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.
66 www.modernismmagazine.com
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124