Before and after: they replaced their house in the middle of the century by a modern swimming pool inspired by the swimming pool

The first thing you notice about the Monterey Park -House of Artist Yi kai And his wife Jian Zheng is the swimming pool. Just like David Hockney’s polis paintings, which celebrate the sun -filled landscapes of Los Angeles, the glittering ripples of the swimming pool water sound over the first floor, just like the skyline of Los Angeles in the distance.

“This house has always been treated, not only as a construction project, but as a continuously evolving artwork,” says Kai. “Over time we have refined, changed and again presented – a process that reflects the values of both experiments and transformation.”

The blue swimming pool, a typical Californian function, is not only a recreational space, but a central element of the new house, which was built from the ground after the house of 1956 was demolished. According to architect The Peter Yiwho designed the newly completed house for his aunt and uncle in collaboration with architect Laura Marie PetersonThe original kidney -shaped swimming pool of the house was intended as a wonderful surprise when entering the house.

The movement of the house while it bends around the swimming pool “breaks out of the rigid house construction,” says Yi, and it is a deliberate design choice that symbolizes the mixing of Chinese and American cultural elements.

Yi Kai and Jian Zheng’s 1956 House in Monterey Park before it was demolished.

(The Peter Yi)

The magical quality of the swimming pool extends much further than the first floor. Upstairs, an 80 feet long, curved teak deck, allowed within 50% of the rear setback, rotates around the swimming pool, making the outdoor spaces feel much larger than they are. Partial walls in the city frame the city and creates a series of outdoor stains that feel like rooms.

“For me, the house was really about opening specific views and moments to create a series of indoor-outdoor rooms,” says Peterson.

An 80-foot long walkway creates a memorable moments outdoors, says Yi, by “taking something everyday and making it special” by fringing the light while it shifts all day.

“We are framing that image,” says Yi, compare it to James Turrell’s Outdoor “Skyspaces” (including the “distribution of the light” open -air pavilion on the Pomona College) where Turrell framed part of the sky with a built environment.

Los Angeles artist Yi Kai, 70, and his wife Jian Zheng, 65, demolished their original house from 1956 in Monterey Park and built a modern, comfortable house for their retirement.

Kai, who is Chinese American, says that his artworks mix aspects of his heritage, but “centered around a single theme: understanding and reflecting on human condition.”

Look carefully, and you will see Kai’s artistic accents throughout the house. For example, an outdoor spiral staircase, a connection between the deck and the garage studio on the ground floor is a striking function. It was screened in nine 18-foot wooden strips of the original house of the couple and painted in red and blue with a seven-nigs white basic design that reflects the colors of the American flag.

The spiral staircase outside is composed of recycled wood from the broken house of the couple.

Another unique feature in the house is a long lock, reminiscent of a fall door, with which Kai can move his paintings from his studio on the first floor to a attic -like space on the second floor where he stores them.

Yi Kai and wife Jian Zheng pass one of his oil paintings through the ceiling of his studio to his office on the second floor of their house. Kai says he got the idea after a visit to Cézanne’s studio in France.

Kai’s paintings are stored in the office of the house on the second floor.

Yi says that the deep interest of his uncle in Chinese and American culture is vividly reflected in the design of the house. For example, the slope of the roof reflects the modern butterfly roofs from the middle of the century spread over the predominantly Chinese neighborhood, while the arch of the terrace refers historic courtyards and gardens in China.

The house is designed to have a low profile at the front.

Kai, 70, was born and raised in China and set up in the people’s army as a railway soldier at the age of 15. After the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989, Kai fled China and moved to the United States, where he lived in Minneapolis for 13 years in Minneapolis and briefly in Boston, before he settled in Los Angels.

In 1998 the couple bought a house with three bedrooms near Jian’s office in Monterey Park, which is often mentioned as ‘small Taipei’, because of the large number of immigrants from China that lives there. “It was easy for us to integrate into the community,” says Kai.

