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The Solar Umbrella Stands the Test of Time

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The friendly, simple eco-home created by the owners and the principals of Pugh + Scarpa Architects has long been a local icon in Venice, California, inspired by Paul Rudolph’s 1953 Umbrella House design.

Solar hydronic heating panels heat water for the radiant floor and hot showers after a day at the beach.

On the roof, a storm-water recycling system that harvests every precious drop of California’s water.

The local icon, known as the Solar Umbrella House is literally entirely covered by a “solar umbrella” that provides the home’s electricity, while leaving its back and front open to the Santa Monica breezes.

Built using heat-retaining concrete and glazed overhangs and windows that open to allow for cross ventilation, this house manages its own interior temperature.

Environmentally benign materials are used throughout, like for these simple industrial stairs.

Locally harvested woods make up the interior.

Yet, for all that it is a local icon, really, the house is just a simple child-friendly unpretentious family home for Angela Brooks, and Lawrence Scarpa, and family.

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