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The building site is shaped by forces at play in the Big Sur region: tectonic action, heavy winter storms, extreme solar exposure, atmospheric salinity, and the constant motion of oceanic swells. With the primary goal of attuning the house to this unique landscape, the architecture is formed by the mediation of these environmental conditions. Massive stone walls that compose the house are tapered and laid with slender courses of gray stone to echo the striated cliff faces below. Stone and glass facades stay stable in the harsh solar and solar exposures. The roofs—separated from the stone walls by an operable clerestory—appear to float above the building, visually merging with both the adjacent cypress grove and the horizon of the ocean beyond. The house makes way for the landscape.
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The discovery of a debris-filled ravine that had previously carried a seasonal stream at the center of the site was the primary driver for the project’s form, pushing the team to locate the main mass of the building on either side of the ravine to provide for the restoration of the stream, a native habitat for plant and animal communities. Prior development on the site was further mitigated by the conversion of a driveway into a bluff side path using coastal scrub and maritime chaparral plantings. While the house is situated among this landscape, it treads lightly upon it. Inhabitants are immersed within it and can access it through generous apertures, but the footprint of the building avoids ecologically sensitive areas.
Optimized shading, along with the thermal mass of the large stone walls, clerestory venting, and a large solar array on the roof reduce energy consumption. Exterior materials that can endure solar, wind, saline, and fire exposure furthermore increase the building’s durability and longevity. All structural timber is FSC certified, the majority of which is recycled content engineered timber. An onsite septic system eliminates waste, recycles water, and naturally replenishes water tables. The ravine restoration minimizes soil runoff and sediment tracking into the ocean. These interlocking strategies allow the home to operate in concert with seasonal cycles and in a wide range of environmental conditions while simultaneously providing comfort, refuge, and shelter for its inhabitants.
The unique site straddles the transition from coastal plant communities to those that populate the mountains to the east. Woodland forest, coastal scrub, maritime chaparral, and a Monterey cypress grove are braided together on the site in loose, overlapping bands. The openness of the building’s footprint allows for these landscape threads to weave between the two pavilions and wrap around the building. Frogs and other aquatic fauna have begun to repopulate the restored seasonal stream at the center of the project. The owners enjoy easy access to this complex local ecology through an abundance of apertures and access points. At the center of the project is the restoration of a seasonal waterway that brings rain from the Santa Lucia mountains to the east westward to the Pacific Ocean. The clearing of debris and infill from this waterway allowed for the subsequent replanting of a native woodland forest plant community. This rewilding of a central tract of the site connects it to the larger landscape and allows for the seasonal water cycles to foster biodiverse native plant and animal communities. Breaking up the footprint of the building by organizing it as two pavilions connected by a bridge allows the house to serve the family across a range of functions: from intimate gatherings to more inclusive periodic events. The room configuration includes spaces that are designed for flexible use and future adaptation as the needs of the family change and evolve.
“When I was first invited to design a house for this rocky cove, I wondered if a residence on this site could in fact survive, or if it would be consumed by the sea,” says Jess Field. “I knew that we had to design with great care. As a first step, we had to pause and listen in order to absorb the natural behaviors and the magnitude of the forces that shape this remarkable place. Only then could we proceed, and with humility.”
Led by father-and-son team Stan and Jess Field, our interest in place-making spans generations and countries. Stan was taught by Louis Kahn; Jess was born in South Africa and grew up sketching and drafting from an early age. Our studio is comprised of talented individuals working collaboratively to realize the vision for each project.
The core of our philosophy is that architecture is part of a conversation with nature that allows humans to return to being “a part” of nature, as opposed to “apart” from it. Each project begins with a reading of the land. We start with a deep respect for what a place wants to be, exploring the site, culture, resources, and history that makes each place unique. FIELD recognizes that architecture sits at the intersection of art and science, function and form. Our approach is one that weaves creative insight with technical expertise to create buildings that are thoughtful, inspiring, sustainable, and authentic.
