The Sea Ranch (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Jim Alinder (Author) "The Sea Ranch is a unique example of landscape development, stretching for ten miles along the northern California coast..." (more)
Key Phrases: houses that settle, comprehensive environmental plan, house enfolds, Condominium One, Charles Moore, Matthew Sylvia (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The publication of this comprehensive, beautifully designed and photographed record could hardly be more timely." -- Architects Journal, April 29, 2004

"This book is a handsome, thoughtful celebration of the best of what survives from the original vision." -- LA Architect, July 2004

...one of the most influential developments of the 1960's...it's genesis, history and present state are thoughtfully chronicled... -- The Architectural Review

THE SEA RANCH provides substantial variation on a few architectural themes and is worth studying for its details. -- Architectural Record, April 2005

The first photos...bring you right back if you've been lucky enough to experience this special speck of the planet. -- Society of Architectural Historians - Southern California Chapter

Product Description

A hundred miles north of San Francisco on California Coast Highway 1, the Sonoma County coast meets the Pacific Ocean in a magnificent display of nature. Waves crash upon the rocks or wash up on beautiful stretches of sandy beaches. This is the location of The Sea Ranch, an area covering several thousand acres of large, open meadows and forested natural settings interspersed with award-winning architecture. When the area, a sheep ranch well into the last century, was rediscovered for its beauty in the 1960s, it came to be envisioned as a home community that harmonized with the environment. Renowned landscape designer Lawrence Halprin's master plan for The Sea Ranch community accordingly incorporated a set of building guidelines that minimized the visual as well as physical impact upon the landscape. Subsequent buildings by architects such as Joseph Esherick, Charles Moore, William Turnbull, Obie Bowman, Donlyn Lyndon, and others have been recognized worldwide for environmentally sensitive planning and architecture. They sparked a generation of imitators that became part of what is known as "The Sea Ranch style," epitomizing what many people imagine when they think of Northern Californian architecture. This beautiful monograph, lavishly illustrated with over 300 newly commissioned photographs and including maps, plans, detailed descriptions of the houses, and essays by Donald Canty and Lawrence Halprin, presents the definitive record of The Sea Ranch community.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 348 pages
• Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press; 1 edition (January 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568983867
• ISBN-13: 978-1568983868
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 11 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #534,367 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spectacular Houses in a Spectacular Setting, May 24, 2005

By	John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Go north of San Francisco along the coast for a hundred miles or so. Buy 4,000 acres of timber and grazing land. You'll find that you have quite a setting for a housing development. Add rules that say how the house must fit into the land and the scenery and you have quite a housing development in quite a setting. Beginning in 1963 this is just what happened. And over the resulting 40 years quite a stunning set of houses has been built there.

This book is a photographic and descriptive journey though several of these houses, each of which were designed to fit into that exact landscape. It's also the story of the building of this "super development." The story is told with 200 color illustrations, 170 black and white spread over some 304 pages.

Each of the houses described suit their place. This is not to say that they are alike, but that they all just seem to fit. It would be a spectacular place to live.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful book honoring a magical place, May 17, 2009

By	Kelly (Truckee, CA) - See all my reviews

As someone who has visited the Sea Ranch for about 20 years, this book is a tribute to what is possible regarding developing homesites yet retaining the natural landscape. This honors the minimalist approach to constructing homes and the impact on the environment. If you're interested in architecture or just a love of the Northern California coast this is a beautiful book that can be enjoyed for years.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Sea Ranch - a book of memories, July 27, 2008

By	kcp "kcp" (California) - See all my reviews

Both books were shipped quickly and were received in perfect condition. The Sea Ranch has been a summer vacation destination of our family's since 1980 and this book has already become a family favorite.