Bernard Maybeck Connection - Page 2

Educated at the École des Beaux-Arts, Paris during the late 1800s, Maybeck eventually made his home on the West Coast where, in 1894, he was appointed as a drawing instructor at the Civil Engineering College of the University of California.

Since a school of architecture did not exist at that time, Maybeck offered an independent course in architectural design, inviting students to meet at his residence. Counted among his students were such notable names as Harvey Wiley Corbett (co-designer of New York's Rockefeller Center) and G. Albert Lansburgh (designer of the Warfield and Golden Gate theatres in San Francisco).

Known for his pioneering methods and uncompromising nature, Maybeck explains his residential philosophy in this excerpt from Berkeley Heritage:

"A wooden house should bring out all the character and virtue of wood—straight lines, wooden joinery, exposed rafters, and the wooden surface visible and left in its natural state. A house should fit into the landscape as if it were a part of it. It should also be an expression of the life and spirit which is to be lived within it."

Maybeck believed in living the simple life, and in incorporating handmade elements into his work. Over the course of his career, the architect made tremendous contributions to the Arts and Crafts movement, before passing away in 1957 in his beloved Berkeley.

Musing about 5 Maybeck Twin Drive, Gordon says, "If you look at the front of this property—that beautiful entryway, the atrium entering into the house, and that beautiful glass front—it's all very Craftsman-like."

"The framing of wood around that really massive front door, that's an exquisite detail to the home that comes from a time period earlier, an homage to the 1920s when most of these homes were built," she adds.

"The home is a rarity, and really deserves someone who actually loves architecture and understands how significant this is."

For a video tour of this unique home, click here.