Design, Bitches
Looking to Build a Granny Flat in Your Backyard? Meet the Firms and Designs Pre-Approved in LA
Adding a backyard home in Los Angeles is now nearly as easy as buying a barbecue.
Homeowners who for years have wanted to build a granny flat in their backyard, but dreaded the red tape, can now choose from 20 pre-designed homes that the city has already approved for use.
The shift, made official last week, will speed up a weeks-long process and bring more badly needed units to an overpriced market. It also has the potential to elevate the 14 startups and firms building the next generation of homes.
The designs for the stand-alone residences range from a 200-square-foot studio to a 1,200-square foot, two-story, two-bedroom unit. And many of the homes are filled with design flourishes, reflecting the diverse architecture of the city, from a house in the silhouette of a flower to one with a spiral outdoor staircase leading to the roof.
It's no surprise. The program was spearheaded by Christopher Hawthorne, a former architecture critic at the Los Angeles Times and now the city's chief design officer.
The firms are primarily local and startup architecture and design firms, while others are well-known with a history of building granny flats, also know as accessory dwelling units, or ADUs.
The standard plans avoid the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety's typical four-to six-week review process and can allow approvals to be completed in as quickly as one day.
Some aspects of the plans can be modified to fit a homeowner's preferences. Eight other designs are pending approval.
Mayor Eric Garcetti believes by adding more such units, the city can diversify its housing supply and tackle the housing crisis. Recent state legislation made it easier to build the small homes on the lot of single-family residences. Since then, ADUs have made up nearly a quarter of Los Angeles' newly permitted housing units.
Because construction costs are relatively low for the granny flats – the pre-approved homes start at $144,000 and can go beyond $300,000 – the housing is generally more affordable. The median home price in L.A. County in January was $690,000.
Here's a quick look at the designs approved so far:
Abodu
Abodu
Abodu, based in Redwood City in the Bay Area, exclusively designs backyard homes. In 2019, it worked with the city of San Jose on a program similar to the one Los Angeles is undertaking.
In October, it closed a seed funding round of $3.5 million led by Initialized Capital.
It has been approved for a one-story 340-square-foot studio, a one-story one-bedroom at 500 square feet, and a one-story, 610-square-foot two-bedroom.
The pricing for the studio is $189,900, while the one-bedroom costs $199,900 and the two-bedroom is $259,900.
Amunátegui Valdés Architects
Connect Homes
Design, Bitches
Escher GuneWardena Architecture
First Office
Fung + Blatt Architects
Fung + Blatt Architects is a Los Angeles-based firm founded in 1990.
The city has approved its 795-square-foot, one-story, one-bedroom unit with a roof deck. It estimates the construction cost to be $240,000 to $300,000, excluding landscape, site work and the solar array. Homeowners can also expect other additional costs.
Taalman Architecture/ IT House Inc.
LA Más
Jennifer Bonner/MALL
Massachusetts-based Jennifer Bonner/MALL designed a "Lean-to ADU" project, reinterpreting the stucco box and exaggerated false front, both Los Angeles architectural mainstays.
The design has been approved for a 525-square-foot one-story, one-bedroom unit with a 125-square-foot roof deck.
sekou cooke STUDIO
New York-based sekou cooke STUDIO is the sole Black-owned architectural firm on the project.
"The twisted forms of this ADU recalls the spin and scratch of a DJ's records" from the early 90s, the firm said.
Its design, still pending approval, is for a 1,200-square-foot, two bedroom and two bathroom can be adapted to a smaller one-bedroom unit or to include an additional half bath.
SO-IL
New York-based SO-IL was founded in 2008. It has completed projects in Leon, Seoul, Lisbon and Brooklyn.
Its one-story, one-bedroom 693-square-foot unit is pending approval. It is estimated the construction cost will be between $200,000 and $250,000.
WELCOME PROJECTS
Los Angeles-based Welcome Projects has worked on projects ranging from buildings, houses and interiors to handbags, games and toys.
