Mr. and Mrs. Robert D. Sale House

Mr. and Mrs. Robert D. Sale House

The Sales, a young engineer and an artist and craftsman, commissioned Richard Neutra to design their house on a site with a dauntingly steep slope above the Pacific coastline. Views of the ocean were complemented by northern exposures of pastoral farmland. The couple, who enjoyed hiking in the region which was free from traces of urban life, requested a rustic and woodsy aesthetic for their home. For economy, the footprint of the house was constrained to the level portion of the land. On the northeast side of the house and facing the hills, an entrance pergola was planted with bougainvillea. Designed for the owner’s artwork, the entry was transformed into a skylit gallery with high ceilings. Lighting designs included not only standard soffit lighting but also strip lighting in the art gallery and under hall windows that provided a soft glow. Adjacent to the pool area, a sheltered brick terrace with a barbeque and picnic table was accessible through the family room and kitchen. At the same time, Neutra took pains to ensure this terrace did not interfere with the house’s views of the horizon. The foundation was designed to sustain the loads a possible future expansion to a second floor.

Adapted from Neutra – Complete Works by Barbara Lamprecht (Taschen, 2000), p. 385.