Ben Marcus Rules

Your humble writer/reporter lives in a cobweb and ant-riven toolshed hidden away along Malibu Road. But don’t judge, or let that fool you. He has seen a few places and and knows enough to engage in conversation with Dorian Bernard, an Architectural Designer from France who arrived in the right place at the wrong time about six years ago. He has been helping rebuild Malibu ever since.

Je dois avouer. I have fished the Youghiogheny River in Pennsylvania twice and twice I had a chance to tour FallingWater and twice we kept fishing. Je dois présenter des excuses

Visiting the Falling Water House was one of my main goals when I arrived in the US, I stopped by Pittsburgh and on my way to Chicago just to tour it.

FALLING WATER GALLERY

That house on your website homepage is Falling Water-ish. Am I right?

I designed this project while I was working at Vitus Mataré & Associates, the constraint was to be lower than the street above, to protect the neighbor's view. I tried to accentuate the main lines and connect the home to its site as Frank Lloyd Wright does so well.

Hard to believe Lloyd-Wright built that in 1938. Is that in your Top Five Favorite houses?

Of course, this is actually one of the first houses I remember from long ago, thinking, “Wow, this is what I want to do when I grow up.”

Hard to believe he designed and built that in 1938. People must have thought it fell from space.

It blends the boundaries between nature and building. 

Did you know that almost-disguised house at the top of Saddle Peak was built and was inhabited by Frank Lloyd Wright’s grandson? 

Yes, I did, I only saw the pictures available online. “Almost-disguised” should be the norm, I don’t take sides between pro and con development in the mountains, But as a designer, this is the best response to a site so unique.

Loaded question: Is Malibu a good place or a bad place to be an architect? 
I think Malibu is a great place if you are armed with patience and offers incredible sites to express your creativity and problem-solving abilities.

Your bio reads: “Originally from the Basque Country in the southwest of France, a region renowned for its strong cultural heritage and ancestral architecture, Dorian Bernard brings a unique perspective to his work.”  So you are Basque. Euskaraz hitz egiten al duzu?

Ez. Unfortunately, I don’t speak Basque, but can understand only a few words

Your website continues: “After completing his studies in Art and Architecture in Montpellier, Dorian relocated to Malibu in 2018.” Why and how did you come to Malibu? 

It was part of my gap year between my bachelor's and master's degrees. I was looking for an internship in Los Angeles, and one of my inquiries went to Vitus Mataré. His work, especially one of his projects on Piuma Road: The Malkhasian Residence, held my attention to Malibu.

THE MALKHASIAN RESIDENCE ON PIUMA ROAD

And then: “Just a month before the devastating Woolsey Fire. This event thrust him into numerous fire-rebuild projects, deeply influencing his career and inspiring him to volunteer as a wildland firefighter to better understand fire behavior.” Can you expand on that for me?

Well, I’ll always remember this feeling of evacuating Malibu and being unable to help. Wildland fires are recurrent in the area and are a real concern for homeowners, specifically with the actual home insurance situation.

Malibu is funny because it might have the most perfectly consistent weather in the world.  But then the Santa Ana winds come up and Malibu goes Dr. Jekyll and turns into hell: The blue sky turns black, there are fire tornadoes. Was that shocking to you, to see the dark side of Malibu just after you arrived?

I remember driving up to Saddle Peak on Thursday evening and how quickly the situation worsened. I remember the orange sky in the middle of the day and the ashes falling from the sky, even miles away in Palisades. 

Malibu is populated by a layer of sophistos who have money and good taste and might let a young, ambitious “Basquitect” go to town on designing their home. What would you say are your design influences?

My main influences are mid-Century Modern, including Mies Van Der Rohe, John Lautner, Richard Neutra and of course Frank Lloyd Wright. I strongly believe that architectural heritage must be preserved. This is what gives a city or an area its identity, like Palm Springs or Santa Barbara.

Here is a Gallery of the “Topanga Ridge Nest Residence.” What can you say about that? Where is it? Is it being built? Is it easier to do projects in Topanga that are outside of Malibu?

This project was entirely designed by Steven Burns, FAIA. I only produced renderings and schematic plans for planning review. This project is inspired by the work of Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe, especially from the Farnsworth House. One of our challenges was preserving the original design idea of having a residence where the inside blends with the outside while meeting the zoning code requirements. We also worked on sun exposure simulations and view determinations.

