PARADISE FOUND

AT NORTHERN CALIFORNIA'S ICONIC SEA RANCH, HARD BY THE PACIFIC, COMMUNE DESIGN HELPS A YOUNG CREATIVE COUPLE MANIFEST THEIR DREAM OF COASTAL BLISS

- MAYER RUS

CONDOMINIUM 1, THE FIRST STRUCTURE BUILT AT THE SEA RANCH IN 1965, WAS DESIGNED BY ARCHITECTS CHARLES MOORE, DONLYN LYNDON, WILLIAM TURNBULL JR., AND RICHARD WHITAKER ON A SITE MASTER-PLANNED BY LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT LAWRENCE HALPRIN.

Forget about Pinterest boards and magazine clippings. The design brief that Mike and Sharon Matas compiled at the outset of their Sea Ranch odyssey delivers a veritable master class in the art of communicating intent, philosophy, and aesthetic direction. Peppered with archival drawings of The Sea Ranch, quotations from the utopian community’s founding architects, and evocative family photographs, the document eloquently illuminates the Matases’ vision for their seaside idyll. Sections of the introspective manifesto include How We Rest, How We Play, How We Eat, and Bringing the Outside In. The brief concludes with a quote by architect Charles Moore that neatly sums up the essence of the couple’s endeavor: “The Sea Ranch has been my Mother Earth, a place where I have gone, and continue to go, to have my energy and spirit rekindled.”

"IF YOU TRY TO MODERNIZE THESE SPACES, YOU BASICALLY DESTROY THEM. THE ONLY WAY TO LIVE HERE IS TO EMBRACE THE ORIGINAL IDEAS," SAYS COMMUNE'S ROMAN ALONSO