Correction: Your own personal Crystal Cathedral

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Blogger’s note: As pointed out by commenter Ken McKenna, the original item as published was incorrect. Eli Attia was not the architect of the Crystal Cathedral; he was chief of design at the architectural firm Johnson/Burgee Architects (Philip Johnson’s firm), which designed the cathedral. The corrected item follows, with the original language crossed out -- to avoid the appearance that the mistake is being hidden.

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Frivolous, yes, but it’s Friday: Architect Eli Attia, who worked with legendary architect Philip Johnson on the design of the Crystal Cathedral in Orange County, is building this ‘Roundhouse’ in Beverly Hills, a prototype for an energy-efficient, glass-and-steel, flat-roofed home.

This is one of the more expensive spec houses you will find: The 15,000-square-foot home, not yet built, is on the market for $16 million. Publicity materials describe the house as ‘a three-story home with balconies to the south to take advantage of the long, panoramic sunrise-to-sunset view....’

More: The design ‘represents fundamental advances in homebuilding in the critical areas of environmental impact, construction efficiency, user experience and replicability.’

Attia maintains that the average wood-framed American home requires clear-cutting an acre of woodland, and that building construction produces 25% of America’s solid waste. He also argues that the first freestanding structures built by man more than 20,000 years ago ... (wait for it...) incorporated round floor plans.

Your thoughts? Comments? E-mail story tips to peter.viles@latimes.com.
Photo Credit: Roundhouse Development