TOPANGA RIDGE NEST RESIDENCE

How many homes have you worked on since Woolsey? How many have been built?

I have been involved in over 70 projects since October 2018, 27 among them were fire rebuilds.

How many have been delayed? What advice might you have starting a project and when working with the planners and regulators of Malibu?

Like-for-like fire rebuilds were straightforward, especially when records of permits and plans were found. But any new development in Malibu City is quite challenging. I would highly recommend deep due diligence before buying any property to verify that every requirement can be met.

Among other styles, you are a proponent of mid-century modern design. I've seen this style in many scattered places, from Anchorage to Maui to San Jose to Las Vegas. Seems to me like mid-Century Modern evolved because America was prosperous during its inception, allowing people to invest in stylish personal homes. Considering mid-century modern's focus on space and light, would you agree that it naturally suits the Malibu area?

I would certainly agree that Malibu suits Mid-Century Modern very well. 

How would you say mid Century Modern has evolved from the original idea of the 20th Century into the 21st Century?

The style definitely evolved along with the building regulations, but I think some of the fundamental concepts are still present in most recent styles.

Overall - what are your five favorite, most inspiring buildings/houses in the world? 

This is a tough question. I think to be inspiring, a house must fit its site, considering its constraints and advantages. The design must be uniform, not a patchwork of different styles, and without any useless Ornaments. 

What are your five favorite houses in Malibu you didn’t design?

-The Hunt House by Craig Ellwood

-The Wave House by Harry Gresner

-Carbon Beach House by John Lautner 

-Richard Meier’s Houses

-747 Wing House by David Hertz

This project is called “Coastline Residence” and it looks like a clever little beach shack. What’s the scoop ici?

We tried to remain discreet with this approach and not disturb the neighbors' view. Because of the height restriction, steepness of the slope, and setback, we proposed a car elevator, which would remove the need for a garage at street level and offer a more compact building.

COASTLINE RESIDENCE

What are your five favorite houses in Malibu you did design or collaborate on?

I don’t play favorites. Which of your children do you love the most? 

I was sitting at Zinque when that February 9 earthquake hit and the place was warping like “The Matrix.” But nothing broke. That night I talked to another Eurochitect named Luis Tena. I asked him how important earthquake design was in California, and he said it’s everything. I imagine the same is true for fire protection and prevention in Malibu especially?

I remember this one! I thought a car ran into my building. Malibu has the particularity to have both constraints, the whole city in Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone which affect the project's design and has seismic faults which affect the engineering and often result in expensive foundations with caissons.

Here is the Glendora Residence. Thoughts?

Remodel of a one-story house into a two-story residence in Long Beach. This property is a corner lot where privacy was the main concern. Based on the client's taste and constraints, we decided to orient the design toward a Mediterranean style. Using shutters with louver fits this style and adds more privacy - especially at night.

GLENDORA RESIDENCE

What materials and measures do you utilize in designing homes in Malibu with the environment and fire protection in mind

Regarding Fire prevention in Wildland Urban Interface, I always consider two main areas.

1-Defense strategy: Before designating a building footprint, I would first look at the access and see if it fits the fire department requirements. Then, I would analyze the topography and aspect of the site. Are we located in a chimney or saddle? Which Aspect? Is the topography aligned with the Santa Ana Wind? Could the driveway be used as a control line?

2-Material and Assembly: As part of the fire department requirement exposed materials must be fire-rated class A in Very High Hazard Fire Severity Zone. Designing Non-Vented attics limit the risk of ember cast. The right selection of windows is also critical and can be the weakest point of a home. Also if the budget allows it, adding cement board under the plaster/ Stucco can make a huge difference.

I compiled a 16,000+ word timeline and story on all that U2 guitarist The Edge went through to try and build five homes on Sweetwater Mesa - which is designated a Very high Hazard Fire Severity Zone, a Significant Ridgeline and Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Area. He got shut down completely after bookoo d’argent and 14 years. I call it “If You Want to Kiss the Sky, Better Learn How to Kneel.” Would you like to read it?

I did read it! I think it would make a great Netflix show, I was especially stunt by the result of the last appeal that neither of the parties anticipated (But I don’t want to spoil the story)

Malibu isn’t easy. My friend calls it “economic cleansing.” But if it was easy, it would be indistinguishable from Orange County, and who wants that? But it appears you are finding it rewarding.

The whole process is time and money-consuming, which discourages families from building and favors the rise of spec homes.