Cliffside House Design Offers Dramatic Views In Mountainous Region Above The Ocean

This three-bedroom house is located on a spectacular site in the south Coast of Big Sur; it pays homage to the natural beauty and power of this California landscape. The overall design strategy is one of imbedding the building in the land, creating a structure that is inseparable from its context. The design reinterprets the organic architectural vocabulary of Big Sur houses built in the 50’s and 60’s. The site offers plunging views a 250’ foot drop to the Pacific Ocean both along the bluff and the western exposure. The house, a long thin volume, conforms and deforms to the natural contours of the land and the geometries of the bluff. The main body of the house is composed of two rectangular boxes connected by an all glass room; a one-story concrete wing placed perpendicular to the house includes bedrooms on the ground floor and a green roof. The house is cantilevered over the land 12’ feet back from the bluff’s edge, both to protect the delicate eco system of the cliff and to ensure the integrity and