Private Residence La Jolla
Giroux Glass was hired in 2016 by general contractor, Sweig General Contracting, Inc. to provide glazing at a unique private home located north of San Diego. It’s an exceptional residence for many reasons.
Architect Guy West of Wallace E. Cunningham, designed the modern, crescent-shaped structure, which is perched above the Pacific Ocean, at the edge of a cliff over Black’s Beach, below. To enhance the surrounding views, the main design element of this residence is the glass, providing floor-to-ceiling panoramic vistas that are maximized by the home’s curved shape, extending viewers’ perspective to well beyond 180-degrees. From the open interior spaces to the terrace levels outdoors, the jumbo glass panels in the walls and guardrails present seamless views of the ocean while melding together the interior and exterior environments.
A challenge of this project was access to the building site. The home is located at the end of a cul-de-sac with little side access – requiring overhead delivery as the one solution to position the glass correctly for placement. Giroux organized the huge lites of glass to be delivered, unloaded and manipulated by crane to their ultimate installation location, at times making them appear to hang over the water.
The total scope of our project included multiple panes of “jumbo glass1,” interior and exterior glass handrail and guardrail, all-glass entrances, and sliding doors. The construction continued for several years, and was completed in 2019. The result is a spectacular estate that appears to float — while offering its residents incomparable views.
1 “Jumbo glass” is defined as any singular glass lite that measures more than 75 sq. ft., or for insulated glass, 50 sq. ft.