The Sea Ranch
If you head far enough north of San Francisco, on a winding Highway 1, you will see white water crashing on the cliffs of The Sea Ranch. (Yes, there is a “The” in front, just like the highways in LA or The Ohio State University.) I was lucky enough to visit here this summer with my family and I wanted to share it with you!
The Sea Ranch
The Sea Ranch is a residential community that was master planned by Landscape Architect Lawrence Halprin in the 60’s. (Okay – now I need to go back to my Cal Poly days to remember this lecture…I swear I was listening, Astrid!) One of the main ideas was to allow nature to act as the chief designer. So, houses were clustered together keeping large meadows intact with the added benefit of providing wind shelters for the homes. From highway 1 looking west, you can barely see the houses because they utilize the natural materials and a similar color palette to the natural landscape and building heights are required to be under 25’ in height. Today strict building requirements and CC+R keep the original vision alive.
There is a lot more to the historical, environmental and political implications, but this utopian community stands the test of time and it is full of inspiration! Around every corner is a photo op. Beautiful architecture and ocean views? Yes, please!
The architecture and planning can be applied to modern designs across the board. Here were a few detailed inspirational features that I liked and how they can be applied virtually anywhere.
Monolithic Materials
Garage doors match the home exterior for a seamless look that does not draw the eye to the garage.
I love that the garage doors use the same siding as the home. Who wants to draw your eye to the garage anyways? Notice, even the light fixtures are covered up. This makes a seamless look for the whole home. Additionally, all of the homes in Sea Ranch are made using wood siding or board form concrete siding (for a little less maintenance) so everything looks cohesive, as if you are looking at one portrait.
2. Meadows
Meadows of grasses blend naturally together here. Is that a natural meadow? Or did someone plant it? Exactly! All the homes in Sea Ranch have meadows in between. Added benefit, my kids like seeing the sheep that mow the lawns in the neighborhoods.
3. Hiding cars
Another cool thing about Sea Ranch: cars are screened off from highly visible areas. For example, there is a trail that runs along the ocean cliffs and you can’t see anyone’s cars on that trail for miles, despite the trail running by many houses. Most people have fences around the parking areas, that again, match the homes’ siding.
4. Permeable Driveways
The driveways in Sea Ranch are all gravel driveways. I love this natural look and it doesn’t have to be messy. Cells underneath the drive can help keep the gravel in place. Plus, it is a much more environmentally friendly driveway as the water can infiltrate the ground plane there.
5. Working with Nature
The materials, the steep angles of the roofs and no eaves or overhangs above windows are there for a reason: to work with the elements- wind, sun, exposure, salt… Houses and plants really do take a real beating living that close to the ocean! Plus, these smart features actually create timelessly modern homes that make sense and are warm and inviting. A person who loves modern design or traditional design can find something to love about the universal nature of Sea Ranch. When designing a home or garden it is so easy to forget that it needs to work within its own microclimate to achieve the best most useful results. Function over form!
Almost Sunset
I hope you found something inspiring from The Sea Ranch for your next project. Let me know!