Glass Ridge House, DESIGNED BY OWIU Design
FROM THE ARCHITECTS
Tucked in a suburban cul-de-sac in La Cañada Flintridge, OWIU Design’s co-founders Amanda Gunawan and Joel Wong designed their personal home as a quiet homage to their shared experiences and multicultural influences. Known in the LA design community for shaping the aesthetic of many Asian-American small businesses, the pair draw from years spent moving fluidly through Asia, a Californian architectural education at SCI-Arc, and a design ethos that balances Eastern and Western sensibilities. When they discovered the Terracita property—originally designed in 1973 by SCI-Arc founder Ray Kappe—the neglected home felt fated. Despite 30 years of disrepair, the architecture and landscape had grown together harmoniously. Their renovation sought to honor this relationship. A central theme is the seamless bridge between indoors and outdoors, celebrated in both Eastern and Western design traditions. Moving water is a constant presence: a sunroom transformed into a glass-enclosed stream, a koi pond wrapping the entry, and a reworked pool that blends into the surrounding hills. From nearly every window, views open to water, trees, or mountain ridges—nature becomes an architectural element. To integrate traditional Japanese craft, the couple collaborated with Kuboki Tatami, artisans from Fukushima Prefecture since 1740. Tatami lines the sunken living room and the custom bed platform, creating warmth and floor-level gathering spaces. Tea, central to their daily ritual, inspired a dedicated tea bar framed in textured marble and clad with custom ceramic tiles by Shigaraki-based artist Hashimoto Tomonari. Every detail holds a story: travel finds, gifts from friends, artisan-made objects, and custom fixtures built by their construction company, Inflexion Builds. Kitchens and counters—a signature of OWIU—support communal cooking and dining. Spatial transitions are emotional as well as architectural: a bright, high-ceilinged kitchen gives way to a dark redwood-paneled dining room with a heavier, intimate tone. Inspired not by the structure but by the spirit of Japanese ryokans, the home is conceived as a sanctuary: quiet, introspective, and deeply connected to its natural surroundings. Hidden in the hills yet minutes from downtown, the house embodies OWIU’s “design sweet spot”—a marriage of legacy and intervention, where existing nature and architectural heritage meet the couple’s lived experiences and evolving design language.
