San Diego Planning Commission has approved Zaha Hadid’s La Jolla Residence. Along with the San Diego firm Public, Hadid will demolish an existing house on a half-acre site at 8490 Whale Watch Way, replacing it with a 12,700 square foot home comprised of four bedrooms, six bathrooms, and an indoor pool. The firm has described the home as an “introverted sculptural structure.”
The La Jolla Community Planning Association responded to unsupportive neighbors by appealing the owners’ application for a Coastal Development permit. Residents were concerned by the radical appearance in comparison to the rest of the neighborhood homes. Association member Dale Naegle stated, “If we approve this we might as well abandon our La Jolla Shores Planned District Ordinance…It is a beautiful house, but it doesn’t fit.”
The project still risks being appealed again by the La Jolla Community Planning Association. If that were to occur, the project would then be in the hands of the much more challenging city council.
Reference: The Architect’s Newspaper
