Rebuilding Sunset Mesa: A Case Study—And a Shared Mandate for Resilience 

Editor’s note: In the aftermath of the devastating Palisades fire, new ideas are emerging on how to address the complex and costly rebuilding process, especially ways neighborhoods can potentially work together with architects and design firms to build back faster, safer and as cost effectively as possible. Architect Janek Dombrowa, who is featured in this article, is the husband of TNT publisher Bonnie Morgan. He approached us with the idea for this feature story not to promote his firm, but from the desire to share the collective innovation coming not only from JTD but from other architectural and design firms. The unifying theme with each is the desire to build back better using innovative solutions, and a coordinated effort that would allow for pooling resources to lower costs, improve efficiency, and speed the process of transforming a disaster area back into a neighborhood. 

Perched on the coastal bluff once known as Parker Mesa—between Topanga Canyon and Pacific Palisades—the neighborhood of Sunset Mesa sits on land with a history that stretches back more than 3,000 years. Archaeological exploration from the 1920s through the 1950s unearthed remnants of ancient Chumash settlements: shell fragments, stone tools, cooking utensils, and traces of dwellings, all pointing to a long legacy of habitation drawn by the region’s temperate climate and proximity to the sea.

Modern development began in the early 1960s, when three initial housing tracts were laid out with a vision for uninterrupted ocean views from every lot. The neighborhood expanded over time to include nine tracts and roughly 500 homes. Utility lines were buried underground, trees were kept low to preserve sightlines, and a Property Association was established to maintain strict design standards. Sunset Mesa emerged as a model of planned coastal living: cohesive, quiet, and architecturally consistent.

Now, in the wake of the Palisades Fire, which destroyed nearly two-thirds of its homes, Sunset Mesa faces another transformation. 

The neighborhood has become a microcosm of the broader dilemma facing many Southern California communities: how to rebuild not only what was lost, but in a way that acknowledges increasing vulnerability in the face of climate change.

In response, three architecture and development teams have come forward with proposals to the Sunset Mesa Property Owner Association—each distinct in method, philosophy, and scale. While all share a focus on fire-resilient design and sustainable materials, their approaches reflect diverging ideas about how to future-proof homes in Southern California’s most fire-prone areas also referred to as the WUI (Wildland Urban Interface).

The Sunset Mesa Collective: Scale, Systems, and Speed

Led by M-Rad Architecture in collaboration with MGMT Partners and an extensive consultant network, the Sunset Mesa Collective brings a large-scale, integrated model to the table. Their proposal focuses on pre-approved modular designs, and a streamlined delivery process via partnerships with general contractors and prefab manufacturers like Plant Prefab and DVELE.

Key to their approach is bulk procurement and process consolidation. By offering homeowners a pre-engineered pre-assembled home and a centralized permitting process, they aim to control cost, standardize quality, and accelerate timelines. Their designs mimic mid-century characteristics like facades and roof angles, and their fire strategy includes panelized, non-combustible systems as well as guidance for landscape and defensible space planning.

The Collective’s strength lies in its scalability and logistics. It’s a solution optimized for many—less customization, but highly coordinated.

Wilkerson & EYRC Architects: Elegance, Modularity, and Custom Detail

Wilkerson & EYRC (Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects), two firms with deep roots in custom residential and cultural work, bring an elegant, architecturally rigorous approach. Their proposal emphasizes modular flexibility tailored to the unique views, topography, and code restrictions of each Sunset Mesa lot.

They propose using panelized steel-and-wood systems, designed for fire resistance, seismic resilience, and efficient off-site fabrication. While not explicitly a prefab model, Wilkerson & EYRC’s strategy leans on standardized structural systems and site-responsive configurations. Though their model depends on aggregating individual homeowner commitments, it allows some flexibility for individual preferences and architectural expression.

JTD Architects: Local, Low-Carbon, and Built Without Fuel

Unlike the other teams, JTD Architects is not a national or multi-city firm. They’re based in Topanga Canyon—just minutes from Sunset Mesa—and their response to the fire has been shaped by proximity, urgency, and a deep sense of investment in rebuilding not just homes, but a resilient community ecology.

JTD’s proposal stands apart in one foundational way: it is based entirely on non-combustible concrete construction using ICCF (Interlocking Composite Concrete Forms). These systems, made from recycled EPS foam, create high-performance, fireproof envelopes that resist flame, heat, and ember intrusion. They offer superior airtightness, energy efficiency, and acoustic insulation—with finishes like fire-retardant stucco, ceramic siding, or stone.

JTD also proposes a first-of-its-kind proposal to locate a temporary, mobile concrete batching plant near the building site along Pacific Coast Highway, to serve Sunset Mesa and the greater Pacific Palisades rebuild. This idea could dramatically reduce the environmental cost of transporting raw material through sensitive corridors like Malibu Canyon. Developed in partnership with CEMEX, a global building materials company, the proposal encourages on-site concrete recycling and local water sourcing, which could lead to a dramatic reduction in the number of truck trips through ecologically sensitive Malibu Canyon. The proposal aims to push CEMEX’s low-carbon and emerging seawater-based cement innovations to further reduce emissions. It’s a circular solution that addresses not only fire resilience but carbon footprint, cost, and logistics.

While JTD Architects, Inc. is the smallest firm of the three, their proposal is perhaps the boldest in material philosophy — rejecting wood framing altogether in favor of what principal Janek Dombrowa describes as “rebuilding without fuel”.

A Community Reemerges With A Recalibrated Vision

All three proposals are innovative in their own right. The Sunset Mesa Collective offers scalability and delivery at pace; Wilkerson & EYRC bring prestige and architectural quality; and JTD Architects advocates for material integrity and climate-forward construction. The future of Sunset Mesa will likely lie in some synthesis of these ideas.But the larger point becomes evident: in a region defined by scenic beauty and fire risk, how we build matters as much as what we build. Sunset Mesa’s next chapter isn’t just about recovery — it’s about a focus to rebuild safer, smarter, and better.