The Hilltop House by Safdie Rabines
The architects at Safdie Rabines have designed the Hilltop House in Rancho Santa Fe, California.
The home was designed to maximize the 360 degree views from its hilltop location, just north of San Diego. An open plan in the public areas of the home features four cascading levels of reverse butterfly roofs with clerestory windows to illuminate and ventilate. The stacked open beam ceilings delineate warm intimate spaces despite the nearly 10,000 square feet of space. Cantilever spans are supported by steel beams.
The house is sited and structurally engineered for energy efficiency. The reverse roof slope drains off rising warm air through clerestories with the help of cool ocean cross breezes. In winter, southern windows provide an abundance of passive solar heating. On cloudy days, hydronic radiant floors powered by German made boilers efficiently heat from the bottom up.
The home is currently being offered for sale through the agents at Gallagher & Gallagher – here.
Photos courtesy of Brent Haywood and Warmfocus
Dudye on 16 Jun 2009 at 3:41 am #
Woohoo, really like the yellow that goes through the whole interior
Rol Bolinga on 16 Jun 2009 at 10:01 am #
Very nice house. I like all the different levels inside the house, and I always love exposed wood beams.
Jan Rathinger on 16 Jun 2009 at 10:09 am #
Souther California needs more real architecture like this.
There’s too much spanish revival here. More of this please!
Lance on 16 Jun 2009 at 10:26 am #
It’s a little much of the brown, but WOW! It’s a complex more than a house though, but impressive nonetheless.
kiwi on 16 Jun 2009 at 6:27 pm #
Wow!Gorgeous!Awesome!!
kyle on 16 Jun 2009 at 6:55 pm #
That is absolutely amazing. I love how the ceiling echoes the stairs both in color and texture and how open it is. The wood mixed and layered with the bright white is stunning. Amazing.
zachary on 16 Jun 2009 at 8:15 pm #
safdie rabines are a married couple. Taal Safdie is pedigre. Her father worked with Louis Kahn. Ricardo is her husband who is also very talented. They are the principals of their firm.
Tom on 16 Jun 2009 at 8:52 pm #
This is a stunning home, but the second and third pictures are a bit jarring because at first glance they look like mirrored images… Perhaps not the best angle
Christian on 17 Jun 2009 at 1:07 am #
Hmm, a huge complex with a great view and all the creature comforts one can ask for. Yeah, if I’d have the money I could image living there. And invite a lot of friends.. There is space in abundance and it still has some cozy, back-home atmosphere, which is sometimes lost in modern architecture when someone tries to create something special without keeping in mind that it should be habitable. Having said that, exciting architecture this one is not!
Jan Rathinger on 17 Jun 2009 at 1:45 am #
Most houses are pretty boring. This is more exciting architecture than 99% of the houses in the world.
Tim on 17 Jun 2009 at 5:00 pm #
Absolutely spectacular and stunning design. I think this is the most beautiful house ever built.
The only thing better than the design itself would be the ability to afford to own it.
Rebecca on 18 Jun 2009 at 2:46 am #
Taal Safdie’s father has most definitely influenced her approach to design. In fact the last photo with the purple jacarandas in front of the house evokes her father’s Yeshiva Porat Yosef in its terraced outlines. It even echos Habitat ’67’s themes of light and terracing. I believe Taal grew up there.
“All this is in one way or another a search for beauty.”
Moshe Safdie on building uniqueness | Video on TED.com Habitat ‘67
Also, check out the seven panoramic shots under Virtual Tour on the realtor site. Panos are a dated technology, but they really help you understand the dimensionality of this particular structure and the architect’s brilliance in siting and lighting.
Christina on 18 Jun 2009 at 1:43 pm #
Check out the link–the panorama photos are awesome!
M. Hupka on 19 Jun 2009 at 6:21 am #
What a perfect place for entertaining friends, family and business associates. The views are breathtaking. If only I could make this dream house my home.
Robert Wright on 19 Jun 2009 at 9:57 am #
Not only am I a huge fan of Safdie Rabines and their amazing design of this home, I had the honor of being the interior designer on the project. You can’t beat being in the space – that is when it really comes to life.
Joseph Leto on 19 Jun 2009 at 3:13 pm #
I am the artist responsible for some of the artwork hung in this house. After I became aware of this wonderful example of modern residential architecture, I knew it would be a perfect place to show my artwork. Thankfully the owner agreed, so now, a number of pieces hang in various places throughout the home, unfortunately not many are shown in these pictures. If you are interested in seeing more of my work go to:
josephletoart.com or if you are near where the house is, go there, it would be a great experience for many reasons.
kast on 21 Jun 2009 at 2:09 am #
a thumbs up for the architect who dare to play with the sharp edges and stair …nice works really because its seems an engma between both of it.
Shakerosalt on 29 Jun 2009 at 9:44 am #
Fantastic!
Gabriela Deliz on 01 Jul 2009 at 5:53 pm #
You should show more pictures, like the bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens, etc. All I know is that i’m gonna live in this house when I grow up!(I’m 12 years old)
Drew Winget on 16 Jul 2009 at 1:51 pm #
One of the most striking features of this home is its diagonal primary interior axis. From the pictures, it looks like pairs of rooms are arranged as “L” shapes with the stairs between these “L”s. The axis is formed by the path one would take walking up the stairs, which axis inclines to each room at a 45 degree angle.
I wonder what it feels like to be in that kind of space. I imagine it lends some privacy to the rooms, while keeping an open feeling. The primary interior axis formed by the stairs doesn’t seem to be reflected in the exterior structure, however. With the exposed beams, that must lead to a very interesting and dynamic rhythm of structural elements.
In light of these curiosities, is there any way CONTEMPORIST could obtain and post a plan of the house, so we can see how all these elements are wedded?
Eamonn on 01 Aug 2009 at 6:21 pm #
This is the sort of place I need; and the money to go with it!
Gallagher on 03 Aug 2009 at 10:11 pm #
Gabriela, here are some more photos by John Leonffu of the Hilltop home.
http://www.real-estate-photographer.com/video/0805-14895elsentido/
Drew, I am working on scanning in the plan. In the meantime, you can Google Earth on 14895 El Sentido, Rancho Santa Fe, CA to get an idea of the roof plan.
Eamonn, here is lottery information:
http://www.calottery.com/default.htm