The legendary Old Castle Road House, designed and built by renowned architect Kendrick Bangs Kellogg, has debuted on the market for the first time. Standing atop a 40-acre parcel in California’s Valley Center, this stunning organic masterpiece dissolves the boundary between sculptural architecture and nature. Its smooth, wavy roofline and natural-material palette, set amid avocado groves, blends beautifully with the softly curved terrain of the hillside.
The construction of the monumental Old Castle Road House took six years. A family bought a piece of land in 1972 and planted 900 avocado trees. Amid these groves, the architect Kendrick Bangs Kellogg designed the sculptural residence in 1984 at his clients’ behest. To build the house, he locally sourced natural materials from the construction site and hand-built the stone-clad walls to give it a striking handcrafted appearance.
The biophilic elements, including floor-to-ceiling glazed walls and a rustic, textured timber framework, further accentuate the building’s stone-clad façade. Its fluid geometry and softly curved silhouette mimic the natural terrain, making the house look like an extension of the landscape itself. The architect completely avoided sharp or rigid boxy elements to eliminate visual obstruction and maintain its appealing flowy design.
For its interior, the architect maintained the sculptural aspect by using stone, raw wooden log pillars, and generous glazing in each room. The flowy path gives a feeling of wandering through a dense forested area. These wooden pillars provide structural support to the building and subtly separate various zones despite the open floor layout. The giant glazed walls flood the interior with natural light and offer 360-degree views of the rocky landscape.
The living zone looks like an elevated viewing platform wrapped with massive wall glazing. The floating stone fireplace adorns the space with its monolithic appearance and adds tactile richness to the interior. It rests on the circular platform that seems to float above the floor. The windows, directly set into the wood columns, eliminate the need for bulky frames and provide uninterrupted views of the surroundings.
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The kitchen looks like an organic art piece with its curved countertops, cabinetry, and circular dining table in the middle. The tree trunks serve as natural structural dividers while giving unrestricted views of the surrounding and various levels in the two-story building. Intimate places like the five bedrooms maintain strong organic charm through exposed beam ceilings, integrated stone fireplace, glazing, and raw wooden pillars.
The aqua ceramic tilework serves as a striking décor element in the three bathrooms and contrasts beautifully against the stone columns. The dual vanity island with a double-sided circular mirror doesn’t obstruct the natural light passing through the space.
The way the architect incorporates biophilic elements into every minute detail of the Old Castle Road House turns it into a marvelous organic architectural masterpiece. Kendrick Bangs Kellogg’s house is listed with Agents of Architecture for $2,695,000.
Via: Wallpaper
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