Understanding Architectural Linear Drains
New Construction Residential Project Example: Bridge House
Photos courtesy of Infinity Drain
Architect: Dan Brunn Architecture
Location: Los Angeles
Application: Custom residence
About the Project: Dan Brunn, AIA, principal of Dan Brunn Architecture, is designing a one-of-a kind “bridge house” that will, literally, bridge over a stream. The 4,500-square-foot home will serve as a demonstration of innovative systems and forward-thinking processes. The design exemplifies Brunn’s signature minimalist aesthetic, evident in dynamic spatial choreography of light and volume. The master bathroom features a linear drain system with thin, parallel lines that allow the drain to blend into the design scheme and virtually disappear into the space. The architectural linear drains were fabricated in a custom length for a perfect installation. The same linear drain system is also featured in the outdoor kitchen/patio area and was installed using a site-sizable installation product which is able to be cut to fit and assembled on site to create any length.
Renovation Residential Project Example: Hollywood Crescent
Photos courtesy of Infinity Drain; photography Michael Clifford
Design: Elisa Baran Tréan of Elisa Baran, LLC
Location: Los Angeles
Application: Custom residence
About the Project: Working on a design project for a family member can be fraught with challenges. Not so for Elisa Baran Tréan of Elisa Baran, LLC, who took on a house renovation for her brother’s home in Los Angeles, California. The two-bedroom, four-bathroom home was almost a complete renovation, save for some existing structures and beams.
Baran and her brother are in sync as far as their interest in design and fashion, however, each has a love of different design aesthetics–Baran loves wabi-sabi, and her brother is drawn to brutalist architecture. The resulting home melds these two styles in a sophisticated way without leaning too heavily on one style or the other.
About the Design: The home was designed to have an art gallery feel – almost a blank canvas. Each room is calming and serene, decorated with minimalist furniture and a continuous cream-colored, monochromatic theme. With inspiring sunrise and sunset views of Los Angeles, Baran expanded the living room, pushing out the back wall and eliminating columns to make way for wall-to-wall sliding glass doors. A getaway for the many artists Baran’s brother frequently works with, the home feels like a resort down to every detail, from the Zen music studio to the perfectly lit pool for nighttime swims.
The primary bathroom was designed to utilize a striking Arabescato marble in the shower and custom integrated trough sink, designed by Baran. The concrete sink was engineered with a slight slope to incorporate luxurious tile insert frame linear drains on the left and right sides for a clean, flush look against the marble. The shower walls and floor are also Arabescato marble, and here again, Baran used a center drain to create a seamless canvas.
“I really wanted all the sinks to have marble inserts, and without the tile insert linear drains, these inserts would never have been as aesthetically pleasing to the eye as they are now,” Baran states. “For myself and the client, using the tile drains where there was marble or tile was a necessity in this home.”