Dive summary:

• A green roof and geothermal climate control are among the green devices that are not obvious in a home that California architect Michael Kovac designed for himself on a steep hillside lot where a conventional house used to be.
• A shear wall functions as more than just an element of the design because it goes deep into bedrock and serves as a conduit for geothermal energy while stairs alongside it act as chimneys inside the house to help flow air.
• Visitors to the house do not see it because of a parapet, but a green roof is one of the features that helped the house get a LEED Platinum rating.

From the article:

Architect Michael Kovac’s new house in Los Angeles’ Pacific Palisades does not announce itself like the neighborhood’s mega-mansions of similar vintage. ...