Condominium 1 was the first unit in the Sea Ranch development on the Pacific coast of

Sonoma County, California Sonoma County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 488,863. Its seat of government and largest city is Santa Rosa. Sonoma County comprises the Santa Rosa-Petaluma ...

. The complex was designed by Charles W. Moore, Donlyn Lyndon, William Turnbull Jr. and Richard Whitaker of the MLTW partnership in 1963–1964, and was built by contractor Matthew Sylvia in 1965. The timber-framed structure overlooks the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. It has been described as one of the most significant architectural designs of the 1960s in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, and has received numerous awards.

Description

Condominium 1 is located on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Pacific. It is a complex of ten condominium units, intended to be seen as a single structure. The design was inspired by barns and other farm buildings in the region and, with the help of landscape architect

Lawrence Halprin Lawrence Halprin (July 1, 1916 – October 25, 2009) was an American landscape architect, designer, and teacher. Beginning his career in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, in 1949, Halprin often collaborated with a local circle of modernist ...

, was built to take into account the local ecology. The timber frame is clad in vertical

redwood Sequoioideae, commonly referred to as redwoods, is a subfamily of Pinophyta, coniferous trees within the family (biology), family Cupressaceae, that range in the Northern Hemisphere, northern hemisphere. It includes the List of superlative tree ...

siding, with vertical forms resembling mine structures anchoring a series of sloping roofs that descend toward the ocean, perforated by skylights. Windows are plain openings without trim or mullions. There are no eaves or significant fascia trim. On the uphill side the building wraps around a courtyard that houses the units' garages. Interior spaces feature the full range of MLTW-developed design elements. The 10-unit structure was Moore's first major work. It exemplifies Moore's "shed style" with single-pitched roofs, board siding, and plain detailing. The style, with its emphasis on a partnership with the site, was a break from the

International Style The International Style is a major architectural style and movement that began in western Europe in the 1920s and dominated modern architecture until the 1970s. It is defined by strict adherence to Functionalism (architecture), functional and Fo ...

. The design principles established by Condominium 1 included the use of what Moore termed aedicules, small intimate spaces defined by four columns and a canopy, and "saddlebags", small projections of the interior space to the exterior that provide a view or a contemplative space. The units are arranged with horizontal and vertical view lines through the space.

Reception

The condominium was featured in an extensive public relations campaign to promote the Sea Ranch development and appeared in ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', and ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'', as well as design magazines such as ''Perspecta'' and '' Japan Architect''. It received a design citation from '' Progressive Architect'', a California Governor's Design Award in 1966 and an

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...

Honor Award in 1967. In 1991 it received the AIA Twenty-five Year Award and Moore was awarded the

AIA Gold Medal The AIA Gold Medal is awarded by the American Institute of Architects conferred "by the national AIA Board of Directors in recognition of a significant body of work of lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture." It is the Ins ...

. The structure was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2005.

References

{{authority control Houses in Sonoma County, California Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in California National Register of Historic Places in Sonoma County, California Houses completed in 1965 Modernist architecture in California

Description

Reception

See also

References