a house based on the original Soriano plans — albeit with numerous piercing the façade to reach into the entrance hall. At the same
modifications to accommodate a family with two children. time, it divides the courtyard into the driveway and garden on
The planning phase began a short while later, in early 1972. one side and the patio with the swimming pool and a view of
“Breuer came here to inspect the plot,” Mr. Sayer recalled. “I can the ocean on the other. The main house celebrates the “grand
remember him running around the highest point holding a ther- gesture”: the glass façade of the open plan living space, which
mometer — ‘too cold up here, a little lower would be better’ — in contains lounge areas, a dining area and an informal work area
this way determining the exact position of the house.” His subse- divided by deep fabric-covered storage walls, rises to 25 feet at its
quent design divided the layout, with about 8,600 square feet of apogee beneath the two soaring hyperbolic parabolas of the roof,
living space, into two structures, each with a rectangular footprint. while the master bedroom and guest room snuggle compactly
A smaller, one-story flat-roofed building was designed for the into the earthen slope below, their windows peeking out to the
children’s bedrooms and bathrooms, as well as changing rooms landscape as if from a cave. The kitchen, a sleek jewel box of pol-
for the swimming pool, a small kitchen and a garage. A six-foot- ished granite and custom stainless steel cabinetry — a design that
high wall literally docks the children’s building to the main edifice, was easily 30 years ahead of its time — is at one end, alongside
Above View from the lounge section towards the larger living area, with its sculptural fireplace and low-slung, comfortable sofas. All the
furniture dates from the house’s completion in 1973.
Opposite Another support pillar marks the southeast corner of the house, where a large patio, partially shaded by the roof overhang,
extends the living room out to the swimming pool.
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