Dog Haus

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Built for Briards

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You could call the home of Thomas Small and Joanna Brody many things. A residence for environmentalists. A residence for penny-pinchers. A residence for music-

lovers. But they call it something else—a residence for Briards.French Briards, that is. Two of them, Hobbes, 10, and Kali, 4,

both large, both furry and both fiercely adored. When Small and Brody commissioned their Culver City home in 2005, they asked their architect, Whitney Sander of Sander Architects, to keep their pooches top of mind every step of the way. “It was a ‘Residence for Briards’ from day one,” says Catherine Holliss, Sander Architects’ interior designer. “We were always talking about these animals.”

They talked about a few other things too, of course: Small, a music critic and architectural writer, wanted a home in which he could host chamber music concerts, while Brody, who works in public relations, needed something low-maintenance enough to accommodate both the dogs and their two young children. Add a few more requirements to that list—two home offices, a studio apartment they could rent out, eco-friendly features and something that would fit into a small budget—and Sander had a sizeable challenge on his hands.

But he was up for it. Using an unusual prefabricated construction

A hybrid L.A. home puts dogs first

Joanna Brody, Thomas Small and their French Briards,

Hobbes and Kali.

Dog Haus

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technique, Sander had the home’s frames, exterior walls and roof made off-site by warehouse manufacturers and shipped to the prop-erty in pieces on a flatbed truck. A contractor then bolted the pieces together in just three weeks. From there, eco-friendly elements were added—a greywater system for landscape irrigation, low-flush toi-lets and Energy Star appliances, to name a few. Once the finishing touches were put on the home, it became the first “hybrid house” (part prefabricated, all custom) in the Los Angeles area, with a mod-est price tag of $500,000, or $130 per square foot.

In February 2007, Small, Brody and their brood moved in, quickly turning the modern, 3,800-square-foot space into a boisterous home. The house’s main level became its nerve center, bringing together the kitchen, living room and dining room under spacious, 28-foot ceilings. A wide row of stairs leads to the master bedroom, where a smaller spiral staircase ascends to Small’s third-floor office.

True to its owners’ vision, this is indeed a residence for its Briards, with everything from the walls to the décor taking the dogs into ac-count. Though the home’s exterior concrete walls are rough and textured, its interior concrete walls are smooth “because I had this vision of the dogs’ fur getting snagged,” Brody says. A dog door cut discreetly into the side of the house opens when magnets on the pups’ collars trigger it, giving them access to a dog run that leads to a stone and Japanese bamboo forest on the property. And the home is dotted with large dog beds that were made from the home’s leftover recycled denim cotton insulation.

Then there is the staircase leading to the second floor, which boasts a gentle slope and large, broad steps covered in non-slip carpeting made from sustainable materials. “We knew Hobbes wasn’t getting any younger, and we wanted to make it easy on his back when he went up and down,” Small says. The surprise perk? Each step is now wide enough to hold two chairs, so the staircase serves as the perfect mezzanine when Small and Brody host concerts on the main floor.

Though their house is well-suited for large gatherings, Small and Brody say they both enjoy quiet nights in which Small cooks (he’s an accomplished nonprofessional chef), friends come over and every-one enjoys the home’s warm main level. “When we have people over who are really dog- and kid-friendly and everyone can be out there together, that’s the greatest thing,” Brody says.

Small and Brody say they couldn’t be happier with their abode, which marries the needs of its four-footed residents with the desires of its two-footed ones. “The remarkable thing about the different as-pects of how the house was designed and built is that it’s as if two plus two equals five,” Small says. “It was very inexpensive, it’s very green, and it’s designed for dogs. It’s just a magnificent space.”

Sander Architectswww.sander-architects.com

Modern family: Joanna Brody, Thomas Small, Hobbes, Kali and their children, Joey and Lyra.

The integrated doggie door opens when magnets on the dogs’ collars trigger it.

A dog run leads to a stone and Japanese bamboo forrest for the pups.

The residence is the first example of a part-prefabricated, all-custom home

in the Los Angeles area.

“It was very inexpensive, it’s very green, and it’s designed for dogs. It’s just a magnificent space.”

Hobbes likes to relax in Joanna Brody’s office on the main floor.

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