IWAN BAAN
160
last word
Whistle While
You Work
Business or pleasure? They’re one and the same at Second Home,
a series of shared workspaces (part incubator, part clubhouse)
founded by Rohan Silva and Sam Aldenton in London five years
ago. “Our ambition has always been to support creativity,”
notes Silva, referring to both the communal atmosphere and the
architecture. For Second Home’s first U.S. location, unveiled this
September in Hollywood, Madrid-based architects SelgasCano
tailored that philosophy to Tinseltown. Sixty podlike structures
nod to the multifamily bungalow courts that proliferated through-
out Southern California in the early 20th century. Yellow roofs of
cross-laminated timber, meanwhile, take inspiration from Howard
Hughes’s 1940s Spruce Goose aircraft. And curved acrylic window
walls forge an immediate connection with the lush garden paths
that link the structures. “Here we brought the workspace into
nature,” explains Aldenton, referring to the 6,500 plants and trees.
A 1964 Paul Williams–designed community center, meanwhile,
has been adapted into an auditorium, restaurant, bookstore,
postproduction facility, and podcast studio—all open or available
for rent to the public and conceived to spark imagination. Says
Silva: “We really do believe that architecture can have a positive
impact on your mood.” secondhome.io —SAM COCHRAN
