, or deck chairs which face onto the pond. Access to the roof deck from the house is gained via a stair which ascends from the living room and exits through a glass-enclosed rooftop penthouse, which also serves as a second means of entry into the house itself. Outside the penthouse are clustered a number of subsidiary functions serving the deck: cabana/changing room, barbeque/grill, outdoor shower, bar/refrigerator/countertop, all of which are wrapped by an "umbrella" of weatherproof canvas which opens to create a shady area for hosting warm-weather parties.