|
Rustic Modern Farmhouse with Godlike View
The question to ask about architect Mark Singer’s Laguna Beach house isn’t what’s unique about it, but what is not. From its setting on a ridge high above Pacific Coast Highway that affords a nearly panoramic view – sweeping from the Channel Islands to the San Gabriel Mountains – to the architecture and handmade furniture, Singer’s home is certainly one-of-a-kind. Set on a 3-acre lot, surrounded by open space, the 3,000-square-foot main house was designed by Singer in the modernist style he is known for, a modernism that has been re-infused with traditional materials, textures and colors to escape from the sterility of buildings that look like “drywall dipped in white paint.” Singer calls it a “rustic, modern farmhouse.” A small orange grove he planted beyond the guesthouse, that he calls “an homage to Orange County,” adds to the rural ambiance.
Much of the house is constructed of
fire-resistant concrete and concrete block. “We used a lot of
sandblasted concrete block, which is almost the same color as
the granite we used. The vines cling to the block, which
gives it a very timeless and kind of heavy feeling, like an
older building – a castle or something that pre-existed [this
era].” Adhering to a central principle of modern architecture, structure is design in Singer’s home. “The house doesn’t have a split personality, the way a lot of houses do when they are veneered with some elaborate material on the outside and then on the inside they turn to drywall,” he says. “The material is used in a very pure and genuine way. A concrete block wall on the outside is a concrete block wall on the inside.” Singer’s use of many types of stone and wood keep the house from the kind of austerity that could be a problem in a house constructed from concrete block. “I built just about every piece of furniture, door, doorjamb, built-in cabinet – aside from those in the kitchen – using a variety of exotic woods,” he says. The furniture, like the house, is beautiful modernist stuff. Singer says his favorite parts are the outdoor “rooms” – patios and terraces adapted to prevailing wind and sun patterns to make pleasant, useful outdoor spaces that link the house to nature, allowing it to interlace its fingers with the surrounding environment. A number of fountains, pools and waterfalls add to the sense of nature that pervades the compound.
Singer’s wife, Myriam, says the vast kitchen, completely roofed with a translucent, sectioned, skylight material, is her favorite room. “I love our bedroom,” she says. “It’s very quiet and peaceful. Every room is just so special. But our life takes place around food and the warmth of the kitchen is so nice – it is my favorite room.” By Steve Thomas For comments and questions contact Mark - Email
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
“This is one of the few properties that
has views of Saddleback Mountain, Aliso Viejo, the ocean,
downtown Laguna and the north coast. We are surrounded by
natural beauty. At its best, architecture is subordinate
in its beauty to the beauty of nature. So I never attempted to
compete with this place. I just tried to create a vantage
point from which to enjoy it. That is sort of what the
house attempts to do.”
