Built within the Santa Lucia preserve in California’s Carmel Valley, this custom home was designed for a multigenerational family with business ties to their native Korea.
According to the project’s architect, Bay Area–based Mark English Architects, roughly 90% of the preserve is protected by a conservation land trust, and, as a result, there are only a few hundred dwellings within the area.
“Those privileged enough to build here must follow strict design and development guidelines to protect the natural ecologies and inherent beauty of this place,” English notes. “For this reason, siting the home within the meadow was complex, and our response is defined by a Z-shaped form, which follows the contours of the land.”
Combining Californian and Korean influences, the home features wide corridors and sweeping ramps—a dignified response to aging-in-place requests—yet private areas are noticeably quieter.
A restrained material palette is used, including Italian bluestone, white oak, cedar, quartz, and stainless steel, while weathering steel and cedar cladding approximates the colors of the natural environment, further dissolving the boundaries between built form and landscape.
Project Details
Award: Grand
Category: Custom Home: More Than 5,000 Square Feet
Architect: Mark English Architects
Builder: Portola Valley Builders
Location: Carmel-by-the-Sea, California
Size: 9,700 square feet
