Indoor gym, hair salon, movie theater, champagne vault–these are just a few of the everyday amenities in the upscale estates designed by Los-Angeles-based architect Paul McClean.
Beginning with his use of water and glass to connect the indoors and the outdoors with seamless artistry, the Ireland-born McClean designs impressive mansions that have already attracted such high-net-worth clients as fashion designer Calvin Klein, Bitcoin billionaires the Winklevoss twins, film producer and developer Nile Niami, for whom he built a $500 million giga-mansion in Bel Air, and Jay-Z and Beyonce, who recently snapped up a 30,000 square-foot home featuring four swimming pools, a tennis court, and a wellness complex.
McClean, who said he began drawing houses as a youngster in Dublin, remains intrigued by homes that make the most of their view, that somehow open up to the elements, and that make it easy to enjoy life. It’s a passion that has stayed with him throughout his architectural pursuits, and the Los Angeles mansion he designed for Swedish DJ Avicii early in his career moved him squarely into the eye of the rich and famous.
About half his projects now are done on spec, McClean told The Real Deal, while most of what he does is directly for homeowners. Most highlight his characteristic use of elegant water features, especially at entrances, not simply for their elegance, he said, but because they set the atmosphere and help even the busiest people stop and slow down.
What comes next nobody knows, but while the busy young architect has become somewhat synonymous with the high-end housing boom in Los Angeles, his unique approach to housing for the upper tier is artfully captured in his newly published a book, “McClean Design: Creating the Contemporary House.”
