HELIOTROPE HOMES

PROJECT LOCATION: 620 / 618 HELIOTROPE AVE, CORONA DEL MAR

PROJECT TYPE: DUPLEX / SPECULATIVE

PROJECT SIZE: 2000 / 1000 FT²

DEVELOPER: RELLION INC, Lin He

DESCRIPTION: The Heliotrope residences advance the architectural language of Corona del Mar toward a level of refinement crafted for a more sophisticated clientele. Composed as two 3,000‑square‑foot homes on a narrow coastal lot, the project organizes its massing with clarity and intention. Each residence is anchored by a double‑height entry volume that draws daylight deep into the interior, establishing a vertical rhythm that unfolds across three levels of connected living spaces and framed coastal vistas.

The architectural grammar is defined by an engagement of platonic solids and folding tapered planes, forming a sculptural kit of parts that gives the project its compositional strength. The primary volumes are expressed as calm, legible forms—pure in proportion and disciplined in their geometry—while the tapered planes introduce movement, precision, and a sense of crafted complexity. This interplay produces an architectural expression that is both rigorous and boldly contemporary.

A signature element of the design is the continuous knife‑edge roof gesture, a proprietary refinement that replaces the fractured zig‑zag rooflines long associated with earlier infill development in the neighborhood. Those past forms, shaped more by constraint than by intention, resulted in visually unsettled silhouettes that sat in tension with the architecture beneath them. The new knife‑edge roof resolves height limitations with clarity while integrating seamlessly into the massing, reinforcing the purity of the platonic volumes and the sculptural coherence of the overall composition. The result is a single, uninterrupted horizon—sharp, confident, and unlike anything previously built in Corona del Mar.

Together, the calibrated massing, luminous interiors, and daring roof gesture establish a pair of residences that move decisively beyond the restrained vernacular of the area. The project introduces an architectural expression the community has not yet seen: bold yet disciplined, sculptural yet livable, and unmistakably contemporary in its ambition. Heliotrope stands as a new benchmark for what narrow‑lot coastal living can be when design is elevated to its highest potential.