The Santa Lucia Preserve is a private community of 20,000 acres in Carmel Valley. 18,000 of those acres are protected by a conservation land trust. The remaining 10% is set aside for social and recreational facilities and 297 homesites. To preserve the natural systems and character of the wildlands, strict design guidelines mandate site sensitive design.
The mission for this project was to create a multigenerational family compound that respected the land and a “Korean home with a California heart.”
In collaborative spirit, we worked worked closely on the site plan for the compound. The buildings were sited at the edges of the grand meadow, tucking into the native oaks and angling to capture distant views. Projecting lines from these 2 angled facades determined an intersection point invisibly set in the entry drive. This point of intersection established the geometry that drove the concept for the design of the site. Radial concrete walls emanate from this point and fan out to link the house and guest house. They subtly organize the plaza into outdoor rooms. Arcs of stone walls traverse and the space providing key moments for the plaza to step down and respond to the topography. They radiate out to meet the meadow beyond. A powerful sense of place was created by
adherence to strong geometric organization.
The ethos of the meadow was reconstituted and integrated into the central plaza. Native
grasses and perennials echo the meadow in the distance. Arbutus trees, close relatives to the
native madrones, complement the oaks and punctuate the clean lines of geometry adding
vertical spatial definition. All aspects of the landscape complement the new buildings and
honor the context in which they are placed. The resulting compound feels at once, of the
place, and integral to the land.
View Original