Mid-Century Magic In Crestwood Hills, $4.2M

Andreas E.G. Larsson, the Swedish-born creative force behind HabHouse, has gained a reputation for the serious restoration of dilapidated Mid-Century homes in the LA area, breathing new life into neglected properties, with deep understanding and respect for their place in the built environment.

His most recent project is the Hart House, designed by architects A. Quincy Jones and Whitney R. Smith in 1950 as part of the Mutual Housing Association– also known as Crestwood Hills– and built on a then-empty and hilly stretch of Bel Air. Founded in 1947, it was the first attempt at co-operative housing in California and still exists as the Crestwood Hills Association. Jones and Smith would design a number of houses in Crestwood Hills before working with developer Joseph Eichler and covering many acres of California with Modernist dwellings.

It was the beginning of the golden age of post-WWII modernism and idealism, but sadly seventy years later, only a few of the these original Modernist gems still sstand, with losses to insensitive renovation, outright neglect, demolition and the Bel Air fire of 1961.

In Larsson’s own words: “When I first see a project as far gone as this was, I tend to be a bit more hesitant jumping in, and it was a fairly simple and humble home.  But what tipped the scales for me on this one is its historical value to the Crestwood Hills community. The Hart Residence was one of the first homes built in the development designed by A. Quincy Jones and Whitney R. Smith, also one of the simplest in form named Model 104, Also the Hart residence was well documented in the early photographs documented by Julius Schulman. It’s truly a historical piece of the community and I just knew it was important to preserve it. This has been the largest renovation for HabHouse so far.”

What We Love: The restored walls of clear heart redwood, from trees we’ll never see the likes of again.

More: Go to the listing for additional images and details. With 3-bedrooms and 3-baths, this is an outstanding opportunity to own a key part of LA’s architectural heritage, represented by Joey Kirala of Sotheby’s International Realty.

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