Ray Kappes Modernist masterpiece asks $11.5 | Real Estate news

An iconic property that has been described as probably “the greatest house in Southern California” just hit the market for the first time ever in Pacific Palisades. Asking price: $11.5 million.

A Midcentury masterpiece, the home served as the first residence of Ray Kappe, the late architect who co-founded the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc). He designed the place himself in 1967.

Kappe died in 2019, and his spouse Shelly, who also co-founded SCI-Arc, died last yr. Now, the property is being offered by their household trust.

Tucked on a hillside in the Rustic Canyon neighborhood, the home floats above a natural spring that flows through the property, resting on six concrete columns sunk 30 ft into the ground. The 4,157-square-foot ground plan is break up across seven ranges, that includes 5 bedrooms, 5 bogs and free-flowing residing areas wrapped in redwood and glass.

One critic called it “a controlled explosion of space.” An architect called it “the quintessential treehouse.” In 2008, when the L.A. Times Home part created a checklist of the 10 best homes in L.A., which featured creations from Richard Neutra, Frank Lloyd Wright and Pierre Koenig, former American Institute of Architects’ L.A. chapter president Stephen Kanner said Kappe’s “may be the greatest house in Southern California.”

It’s not a home that may very well be constructed today — for a handful of causes. First, the hovering stairs and footbridges that navigate the property have no handrails, that are now required under current construction code.

Also, the home options a ton of glass. Too a lot glass, according to trendy California building code. The home’s skylights, clerestories and towering home windows that take in the wooded scene surrounding it make up roughly 50% of the ground plan — a lot increased than trendy limits enable.

Outside, cantilevered decks and platforms overlook a lap pool, spa, sauna and cabana shrouded in eucalyptus, sycamore, oak and bamboo.

The 4,157-square-foot home is wrapped in concrete, redwood and glass.

(Cameron Carothers)

The end result’s a placing space that feels completely distinctive, even in a area as architecturally eclectic as Southern California. In 1996, it was deemed an L.A. Historic-Cultural Monument.

Ian Brooks of Berkshire Hathaway HomeProviders California Properties holds the itemizing. He said calls asking to tour the property have been coming nonstop since it surfaced for sale.

“The Kappe residence will resonate with discerning buyers who value architectural provenance, impeccable design and cultural importance — a rare opportunity to own an enduring piece of architectural history,” he said.