WORKSHOP GIRARDI KABALA
FINALISTS! WE’RE HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE WORKSHOP IS AMONG THE FINALISTS FOR THE 2025 NATIONAL SINGLE STAIR ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN COMPETITION. CHECK OUT OUR PROPOSAL ‘MARKET HOUSING’ HERE.
isometric material sketch


EL CERRITO ORCHID GARAGE

 Program: Garage, Garden + Utility + Workspace
Location: Hillsborough, California
Size: 1,000 SF
Phase: Permitting

This project is our second intervention amongst the small buildings nestled within a @smithsonian recognized garden. We embraced the challenge of stitching between different programs and volumes by creating an architecture that subtly evolves from the expression of a small carriage house in the main axial view, to the definition of a greenhouse opening up towards the garden in the back.

A close reading of the existing context of the ‘Styled Ranch’ allows us to first identify the defining features of this eclectic language moving from California Modern to English Cottage to Craftsman. We then blend and update this language with the new addition: an elegant flow of circulation through low-slung, single-story volumes, varying degrees of openness through aperture position and glazing opacity, and elegant yet unpretentious tectonic clarity.


2025, RESIDENTIAL, ADU, Smithsonian Garden, Ground-Up



WORKSHOP
Founded in March 2024, WORKSHOP GIRARDI KABALA is a full-service architecture studio based in LA on the search for practical, beautiful and historically resonant form and space.
GIRARDI
Melina Girardi, AIA,  is a licensed architect with 10 years of experience in architecture, design, and construction, ranging from hoursing and residential design, cultural institutions and commercial/hospitality spaces to stage design, including 5 years with Frank Gehry and 2 years with Norman Foster.
KABALA
Matthew Kabala, AIA is a licensed architect with an MArch. degree from the Yale School of Architecture. His experience captures a wide spectrum of design, from cultural and institutional buildings to stage design, textiles, and painting, including 6 years with Frank Gehry.

© WORKSHOP Girardi Kabala, 2026, All Rights Reserved
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