Santorini Villa is a 2013–2014 residential renovation and multi-room addition project in Agoura Hills, California by Orange Innovations Inc., designed as a Southern California interpretation of the hillside “villa” architecture associated with Santorini, Greece. Rather than copying a single historical precedent, the project adapts Mediterranean-inspired massing and indoor-outdoor planning to a lakefront hillside site overlooking Malibu Lake. The design uses a long footprint and expansive openings to align the interior layout with the site’s topography, emphasizing horizontal movement through the home while maintaining continuous visual connection to the surrounding hills and water.
The project’s most defining architectural challenge was the site itself. Built into rocky hillside terrain, the renovation required an engineered foundation strategy using retaining wall systems, waterproofing assemblies, and a storm-drain network to stabilize the slopes and manage runoff. These hidden systems are critical in hillside architecture, where long-term success depends as much on water management as on form. Large windows and French doors create a consistent threshold between inside and outside, turning views into an active component of spatial planning and reinforcing the project’s core identity as a landscape-oriented villa adapted to California conditions.
