Houzz Tour: A Breathtaking Contemporary Home in Santa Barbara - The recipe for a truly exceptional home is quite simple. Just mix one part discerning owner, a creative architect part, a spectacular site portion and just the right amount of greenery.
In the foothills just above Santa Barbara, California is such a house. A love and a feast for the senses work, this home combines all these ingredients to create something very special. With the mountains just to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the south and the lights of Santa Barbara just below, the geometry of the house was deliberately kept simple for enjoying the views and characteristics of the site and create a complex set of space experiments.
In the foothills just above Santa Barbara, California is such a house. A love and a feast for the senses work, this home combines all these ingredients to create something very special. With the mountains just to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the south and the lights of Santa Barbara just below, the geometry of the house was deliberately kept simple for enjoying the views and characteristics of the site and create a complex set of space experiments.
Neumann Mendro Andrulaitis Architects LLP
The back of the house, designed by architect Dave Mendro overlooks the Santa Barbara lights below and the Pacific ocean beyond. The arc of the house is reflected in the arc of the pool along the edge of the site, with a pergola structure resembling a tip that creates an outdoor area to enjoy the sunsets to the west.
Neumann Mendro Andrulaitis Architects LLP
Neumann Mendro Andrulaitis Architects LLP
the north side of the house is the concave portion of the crescent-shaped design maximizes views of the site. The garage and the front door are the lower level, while all living spaces above.
Neumann Mendro Andrulaitis Architects LLP
access to the living areas from the lower level by a glass staircase and a customized elevator located in a vertical cylinder.
Neumann Mendro Andrulaitis Architects LLP
the house is essentially a large chamber with a circulation space along the edge. And rather than having traditional windows, the two long sides of the crescent are made of lift-slide doors. These doors allow large unobstructed views while creating a home that is transparent.
Check out some more spectacular uses of glass
Check out some more spectacular uses of glass
Neumann Mendro Andrulaitis Architects LLP
than there are traditional walls and doors separating the bedroom from the other, the form and structure to create privacy from room to room. Polished concrete walls that are perpendicular to the long sides of the house set the pace and structure of the interior spaces.
Neumann Mendro Andrulaitis Architects LLP
the arc of the crescent shape prevents the house to be seen all the way through as well. This not only creates a good amount of privacy from room to room; it creates a sense of mystery about what lies ahead. The house quite well does not tell his story at once, but reveals that you move.
Neumann Mendro Andrulaitis Architects LLP
surprises on the journey, as a bright red motorcycle revealed that domestic sculpture.
Neumann Mendro Andrulaitis Architects LLP
because the important details, wood flooring is laid in a curve to reflect the overall shape of the house. Dave Mendros, the architect noted that "make a curved house meant reinventing the wheel with everything." To achieve this curved wood floor, Mendros and his team had to understand that the strips of wood floor had to be close, so they can be folded during installation. Now that attention to detail!
Neumann Mendro Andrulaitis Architects LLP
the shower in the main bathroom is independent and has a curved wall translucent glass. Again, it is clear that the geometry of the house is what creates intimacy between the chambers, as there is no door between the bathroom and the bedroom.
Take a look at this guide to contemporary style
Take a look at this guide to contemporary style
Neumann Mendro Andrulaitis Architects LLP
throughout the long sweep of the arch, the interior ceiling is curved. So not only is a curved plane, but a curved section, too. Bend to the peaks on the north and down to the ocean south; ceiling accents the view.
Neumann Mendro Andrulaitis Architects LLP
in the end, some simple elements of a basic form crescent-shaped in concrete walls and curved ceiling, combine to create a remarkably elegant home. And large lift-slide doors, sometimes used as windows, keep the clean geometry and transparent global home. Sometimes simple is definitely better.
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