Villa Vaquero

Temecula, California

Single Family Residence

The Lau Family

17,500 sq. ft.

This mountainside retreat was designed as a multi-generational vacation home for a large Chinese-American family. It is designed for grandparents, parents and grandchildren to gather while providing five separate suites for each household to have a private getaway. The home is an interplay of wood and stucco masses interlocked and resting upon one another. It’s both an expression of the public and private program elements as well as the balance of family life. The home is an inverted take on the traditional hutong (courtyard) house. Rather than an interior courtyard, a series of gardens separate the suites facing outward to the environment. Each second story courtyard creates a private outdoor space for each family as well as pulling the landscape up and onto the building.

Brian Wickersham (Principal-in-Charge), Matthew Aulicino (PM), Burcin Nalinci