12179 Koenigstein Road
Santa Paula, CA 93023    Directions

The two parcels that comprise this 44 acre Upper Ojai property are contained within the Topa Topa foothills and abut the spring-fed, year-round Bear Creek. The House, Guesthouse, Pool and Terraces are enfolded in the crook of a dramatic eastern ridge that provides unparalleled privacy yet affords views of the Topa Topa Mountains, the Upper Valley and Sulphur Mountain Ridge. The architect owners designed the linear 2700sf 3bd/2ba house as a serene, airy, modernist structure open to its landscape setting. The cathedral ceilinged living, dining and kitchen flow into one another through broad passageways. The 900sf guesthouse/studio was added to the 2-car garage in 2016 and provides two generous studio spaces or can function as a full guesthouse. The structures are situated on two terraced levels. The house and pool occupy the upper terrace while the guesthouse sits on the lower terrace at right angles to the house above. The sophisticated simplicity of this arrangement reflects the sympathetic relationship that traditional Japanese architecture establishes between dwellings and the landsape. The houses feature shallow covered porches, or loggias, that open to the north and south. These loggias are sealed off by steel barn doors when there is the threat of fire. The property is all electric with passive solar buildings supplemented by a 5kw of solar panels backed up by a Simpliphi battery storage system. The compound offers a richly modulated experience that has been designed to offer serenity, utility and permanence. Great attention has been paid to the long-term sustainability of the buildings with regard to wildfire, flood, energy use, and pest infestation (the buildings are framed entirely in steel), and to their integration into the indigenous landscape - where they provide shelter and amenities that share the resilience of this beautiful wildland setting.