Provence in Hope Ranch

The owners wanted to have a house that reminded them of their favorite places in Provence in France but, in this case, on a site with a 360 degree view of the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Ynez Mountains. The result is a two story house, with two tall stair towers that anchor the oblique geometries of the plan.  Though by no means a small house, the layout actually makes the house seem even larger and grander than it is. The entrance actually appears to be taken more from a French castle than a house: the visitor passes through a vaulted tunnel that opens onto a completely enclosed courtyard where the front door, past a central fountain, is on the opposite side. The thick walls are updated versions of the plaster covered stone walls of Europe: environmentally friendly slabs of concrete mixed with insulation, which can be cut easily with a chain saw, are quickly cemented around steel reinforcing bars and are ready almost immediately for finishes.