Cleo and Mason – Playa Vista: An LA Neighborhood Reimagined

Bella LA Mag

November 8, 2016

Playa Vista may form the very heart of Silicon Beach, with a mix of tech and media companies that includes Yahoo, YouTube, and the upcoming Google campus that will take up a jaw-dropping 12 acres of the area.

But it’s not all about creative office space: The 1.3-square-mile neighborhood with thousands of homes includes new apartments, townhouses, condominiums and single-family residences that cluster around parks, shopping areas and restaurants. Far from cookie-cutter planning however, community developers Brookfield Residential hand-pick designers to create distinct architectural neighborhoods that include lots of cutting-edge design details and a unique mix of high-tech and back-to-earth amenities.

At Marlowe, Robert Hidey Architects created a collection of the three-story, boomerang shaped homes that maximize both living space and a variety of views. Inside the homes, lots of urban/chic elements such as vertical gardens, disappearing pocket doors and outdoor rooms are included.

Bassenian Lagoni Architects took a different approach to luxury design at Everly, another Playa Vista neighborhood that includes 55 three-story three-to-five bedroom homes. Industrial design elements like barn-sliding glass doors and super sleek chef’s kitchens offer a different take on contemporary style.

Some of the most cutting-edge features at the new Playa Vista homes, however, are high-tech elements that can’t be seen: Category 6 data wire for phone lines and high-speed data connection are included in all bedrooms, kitchen, great room and family rooms, while terrace views are skillfully trained towards headquarters of Yahoo, YouTube and IMAX.

The latest neighborhoods, Cleo and Mason, weave two unlikely design styles: Coastal chic and brownstone architecture. The collection of flat and townhome residences is designed by KTGY Architecture & Planning and fuses beachy elements like outdoor rooms with strains of urban living, such as brick and reclaimed wood wall treatments.

But it’s not all high-speed Internet. A series of low-tech amenities are also being rolled out at Playa Vista. The newly opened Corner Greens offers a communal gardening experience where residents can tend to their own veggies in 4’x7’ raised beds.

“The parks integrate with stylish new residences and the amenities of Runway, while the booming tech and media headquarters are practically next door,” says Alison Girard, Playa Vista’s Director of Marketing for Brookfield Residential.

“In a dozen different ways, Playa Vista is the most creative and exciting community in Los Angeles.”