Idyllic SoCal Retreat for Sale - Page 2

"In this home you can see the vocabulary that Cal Straub had developed, combining modern with Japanese and Craftsman styles," remarks Cole, pointing out the post-and-beam construction, translucent-glass screening, original light fixtures, and convenient built-in cabinetry.

Stepping outdoors, you find yourself among mature California native plantings, which set the stage for this idyllic canyon retreat with panoramic city and mountain views. Ocean breezes are a reminder that beach communities and the picturesque Palos Verdes Peninsula are minutes away.

"A number of people who have visited have commented on the feeling of being in Lake Arrowhead or Tahoe," Cole says. "It's wild being up here, just so quiet, such a stark contrast from the overall sort of wider urban L.A. landscape."

Though Rolling Hills is well known for being equestrian country, Cole says it can still be a pleasant surprise "being such a short distance from Pacific Coast Highway and seeing a group of people riding horses."

Undergraduate students at USC's School of Architecture, Conrad Buff (1926-1988) and Donald Hensman (1924-2002) were already designing affordable tract homes before starting their own practice, Buff and Hensman.

Calvin Straub (1920-1998) was an established architecture professor at USC when he sought out Buff and Hensman, leading to the partnership of Buff, Straub and Hensman in 1957, and earning the reputation as "the father of California post-and-beam architecture."

As longtime residents of Los Angeles and veterans of the U.S. Navy, the three partners understood what it would take to build in postwar Southern California, and developed their own regional architectural form, designed with affordability in mind and an eye towards integrating structure with site.

Alongside masterwork Case Study House #20, a short list of the firm's most significant projects would include the Poppy Peak Historic District in Pasadena, the Douglas Fir Vacation Cabin featured in Look magazine, Calvin Straub's own personal residence, as well as numerous celebrity and custom homes.

Commenting on the experience of visiting the Mitchell Residence in person, Cole says, "It's not the austere glass box…you really have to be there to understand its timelessness and the beauty of the [home's] layout. This home is a testament to the architects, and to what they were doing at that time."

For more information and photos on the Mitchell Residence, click here.