Megamansion architect Richard Landry gets go-ahead for ‘misunderstood’ Beverly Hills house

Stephen J. Cloobeck, who founded Diamond Resorts International, has won an appeal to build a contemporary, 16,000-square-foot mansion in Beverly Hills that some city commissioners had likened to a mausoleum, The Real Deal reports.

The sprawling house is the creation of LA-based megamansion architect Richard Landry, who, in plans submitted to the city, said he was designing a “dream house” for the Cloobecks, “marrying their love for formal, French architecture with their desire to live in a more clean-lined, contemporary home.”

The Beverly Hills Planning Commissioned approved the plans for 1014 North Roxbury Drive in late January on an appeal, according to The Real Deal, after the city’s Design Review Committee rejected it the month prior, saying the residence was too big. The Design Review Committee is tasked with reviewing plans for new construction; The Real Deal says the committee was founded to thwart the proliferation of mansions in the city.

“It’s hardly appropriate for a single family home,” Design Review Committee member Ilene Nathan said, according to The Real Deal, “adding that some in the commission ‘thought it looked like a mausoleum.’”

“Have you seen a mausoleum? You should Google it—that’s not what it looks like,” Landry reportedly replied. “I believe this is a great piece of architecture that is misunderstood.”

The Real Deal did not say what swayed the Planning Commission.

Plans show the $20-million mansion will have a cobblestone motor court, a pool and cabana, and a four-car garage—relatively modest for Landry, whose clients typically prefer ostentatious living spaces.

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