Check out the Competition for a House Design Under the Hollywood Sign

Los Angeles is one of the most visited cities in the United States. For many first time visitors, one of the first things they do when they arrive at the "City of Angels" is to search for the famous "Hollywood" sign. After all, it's an indication that "you made it" to Los Angeles.

While the famed "Hollywood" sign is truly the city's icon, you can't help but notice the empty land that surrounds it. Well, things may change in the very near future.

Recently, Archoutloud Architecture held a competition for various home designs. The winning design will be built on the empty parcel of land that is directly beneath the "Hollywood" sign. The architectural competition caused a stir within the industry, resulting in hundreds of design submissions.

Steve Alper hosted the architectural competition. Alper is a dentist by profession, and he also owns the piece of empty land that is sitting right underneath the "Hollywood" sign. For architects, it's widely known that the opportunity to design a house around the "Hollywood" sign is extremely scarce. Having one of your architectural designs sitting in proximity to the "Hollywood" sign is a great opportunity to showcase your designing abilities. No wonder the competition has attracted hundreds of architects. The competition was also rightly dubbed as "The Last House on Mulholland."

According to a statement by Alper, he was very surprised that the competition gained worldwide interest. They also received various designs that give way to a meaningful incorporation of a community and the future.

The competition is now officially over, and the winner has been picked. The winning design is entitled the "Ambivalent House."

"Ambivalent House" is unique as it features an inexactly sphere-shaped design. The house also rotates slowly as time moves throughout the year. The "Ambivalent House" is a product of a local firm known as Hirsuta.

According to the Hirsuta, the "Hollywood" sign is very iconic, and it's only right that you design something that deserves an iconic status. As the "Ambivalent House" rotates, it gives the homeowners different elevations and views depending on the time of the year. Yet, the fortress-like exterior of the "Ambivalent House" is designed to give the homeowners the privacy they need from the countless tourists that visit the area.

Archoutloud commented that they chose the "Ambivalent House" as the winning design as it utilizes experience as the primary medium of the structure. The house places the homeowners deeper into the immediate surroundings of the location, which is often not noticed and yet very important if you want to get the full experience.

Archoutloud also loved the idea of building something that is a picturesque and static icon - a house with many faces and facades is very eye-catching. They may have intrinsic artistic merit as it's difficult to ignore something that is in "constant evolution."

The Archoutloud competition reported that they had received more than 500 designs hailing from all corners of the globe. The designs were meticulously judged by a panel of 20 jurors. Some of the big name jurors were Paul Petrunia (founder of Achinect), Thom Mayne (founder of Morphosis), and Tom Kundig (principal of Olson Kundig).

Despite the fact that the "Ambivalent House" won the competition, it's not a guarantee that the design will materialize on Alper's property. In fact, Alper chose a different personal favorite. According to Curbed, Alper's main intention was to simply get the ball rolling.

For now, it seems that everyone may have to wait on what design will eventually rise from Alper's property. But one has to admit that the "Ambivalent House" is probably something that one haven't seen before. The idea of rotating an inexactly sphere-shaped house with many faces is picturesque in itself. In fact, it's crazy enough of a design that it might just accomplish that "iconic" status that everyone is trying to achieve.