Eight years later, when Kai got a job teaching at Claremont Graduate University, they rented the house and moved to Rancho Cucamonga to be closer to Kai’s Baan.

When the couple started thinking about retiring in 2014, they turned to their cousin for helping to reset their house so that they could return to Monterey Park.

Colorful furniture established by China PabloIn collaboration with artist Lu Biaobiao, in the living room and dining room the colors, symbols and textures of Kai’s paintings play.

Kai at home in his art studio.

After years of working as an artist, Kai had modest dreams for retirement: he wanted a place where he and his wife would be at ease. “Peter wanted to design a special house with regard to art,” says Kai.

Due to logistics and financial reasons, they decided to demolish the original house that tenants had rented for 16 years, but retained the swimming pool. Today they are happy that they did that. “The swimming pool inspired everything that is special about the house,” says Yi about the project, including requests for maximum living space, a bedroom on the first floor with a bathroom in the suite for aging instead and an art studio for Kai.

“I told him to use his imagination,” says Kai. “I am a first generation from China. He is an immigrant of the second generation. I thought:” Let’s take his American ideas and my Chinese ideas and combine them. “

Structural engineer Halle Doetitz, left, architect de Peter Yi, homeowners Yi Kai and Jian Zheng and general contractor Larry Ton in the house.

Architect de Peter Yi in the shadow of the balcony.

As an immigrant, Kai says that he is great proud of the multicultural group that has worked on the home project for more than 30 months. “Our main designer, Peter Yi, came to the US at the age of 5 [and] Is a Chinese American of the second generation, “says Kai.” Gabriel Armendariz, another designer, comes from Mexico and brings a latino-cultural background. Halle DoenitzOur structural engineer is a white American woman. MZ Construction has two partners, one from Hong Kong and one of mainland China, and Larry Ton, our contractor, has an art background. “

Their efforts have paid off. The interior of the 2,200 square base house is extensive and airy, with easy access to the outdoors. In particular, the outdoor kitchen, located on the other side of the inner kitchen, is a characteristic that the couple uses daily for their stir -fry recipes.

Palm trees appear in the second floor bathroom window.

Ripples of water from the swimming pool reflect through the rooms of the first floor.

Asymmetrical windows over both floors of the house offer indirect lighting for Kai’s artworks, responding to the geometry of the house and simulating the playfulness.

Just like the view from the terrace, the sight lines constantly change – palm trees appear in one window, the tree of a neighbor in the other – depending on where you look. “The windows respond to the different views and interesting topography of Los Angeles,” says Yi. “There is beauty in the side wall and the neighbor’s trees. The view spreads the house out.”

Likewise, colorful furniture from China established PabloIn collaboration with artist Lu Biaobiao, in the living room and dining room the colors, symbols and textures of Kai’s paintings play.

Upstairs, where a tea room connects with the main bedroom and bathroom, the entire living room, including the office where Kai stores its paintings, connects with the wrap terrace. In addition to 450 square foot balcony space on the second floor, the terrace adds an extra 650 square base -shaded outdoor space on the ground floor.

Partial walls give a corner of the outer deck the feeling of a room. “It is wonderful to see how the light changes all day long,” says Kai.

Although he lives in Cincinnati, the cousin of the couple says that it was worth visiting his family in their new house, which eventually cost $ 1.5 million to build. “It was great to see how they use the house,” he says.

In the end, Kai hopes to open the house to the public for salons, exhibitions and intercultural fairs.

“America is my home,” he says, “a place where I have achieved many dreams and have achieved both personally and professional success. It is also the place where I want to give something back, by contributing everything – my art, my knowledge and energy – to help enrich the American culture in exchange.”

Adds Zheng: “Everyone can appreciate art, and everyone can love it. But not everyone really brings art into their daily life or integrates how they live. Our goal is to inspire a change in mindset, to show that art is something that everyone can enjoy and that it can be a meaningful part of daily life.”