On the hillsides above Los Angeles, a new model of home is taking shape. One where architecture serves not just views and volume, but clarity and control. Where indoor and outdoor spaces are not divided, but composed as one. Where luxury is less about scale than about how precisely a home reflects its owner’s life. Gregory Phillips Architects, a London based studio with global reach, brings a quiet authority to this landscape. Their work speaks directly to clients who seek calm, timeless homes in a setting that often celebrates spectacle.
The practice’s concept for a hillside residence in Los Angeles captures this approach. The home is arranged across stepped volumes that follow the slope of the land, minimising excavation and maintaining natural sightlines. A long linear pool mirrors the horizontal line of the house, extending the living space into the landscape. Materials are selected not only for their texture and depth, but for how they perform in light. British oak contrasts with concrete and plaster, while metal detailing reframes openings with precision. The architecture is low, deliberate, and deeply grounded.
This sensibility comes from decades of designing private homes in the UK and beyond. Gregory Phillips Architects does not chase trends. The firm builds homes around how people live. In California, that means understanding how the climate, terrain, and lifestyle shape the brief. Homes need to support openness and retreat. They need to host and to hide. They must feel effortless to use, yet deeply composed in how they function.
Clients are often looking for clarity in an architectural market that can feel crowded. Gregory Phillips offers that clarity through process. The firm works with clients from the outset to develop a brief that is both aspirational and grounded. Designs are modelled in three dimensions early, allowing every relationship between space, light, and landscape to be explored. Interiors, architecture, and outdoor environments are developed together, not in isolation. That integration creates homes that feel whole.
In one recent proposal, the team designed a series of interconnected courtyards that modulate light and privacy across the day. The main living area opens to the western view but is anchored by a private courtyard with a reflecting pool and olive trees. The bedroom wing steps down with the land, giving each room its own aspect. A spa pavilion is set into the lower garden, screened by stone walls and accessed via a stepped pathway. Every movement through the home is considered.
This approach resonates in the American context, particularly among clients building long term residences in locations like Bel Air, the Hollywood Hills, or Napa. The ambition is not simply to create something new, but something lasting. Gregory Phillips Architects brings a philosophy of permanence. Materials are chosen to age well. Spaces are designed to adapt. The architecture supports life as it changes, not just how it appears at handover.
The firm’s background in British residential design informs its rigor. Planning, proportion, and craft are fundamental. Yet its experience with international clients gives it the agility to respond
to cultural and environmental nuance. That combination makes Gregory Phillips an ideal partner for American clients who value both global design thinking and local sensitivity.
Recognition from institutions such as RIBA, the UK Property Awards, and the Luxury Lifestyle Awards reinforces the firm’s standing. Yet Gregory’s reputation has been built less through promotion than through precision. Each home is tailored, detailed, and executed with an attention that quietly sets it apart.
For clients in the United States looking to create homes that are both architecturally ambitious and deeply personal, Gregory Phillips Architects offers something rare. A home that reflects not only where you live, but how you live. A place that supports a lifestyle today, and becomes a legacy tomorrow.
