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The home includes three full bathrooms—and a bonus outdoor shower with views of the surrounding meadow. The sheen and texture of the yakisugi comes alive in the sunshine. “I love how it catches the light,” says Ed.

Bordering a 17-acre agricultural preserve, the home’s surroundings are historically agrarian—something the Workshop/APD referenced in the gabled form. “The gables speak to that language, as does the metal roof,” says Marshall.

In addition to aesthetic appeal, yakisugi is durable, sustainable, and requires minimal upkeep—it can last as long as 80 to 150 years without maintenance. “I was struck by the fact that besides being beautiful, it’s essentially indestructible—impervious to bugs and mold,” shares Ed.

Upon entry, the view expands to highlight the pool, wildflower meadow, and surrounding vegetation.

“The breezeway is covered, but it opens on one side to the driveway, and it’s completely open at the other end to the pool and the rest of the property,” says Workshop/APD associate principal Tyler Marshall. “So you walk through and experience this incredible view.”

The gallery has a new whitewashed pine roof that covers the main villa, which includes two one-bed suites and one of the property’s three and a half kitchens. “We think it was a little church before,” says architect Yashar Yektajo. The brick was stripped of plaster from a prior renovation. “It was completely rotten because there’s so much humidity here,” he adds. “Now the brick can breathe, and the whitewash brings it together.” Pinto, one of the couple’s two dogs, rests under a coffee table Ernesto and Ellen designed. The gallery is lined with original arches that lead to the courtyard.

Ernesto designed the villa’s kitchen more “for every day,” he says, but the one added to the courtyard has a professional range and parrilla to accommodate groups. “I don’t need super-fancy equipment,” Ernesto says. He and Yektajo designed the bar stools.

Double fir rafters encase steel flitch plates, allowing for long spans of open space. Hemlock ceilings layer above, bringing warmth to the inside.

The owner, founder of Archistoric Lighting Studio, restored mid-century Danish light fixtures throughout the home.

MacKinnon enlisted the help of William Wilson Wurster, Bay Area architect and dean of the College of Environmental Design at UC Berkeley, to select architects for the study. In turn, Wurster assembled a five-person team to name the participants. Of the 64 invited, 40 would make up Group I, the top tier professionals.

"In an exclusive collaboration with the Christie’s Auction House, the furnishings—including Wright’s 1955 letter—are available to buy with the house at a cost of about $900,000,

Scardulla says that in design, it’s critical to build with your hands “because you change how you see things,

"It's simple, yet it's expressive,” Scardulla says. “We don't like excesses. We don't like when you enter a space, and everything is immediately declared, everything is clear. We like discovery and complexity. That's why we love that you get there and you get to the door, and you have one perception, then you enter and get another, step down, and have a new perception, and so on. You take the bed down and get a new perception again."