Orchid 
Sea + Stone is a refined adaptive reuse project that transforms a neglected 1980s office building in La Jolla Village into a 20-unit coastal residential community. The building’s clean-lined architecture stucco, wood, and glass creates a calm, modern composition that honors its context while asserting a fresh identity.
Rather than demolish, the design team embraced the existing structure as a canvas. New openings, reconfigured volumes, and layered materials generate rhythm and lightness, revealing the latent potential in the original form. This sustainable approach reduces embodied carbon and conserves resources, while adding much-needed housing in a walkable, transit-connected village core.
Inside, thoughtful layouts, warm finishes, and generous windows support a lifestyle oriented around light, flow, and comfort even within modest ceiling heights. A curated amenity program, including rooftop terrace and a resident lounge, fosters community without sprawl.
Completed in 2024, Sea + Stone proves that good infill housing can elevate and not disrupt its surroundings. Through clarity of form, sensitivity to context, and commitment to reuse, it offers a design-forward response to the region’s housing and sustainability challenges.