Triangle House a Piece of Art?

The word 'maverick' is often applied to Los Angeles architect Harry Gesner—and how appropriate that the term is now indelibly linked to surfing because of Mavericks Beach, onetime site of the World Surf League's 'Big Wave' competition.

A lifelong recreational surfer and self-taught architect, Gesner came into the spotlight this month as one of his prized designs, from 1960, went up for sale in L.A.

Could this new listing, nicknamed the Triangle House, be anything but mid-century modern?

Gesner designed the Triangle House, at 4946 Vanalden Avenue in Tarzana, three years after his most famous creation, in Malibu, known as—what else?—the Wave House.

"It sparkles when you walk in. It's just pristine," marveled realty owner Trisha Perez of the house she listed this month for $3,999,900. Speaking of the Triangle House's current owners, who bought it in 2015, she added, "They didn't remodel it, but they have gone through and given it a clean, fresh look."

Like the Wave House, inspiration for the breathtaking Sydney Opera House, Perez said the best feature of the Tarzana home is its strong connection to nature despite its perch in suburbia.

"On this property, you don't feel you're in the valley—you are surrounded by nature," the realtor said of the Triangle House, actually located up a gated driveway in the Santa Monica Mountain foothills, not far from Encino Reservoir.

"You feel it [most] when you're in the sunken living room," she related, noting that the 1.3-acre lot has freshly restored landscaping showcased through walls of glass. "You literally feel like you're out in nature."

"It inspired him, and he really does make it come to life," Perez said of the Southern California-born Gesner, a veteran of World War II who turned 95 recently. "I understand why people just love his work so much."