Project Description
Seen from the hills above, the roof planes of the house appear to have been there for as long as the cliffs – the stacked walls of the building revealed as the ground falls gently into the Pacific. The design draws inspiration from these natural forces and places the architecture as a direct response to their formation – as though to express a continuity of the site’s evolution. The California coast is shaped by erosion, wind, and geologic processes which give a distinct stratified form to the cliff edges and leave protected cracks and ravines for plant life to take hold. The site is defined by a quiet canyon which wraps down the length of the site and spills into the Pacific Ocean below. In between is a beautiful South facing peninsula topped with a windswept grove of Cypress that form a protected cove along which the main house is sited. On the opposite side of the canyon is the Genkan, the arrival building which leads to the main house along a wood and glass bridge from which the full length of the Canyon can be taken in. The layout of the house follows the form of the natural topography, echoing the fractures of the cliff sides as it bends to take the form of the land. The resulting spaces form a series of protected garden courts that provide shelter from the intensity of the coast. Movement through the house is orchestrated as a series of framed views of the landscape which bring one closer to nature with every turn. The house uses two primary, elemental materials of wood and stone. Together these two materials become elevated to express the spirit of the architecture. This forms a dialogue of hard and soft, and cool and warm, and aims to form a compliment to the surrounding landscape and make it livable. Locally quarried limestone laid in thin courses anchor the house and relate the building to the cliffs. Wide-plank reclaimed Teak flooring creates a calm plane that connects the interior spaces of the house with the lookout deck and engawa, the deck extension which connects the upper walkway to the garden facing the canyon. Walls stop short of the roof plane which floats above, creating a continuous band of clerestory windows that allow the natural light to illuminate the house as it changes throughout the days and seasons.