Chamise House

A fire-adapted California prototype for resilient indoor–outdoor living.

The Chamise Home is the first in a series of site-specific designs rooted in native ecology and fire adaptation. Based on an actual project in Altadena, California, this prototype responds to the unique risks and opportunities of the foothill landscape while offering a model adaptable to other properties across the region.

The design embraces Southern California’s tradition of indoor–outdoor living while rethinking it for fire resilience. Rather than opening outward to property lines, all major glazing and circulation connect to a sequence of inward-facing courtyards. These courtyards expand the sense of space, create seamless transitions between interior and exterior, and form protective enclosures that buffer the home from fire exposure.

Material choices are deliberately non-combustible and durable: a standing-seam metal roof, cement plaster walls, and no projecting eaves that could catch embers. Fire-modification zones at the front and rear of the site further safeguard the property, integrating defensible landscaping with native ecology.

By combining spatial richness with pragmatic fire adaptation, the Chamise Home demonstrates a new model for resilient California living—an approach that is at once protective, adaptable, and deeply connected to its environment.