Tomales Bay, CA
3,200sqft (in planning permit process)
Main Residence

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Le Corbusier was heavily interested in vernacular architecture, with particular emphasis on the peasant lifestyle. Such architecture was a form of necessity built by hand with local materials and intended to accommodate everyday tasks.

When the Chilean Ambassador to Argentina, Ortuzar Errazuriz, commissioned a vacation home, Le Corbusier seized the opportunity to bring his vision of vernacular architecture to life. Yet, Errazuriz did not appreciate the design and likely expected Le Corbusier’s signature Parisian white box architecture — and so the Chilean project died.

While this design has influenced other works (i.e. Antonin Raymond’s project in Japan), our client wanted to resurrect it in an accurate homage. While the client has not received full permission to call the project “a Le Corbusier”, it is currently being developed as a study for a site in Tomales, CA.

Some slight alterations became necessary over the life of the project. For instance, the project was intended as a vacation house. The client’s intent to now live in the house led us to add a basement to accommodate personal storage needs while maintaining the original program on the first and second floor. Since Le Corbusier never fully developed the plan, we adapted the material composition towards local, sustainable materials and current technologies while echoing the spirit of Le Corbusier’s aesthetic and integrity.