Its ADU is nicknamed The Breadbox "for its curved topped walls and slight resemblance to that vintage counter accessory."
It has been approved for a one-story, one-bedroom 560-square-foot unit.
wHY Architecture
Firms that want to participate in the program can learn more here . Angelenos interested in building a standard ADU plan can learn more the approved projects here.
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Welcome to VENN (Official Launch Trailer)www.youtube.com
VENN's co-founders and co-CEOs both have extensive backgrounds in gaming, which they've seen grow to a $150 billion industry. Ben Kusin's father co-founded Babbage's in 1984, an early video game retailer that eventually went public as GameStop. The younger Kusin worked at Electronic Arts and Vivendi Games before moving full-time into entrepreneurship and angel investing.
His partner, Ariel Horn, is a 4-time Emmy winner and considered one of the pioneers of esports, having applied lessons from his days at NBC Universal to his role as head of esports content at Riot Games. Horn has also developed esports projects for Blizzard Entertainment and Justin.tv, which would become Twitch.
In 2019, Kusin pitched his idea for a gaming-centered network to Riot Games co-founder Marc Merrill, who told Kusin that Riot's former head of production – Horn – had just pitched him on virtually the same concept. Merrill suggested that Kusin go meet Horn before he headed back to New York.
Ben Kusin (L) and Ariel Horn are VENN's co-founders and co-CEOs
"I went to the W in Hollywood," Kusin told dot.LA. "He was there taking another meeting, and he came over and I said 'Marc said we should meet.' We decided to lay out our own visions. I had mine; he had his. We were on the same track and we decided to start it."
VENN went on to raise $17 million in seed funding. Bay Area gaming fund BITKRAFT led the round, which also included Merrill, Irvine-based Blizzard Entertainment's co-founder Mike Morhaime, Twitch co-founder Kevin Lin, Kroenke Sports (owner of the L.A. Rams and two L.A. esports teams, among other holdings), Beverly Hills-based family office Lifeline Financial Group, and L.A.-based investment group aXiomatic Gaming.
VENN wants to be the MTV of the gaming generation
The founders are captivated by the possibility of becoming the "MTV of this generation." They view gaming as a culture and lifestyle that has become ubiquitous among young people.
"Asking if someone's a gamer is like asking if they eat lunch," Kusin said. "It's hard for generations that didn't grow up in a gaming- and digital-first world to understand... Lots of young people derive their identity, validation and social circles from gaming."
"You create content that that audience wants and you build organic fandom," said Horn, "and we think that's the future of entertainment."
The Playa Vista studio is bedecked with over 1,000 square feet of LED tiles, a trove of fiber cables to beam gaming content from a variety of consoles both in-studio and remote, and a set that replicates what gaming streamers "are doing out of their bedrooms, so it should feel comfortable to them," Kusin said.
Some of VENN's shows are meant to embody the at-home vibes of gaming streamers
The control room allows the production team to operate cameras remotely, and the entire facility is an "NBA-style bubble." The company credits the many preventative measures with helping its staff stay COVID-free, despite an intense rehearsal and preparation schedule ahead of the launch.
Kusin described the VENN team of 70 full-timers and 70 or so additional production contractors as nimble and agile in a way that traditional networks cannot be.
"We're doing shit that networks would die to be doing right now," he said.
Among other shows, "VENN Arcade Live" is a daily variety show that celebrates "all things gaming and pop culture," hosted by James 'Dash' Patterson, who on Tuesday signed with talent agency CAA. "Guest House" is a two-hour program hosted by singer Chrissy Costanza that will bring in guest creators to "choose their own adventure" — which could include making food, building legos, or singing karaoke. And "The Sushi Dragon Show" is a talk show hosted by the eponymous streamer, who Kusin describes as "like Eric Andre on crack" (which, if you've seen Eric Andre, is saying something).
The Sushi Dragon Show Starring TheSushiDragon (Official Trailer)www.youtube.com
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Sam Blake primarily covers entertainment and media for dot.LA. Find him on Twitter @hisamblake and email him at samblake@dot.LA
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