California architecture studio SPF Architects has transformed its own octagonal house in the Santa Monica Mountains, combining a more open interior with extensive measures designed to improve wildfire resilience.
Known as Mountain Residence, the project renovates a 1980s house set on a 17-acre (6.9-hectare) property in Los Angeles County. SPF Architects founders Zoltan Pali and Judit Fekete-Pali purchased the home with plans to modernise its dated interiors while retaining its distinctive octagonal geometry.
The original house featured stucco cladding, heavy ornamentation and a compartmentalised floor plan. Rather than changing its unusual footprint, the architects stripped the building back to its structural frame and rebuilt it around a simpler spatial concept.
“The goal was to simplify and modernise the original house while working within its unusual octagonal footprint,” said Zoltan Pali, who co-founded his studio in 1995.
“Rather than attempting to alter the home’s geometry, the design embraced it.”
A fire-resistant shell wraps the mountain home
Wildfire resilience became a central component of the renovation. SPF Architects reconstructed the building envelope using a layered assembly intended to improve both thermal performance and fire resistance.
The new envelope combines the existing stucco with furring strips, rigid insulation, gypsum sheathing and a vapour barrier. Meanwhile, a continuous layer of Class A, fire-resistant asphalt shingles covers the exterior.
“The shingles extend across both the walls and roof, creating a unified exterior expression and a continuous protective shell around the residence,” the team said.
The architects also replaced outdated windows with high-performance glazing and enlarged selected openings to strengthen the relationship between the interiors and the surrounding landscape.
Beyond the passive protection provided by the building envelope, the project incorporates exterior fire sprinklers, additional water storage tanks and backup generators. The landscape also includes “defensible landscape strategies”.
“Together, these systems provide both passive and active protection measures designed to support the home’s long-term performance in a high-fire-risk environment,” the team said.
Structural improvements were also introduced. Shear walls and moment frames were added to “strengthen the building’s lateral stability and seismic performance”.
Octagonal plan becomes an open living environment
Inside, SPF Architects removed much of the original compartmentalisation. Several walls and three fireplaces were removed, and corridors were eliminated to create more continuous living areas.
“Compartmentalised spaces were reconfigured to create a more open floor plan while preserving the home’s distinctive geometry,” the team said.
“Several walls and three fireplaces were removed, hallways were eliminated, and the floor plan was opened up to create more connected living spaces.”
The reorganisation places social areas at the centre of the ground floor, while bedrooms occupy the perimeter. As a result, the home’s unusual geometry remains legible, while circulation and sightlines become more fluid.
The upper floor has also been substantially reworked. Its former family room now houses the primary suite and an architectural studio designed for 20 people.
Douglas fir provides a warm, natural finish throughout the interior. The material also complements the home’s restrained architectural language and provides a backdrop for the couple’s extensive art collection.
“The house does not have all the wall area for some of our largest pieces, but we created enough wall space for us to enjoy the lion’s share of what we accumulated over the years,” the team said.
From architecture office to private retreat
Pali and Fekete-Pali originally imagined the property as the main office for SPF Architects. However, most employees and collaborators ultimately preferred the firm’s Culver City workplace because it was closer to their homes.
Consequently, Mountain Residence has evolved into a more private setting. The house now serves as the couple’s primary residence and occasionally hosts design sessions.
“The renovation transformed what had been a highly compartmentalised and ornamented interior into a more restrained, light-filled environment rooted in geometry, natural materials and views of the site,” they said.
The project demonstrates how residential renovation in fire-prone California can combine architectural character with practical resilience. Instead of abandoning the original octagonal form, SPF Architects used it as the organising principle for a more open home, while a new fire-resistant envelope and active protection systems respond to the realities of its mountain setting.