In Los Angeles, where the landscape is as much a client as the human resident, architecture becomes an act of translation. This Beverly Hills hillside home, conceived by Whipple Russell Architects, answers a geologic challenge with sculptural serenity – a cascading Mediterranean retreat that follows the natural slope of its ridgeline parcel with grace, restraint, and reverence.
Project Name: 1414 Donhill Drive
Studio Name: Whipple Russell Architects
Location: 1414 Donhill Drive, Beverly Hills
Project Completed: April 2025
Project size: 12,000 sf
Perched on a steep incline without a single flat pad, the home emerges not as a monolith, but as a rhythmic series of terraced levels – each responding to topography, setback, and sun.
A three-story stack was prohibited by geology and code; instead, the home steps elegantly down the hill, revealing five distinct levels that blend into the terrain like architecture in dialogue with earth.
A bridge across a tranquil reflecting pond welcomes visitors to the entry, where glass, stone, and wood begin their quiet interplay. Just below, a 500-square-foot basement lounge sits recessed beneath a courtyard, hidden from the street and wrapped in stillness.
From the main floor – anchored by the kitchen, breakfast nook, and entertaining spaces – two staircases lead to the lower level: one winding downward in a sculptural S-curve past an Audrey Hepburn portrait to the lounge, bar, theater, indoor spa, and basketball court; the other also rising to a rooftop terrace, where the view stretches from downtown to the ocean with a tilt of the head.
