Ron Radziner is the co-founder of design-build firm Marmol Radziner, which he founded in 1989 with Leo Marmol. The firm has offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York, but Mr. Radziner, 58, is based in Los Angeles.

The firm offers a range of services, including architectural design, construction, interior design, landscape design, furniture design and modern restoration. In 2005, they created a prefab division, Marmol Radziner Prefab, to address sustainable-building issues.

Mr. Radziner, who has a modernist aesthetic, has been involved in every project. Most recently that’s included the 18-story, 114-unit Argyle House, a luxury L.A. rental building next door to the historic Capitol Records Building. The interiors, public spaces and amenities were all handled by Marmol Radziner.

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"It’s a really urban setting," more New York-like than traditional L.A.," Mr. Radziner said.

The company is also currently working on a larger, 60-story tower in Downtown Los Angeles. "Those more urban centers in L.A. are becoming 24-hour parts of the city," Mr. Radziner said.

We caught up with him to discuss the changing tastes of L.A.’s buyers, the importance of an indoor/outdoor connection and more.

Mansion Global: Describe your dream property.

Ron Radziner: Remote and secluded. Probably on one of the Hawaiian islands with a lush, green setting with an ocean beyond, so I could create a home that engages with the garden.

MG: Do you have a real estate property that got away?

RR: A number of years ago I found a house in Joshua Tree, right outside the National Park. Someone else was just willing to pay more. I have a home there, now, but I did miss out on that other one.

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MG: What does luxury mean to you?

RR: It’s about good, usually natural, materials. Good proportions, beautiful lighting. Access to the outdoors—either with a great view or garden space.

It’s a place that feels like a sanctuary, that’s peaceful.

MG: What area do you think is the next hub for luxury properties?

RR: New York, Paris and London are cities where wealthy people have always had homes. Los Angeles has come into that too. But more people from Asia, the Middle East and even Europe see Los Angeles as another place to have a home. I’m seeing that change happen.

And we do homes all over, but they’re one-offs—a house in Santa Fe, New Mexico, or Aspen, Colorado. But L.A. is becoming a world city, like New York.

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MG: What’s the biggest surprise in the luxury real estate market now?

RR: Here in L.A.—and New York as well, where we do a fair amount of work—things are softer. That’s not to say that things have crashed, but things have slowed down a touch.

One thing that’s been a really pleasant surprise for me is the appreciation of good contemporary design in multi-use buildings. In the past, they’ve been very traditional in their architectural character.

MG: Where are the best luxury homes in the world and why?

RR: As a modernist architect, I love homes in warm places like California, Mexico and Hawaii, because you have the opportunity to incorporate the outside in.

We’re working on a house in Cabo, in Mexico. Because of the weather there, it frees everything.

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MG: What’s your favorite part of your home?

RR: My home in L.A. is all about the landscape. It’s a very glassy home, but private still because of the way it sits in the landscape. It’s all about focusing on the native California landscape that surrounds it.

Because of the glassiness of the home, the light is constantly changing depending on the time of the day, the season and the weather. I’m very aware of whether there’s a full moon or not.

MG: What best describes the theme to your home and why?

RR: Sometimes people come and even though they’re inside, they say they feel like they’re outside. It’s really about being one with nature.

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MG: What’s the most valuable amenity to have in a home right now?

RR: It’s been a little while, but screening rooms. Even though people are watching more on the computer, it’s either screening room or nothing.

Outdoor kitchens are also something people really want.

Great master bathrooms are still really appreciated.

MG: What’s your best piece of real estate advice?

RR: I’m a believer in being in an area that you see evolving in the best way, a place with a sense of community and vitality. Buying in a place where people care who lives there.

MG: What’s going on in the news that will have the biggest impact on the luxury real estate market?

RR: Broadly it seems the politics of the country make people take a breath and wonder if they should wait a bit.

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