Ehrlich Yanai Outside-In: New California Modernism

A survey of houses designed by Steven Ehrlich and Takashi Yanai of EYRC Architects, an award-winning firm whose modernist approach is infused with deep engagement with the vernacular.

Recipient of the 2015 Firm Award from the American Institute of Architects, EYRC Architects is internationally recognized for elegant design in a modernist spirit. Residential designs are at the heart of the practice, which now encompasses commercial and institutional projects.

Sixteen houses are presented in the book, the majority in Southern California and others near San Francisco and Houston. These designs are characterized by the fusion of powerful, simple forms, with the cultural, climatic, and contextual particulars of place.

Accompanying the drawings and luxurious color photography are sketches and source material that reveal the genesis of the design as well as the completed project. As Ehrlich says, ＂Blurring the boundaries between the built and natural environment, our designs merge California modernism with vernacular design elements. Through details and materials, we maximize the home owner’s connection with the site and natural surroundings.＂

Steven Ehrlich is the founding partner of EYRC Architects, today a nationally recognized firm with a practice encompassing institutional, commercial, and residential project. Early in his career, Ehrlich spent six years living and working in North Africa, an experience that taught him the importance of the relationship between architecture and the culture and environment in which it stands. That principle remains a core value of EYRC. His work has garnered many awards, including the AIA California Maybeck Award and the AIA Los Angeles Gold Medal for Lifetime Achievement.

Takashi Yanai is a partner at EYRC and has been Residential Studio Director since 2004. His work is rooted in a contemplative relationship to landscape and is a continuation of the California modernist ethos infused with reinterpretations of traditional Japanese elements, connecting man and nature through deliberate siting and attention to craft.

Zahid Sardar is editor of SPACES magazine. He teaches design history at the California College of the Arts and has written several books, including San Francisco Modern and New Garden Design.