Santa Ynez Estate
Santa Ynez, CA
A new home designed by Berkeley architects Fernau and Hartman on a remote twenty-acre hilltop site consists of a series of different volumes combined together on a steep slope. Our goal was to frame the architecture in the landscape, thereby matching the surrounding native landscape, the open and joyful house, and newly planted native materials.
The first challenge was to be able to work with the changing grades to be able to create cultivated spaces and a spacious front garden.
The second challenge was to design an environmentally sensitive quarter-mile driveway that climbs 1,000 feet. The road was graded with great care around existing oak trees.
We faced these challenges incrementally, one step at a time, in close collaboration with the clients and architects. The end result is a private retreat that exudes positive energy and a sense of well-being.
Size
20 Acres
Team
Fernau and Hartman (Architect)
Photography
Marion Brenner