Situated in an oak grove at the terminus of a long ridge, this low-slung modernist retreat gradually reveals itself as one approaches. A retinue of smaller structures - guest house, office, and garage - are arranged along a meandering drive, which finally resolves itself in a formal motor court. Bisecting the ridge, a moat-like pool delineates one edge of the court and shelters the private realm of the house from arriving vehicles. One end of the ‘moat’ literally spills over the ridge’s edge, creating a waterfall that drops down to a terrace off the lower-level screening room.
The house sprawls across the end of the ridge, at times cutting into the earth and at others cantilevering out toward carefully framed views. It is at once a place of refuge from the city, wedded to the site with stone walls and formed-concrete volumes, and a prospect commanding arresting vistas of the countryside.
A pool and pool house at the house’s rear are integral to the composition of landforms and levitating roof planes; together with the house they define and shelter a generous terrace and lawn. Echoing the ‘moat’ at the entry, the edge of the pool drops away to visually spill its contents down the hillside.