Beautiful Virgin Islands

Friday, Aug 29, 2025

Sea Ranch Master Planner Lawrence Halprin’s Cliff-Hugging Residence

Sea Ranch Master Planner Lawrence Halprin’s Cliff-Hugging Residence

The home and studio of the legendary landscape architect features a glass solarium and outdoor amphitheater.

Arguably the most acclaimed landscape architect of the 20th century, the late Lawrence Halprin created the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, D.C. and the Keller Fountain Park in Portland, Oregon, which was called "possibly the most important urban space since the Renaissance" by New York Times critic Ada Louise Huxtable.

Halprin’s most famous and resonant design, however, may be the master plan for Sea Ranch, a residential community along the California coast about 100 miles north of San Francisco. In the ’60s, drawing from his early years spent on an Israeli kibbutz, he imagined an idyllic development for people to "inhabit this land and protect the awesome character without softening or altering it." Admirers of Sea Ranch will be interested to hear that Halprin’s own residence has been listed by his estate for $8,000,000.



Unlike any other at Sea Ranch, the Halprin residence is built along the cliffside for spectacular views.



The L-shaped home sits on 5.1 acres. In his master plan for Sea Ranch, Halprin designated that more than half the property be common land, preserving vast meadows as outdoor rooms instead of relying on lawns. He also established guidelines for using natural materials that deferred to the surrounding landscape.

The Halprin residence sits on 5.1 oceanfront acres. Originally built in 1966, the family home was a modest cabin designed by Charles Moore, and in 1979 there came along a detached studio-but in 2001, the house burned down. It was replaced two years later by the current building designed by Buzz Yudell, a longtime colleague of Moore’s. Nearly identical to the first home, the two-bed, two-bath, 2,123-square-foot residence makes use of even higher-quality materials.



A sketch of the home by Lawrence Halprin.

Though Halprin’s own guidelines discourage houses from being built directly on the cliffs, his home cantilevers over the rugged slope. "Walking on the narrow oceanside balcony," writes Kenneth Helphand in his 2017 book Lawrence Halprin, "feels like being on the deck of a ship at sea…From his Sea Ranch cabin, Halprin could experience nature’s forces at their most powerful and primordial."



The solarium protrudes onto the home’s back deck, bringing light deep into the interior.

Broker and realtor Hanne Liisberg, who herself lives in the community, calls the Halprin residence "the most amazing five-acre oceanfront parcel I’ve seen at Sea Ranch or on the coast. Halprin had the opportunity to hike the entire length of what became Sea Ranch. He clearly picked the best."



At the rear of the house, beside the deck and amphitheater, there’s a modest wet bar for outdoor entertaining.

With cedar siding and Douglas fir trim, the house is what Liisberg calls "Sea Ranch classic." Its rising and falling roof planes impart a sense of kinetics, and windows frame views from every room.



Variations of ceiling height in the extended great room help differentiate spaces within the open floor plan.

While the views are certainly impactful, says Liisberg, "it’s not one of these large, pretentious houses. The views are framed in various directions, and I think that creates the experiences as you walk through."



The kitchen features built-in open shelving and a breakfast bar with a raw-edge countertop.

Inside, wooden wall paneling, exposed ceiling beams, and tile flooring envelop visitors in a cocoon of natural materials, reinforcing the indoor/outdoor feel that’s so quintessential to Sea Ranch.



There’s an adjacent amphitheater where Halprin’s wife, Anna, a professional dancer, led workshops. "Being there, flowing from the inside to the outside through the glass solarium, is a magical transition," says Liisberg.



The loft-style main bedroom captures views of both the coast and surrounding treetops. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Liisberg has seen more young families with children moving to Sea Ranch. "I think the pandemic made everybody think about what’s important to us-especially nature," she says. "At Sea Ranch, you can go from the redwood forest to the beach in an hour’s hike."



The separate studio building was added in 1979, and still has Halprin’s drawings pinned to the walls.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Starmer Should Back Away from ECHR, Says Jack Straw
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
Chinese AI Chipmaker Cambricon Posts Record Profit as Beijing Pushes Pivot from Nvidia
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Welcome to The Definition of Insanity: Germany Edition
Just a reminder, this is Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
A new faith called Robotheism claims artificial intelligence isn’t just smart but actually God itself
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Purchases Third Property Amid Housing Tax Reforms Debate
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Italian Facebook Group Sharing Intimate Images Without Consent Shut Down Amid Police Investigation
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
Sam Nicoresti becomes first transgender comedian to win Edinburgh Comedy Award
Builders uncover historic human remains in Lancashire house renovation
Australia Wants to Tax Your Empty Bedrooms
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
FBI Investigates John Bolton Over Classified Documents in High-Profile Raids
Report reveals OpenAI pitched national ChatGPT Plus subscription to UK ministers
Labour set to freeze income tax thresholds in long-term 'stealth' tax raid
Coca‑Cola explores sale of Costa coffee chain
Trial hears dog walker was chased and fatally stabbed by trio
Restaurateur resigns from government hospitality council over tax criticism
Spanish City funfair shut after serious ride injury
Suspected arson at Ilford restaurant leaves three in critical condition
Tottenham beat Manchester City to go top of Premier League
Bank holiday heatwave to hit 30°C before remnants of Hurricane Erin arrive
UK to deploy immigration advisers to West Africa to block fake visas
×