Eco-Friendly Digs in Bel-Air
When Keith Lehrer, a businessman, attorney and former drummer of the Circle Jerks, wanted to remodel his 1950s ranch-style house in Bel-Air, he contacted Santa Monica architect David Hertz, who created a contemporary eyeful that showcases green design and construction.
“The architect pretty much took it to the ground,” said Realtor Tracy Moss, who shares the listing with her husband, Franklin.
When work was completed in 1998, the house didn’t look anything like its old self.
About the home: Its new look included a soaring living-room ceiling, an open floor plan, a third-floor sun deck/meditation area and an open-cage elevator in a glass tower. The layout of the home was determined in part by its site with city, valley and mountain views.
Windows were treated with high UV-protection film, water in the pool was solar heated and building materials were less toxic and more resource-efficient than those used in typical construction. The architect also made sure that the use of paint on interiors was minimized and that the paint used contained no volatile organic compounds, which have been implicated in problems of indoor air quality.
Hertz is founder and president of Syndesis Inc., an architecture, design and manufacturing firm specializing in “creating sustainable strategies and environmental products.”
The house has been used in filming TV commercials, including one aired during Super Bowl XXXVI that netted $10,000 a day.
Asking price: $3,950,000
Size: The house has five bedrooms and six bathrooms in 6,767 square feet.
Features: The home overlooks the Stone Canyon Reservoir and has a dumbwaiter, laundry chute, media room wired for Surround Sound, refrigerated wine storage room, gym, instant hot-water plumbing, four wood-burning fireplaces and a master bathroom with a steam room and spa.
Where: Bel-Air, West Gate
Contact: Franklin and Tracy Moss, Hilton & Hyland, Beverly Hills, (310) 456-7975.
To submit a candidate for Home of the Week, please send color interior and exterior photos (copies only, please; we cannot return the pictures) and a brief description of the house, including what makes the property unusual, to Ruth Ryon, Real Estate Section, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012; or e-mail homeoftheweek@latimes .com.
