From the very first moment you come into contact with the latest “Nightingale” project from Dugally Oberfeld, you arrive at a near-visceral understanding of the firm’s ideas on permanence and layered sophistication. Nested into its Los Angeles hillside, the sweeping architectural masterpiece’s angled rooflines appear like a butterfly from the air while its “wings” span open to city views. A solid concrete base provides its foundation as permanent materials such as wood, aluminum slats and glass root the home in a warm expression of modernism. The home’s breathtaking scale, materiality and relationship to its hillside location create a museum quality — a piece of living art. It’s been called “poetry in the hills.”

Architect Mauricio Oberfeld is the creative half of the internationally acclaimed construction and design duo; Matthew Dugally, the brains behind the firm’s building and construction operations, forms the other half. Dugally — a Southern California native — is no stranger to design. His father is Aleck Dugally, a well-known architect. Oberfeld spent his early childhood in Mexico City before coming to the United States. He met Dugally in high school, and later they attended the University of Southern California together. Over their 25-year “magical partnership,” they have spearheaded more than 150 residential design projects in Los Angeles County, Orange County and the San Francisco Bay Area. Whether you call their approach “neo-modernism” or something else,  they work in a range of styles, from traditional villas to modern monuments — all meant to be expressions of how their clients want to live.

Oberfeld and Dugally recently dropped by The Showroom and spoke to host Josh Cooperman of Convo by Design to offer their thoughts on everything from the current state of Southern California design to pandemic lifestyles and sustainability as a means to architectural permanence. They also revealed the very first photos of their brand-new Nightingale project.

To learn more Dugally Oberfeld and their design vision, visit their website.