Terrace Villa is a beautiful Mediterranean-style mansion on the historic grounds of the former Ambassador College in Pasadena. The re-visioning of the campus included selling off some of the properties, including this stately home, with the intended purpose of returning it to use as a single-family residence. The challenge is to provide the expected amenities such as a garage, and private terraces to the new owners, while maintaining this building's place in the overall campus.

ONYX participated with the developer in isolating historic elements, infrastructure, parking concerns, circulation through the site, and other issues to inform the solution for this specific project. A simple garage structure, discreetly located, plays a major part in this particular portion of the overall project. The home, and the approach to it was carefully considered in the design, as well as the need for preserving as much of the existing campus as possible. The results offer the new homeowner an accommodating environment, taking away little from the existing setting. The rich existing circular entry courtyard is maintained, along with its exiting tree and planting. City officials and design review commission are being consulted at each step to assure the best result.

PRINCIPAL | Dale Brown

DESIGN LEAD | Douglas D. Joyce III