November, 1921 
23 
One oj the details of this 
house is a balcony and bay 
window swung out on heavy 
brackets. Its simplicity is 
startling. Below is the studded 
gate leading to the patio 
In the summer campanulas color the 
low retaining wall; their place being 
taken by scarlet berries in the fall 
and winter. 
A friendly use of stucco is made 
by Mr. Requa in his rounding of the 
corners of the walls and arches of 
this house. This soft effect is par¬ 
ticularly noticeable in the lovely 
hanging bay window which rests on 
huge brackets of redwood and is 
roofed with hand-made Spanish tiles. 
A second interesting modern Cali¬ 
fornia house by Mr. Requa is at 
Hollywood. This house rests on a 
low hillside and is flanked on both 
sides by enormous drooping pep¬ 
per trees. The low-peaked roof is 
covered with tiles, and again the 
walls are absolutely devoid of orna¬ 
ment. This house is built on two 
terraces and a gracious dignified 
stairway leads to the second story. 
Mr. Requa’s gift seems to be the 
wholly fresh and original way in 
which he develops variations in 
architecture beautifully to suit the 
site and the purpose of the house. 
In the architectural detail on page 22 
one of his charming gateways is given, 
of biscuit-brown concrete, wood, 
painted verde green, with wrought- 
iron hinges and latches,—a gateway 
complete and perfect in its design. 
A lovely patio is also shown with its 
building to a noticeable extent, in the 
south the intense sunshine has called 
for light-colored buildings that could 
be framed by tropic trees and take 
account of strong shadows. 
Some of the finest houses in and 
around San Diego built in the per¬ 
fection of the California spirit are 
the work of Richard S. Requa. 
These houses combine the romantic 
spirit of the past with the practical 
luxurious ideas of the living of to¬ 
day. Mr. Requa is a born landscape 
gardener and the spaces about his 
house are planted in rare sympathy 
with the architecture. In every little 
available corner he fits in a bewitch 
ing garden, sometimes the very house 
will encircle a garden with a pool 
resting in its heart. The walls of his 
houses sometimes seem actually to 
have been built as a ground for the 
play of tree shadows. 
On one of the quiet streets at the 
end of Balboa Park, San Diego, is a 
fine example of modern development 
of old Spanish architecture. You 
can see by a glance at the illustration 
how carefully the exterior of this 
house has been considered in rela¬ 
tion to the planting. Tall Italian 
cypresses make a straight dash of 
dark green against the house and the 
delicate foliage of the tree seems to 
bend appreciatively over the flat roof. 
In designing this residence at 
Hollywood, the architect, 
Richard S. Requa, has broken 
up the ground into little gar¬ 
dens. Tile roofing is com¬ 
bined with white walls 
