schwarzenbach
![](https://fungandblatt.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Schwarzenbach-Exterior-01-72.jpg)
Our renovation uncovers the underlying geometry of a 1952 Whitney Smith home that had been obscured by decades of compromises.
PASADENA CA
2022
2000 SF
Photos: FUNG + BLATT
![](https://fungandblatt.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Schwarzenbach-Fence-04.1-72-854x1024.jpg)
![](https://fungandblatt.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Schwarzenbach-Exterior-02-72-1024x715.jpg)
The two wings of this house, book-ended by diamond-shaped roof profiles, converge at the anchoring mass of a fireplace. While the ceilings suggest a structure that traces back to the generative form of the diamond, that connection had been erased or buried over by early remodels.
![](https://fungandblatt.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Schwarzenbach-Hall-03-72-678x1024.jpg)
![](https://fungandblatt.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Schwarzenbach-Ceiling-02-72-e1701915473359-1024x969.jpg)
Recognizing this relationship as the dynamic through-line of the building, we sought to foreground it and to make it reverberant through the house.
![](https://fungandblatt.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Schwarzenbach-Diamond-04-72-1024x682.jpg)
![](https://fungandblatt.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Schwarzenbach-Living-01-72-1024x660.jpg)
![](https://fungandblatt.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ICON-Copy-72-371x1024.jpg)
Working within the pre-established structural rhythm, we peeled away layers to reveal visual connections and to accentuate relationships.
![](https://fungandblatt.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Schwarzenbach-Diamond-02-72-1024x664.jpg)
We introduced functional amenities and articulated spaces for clarity and flow. We threaded the diamond through, its expressions respond to conditions at different junctures of the house.
![](https://fungandblatt.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Schwarzenbach-Kitchen-01-72-1024x680.jpg)
![](https://fungandblatt.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Schwarzenbach-Diamond-01-72-1024x663.jpg)
![](https://fungandblatt.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Schwarzenbach-Exterior-04-72-1024x655.jpg)
![](https://fungandblatt.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Schwarzenbach-Fence-03-72-e1702867000720-763x1024.jpg)