A Californian house designed by Case Study architect Craig Ellwood has gone on the market for $800k following a meticulous top-to-toe restoration.

Ellwood designed Bobertz House in 1953 for Gerry and Charles Bobertz. It sits at 5503 Dorothy Drive in San Diego and is for sale publicly for the first time since 1967.

‘The purpose of architecture is to enrich the joy and drama of living,’ Ellwood once proclaimed. ‘The spirit of architecture is its truthfulness to itself: its clarity and logic with respect to its materials and structure.’

That clarity and logic had been somewhat lost at the 1,870 sq ft Californian property, which had undergone many modifications over the decades. Current owner Keith York has championed Ellwood’s architectural philosophy, however, restoring the single-storey midcentury home, which he bought in 2000.

York consulted original plans, reinstating the property to Ellwood’s vision by removing later extensions and bringing back many original elements.

Ellwood’s hallmark ‘truth to materials’ can be read in the exposed steel beams, wooden walls and ceilings and floor-to-ceiling glazing. In the living room, sliding glass doors open the house up to the landscaped garden.

Though Ellwood never had a formal degree as an architect, he became a prominent Modernist and is best known for designing Case Study House 18 and 17B, as well as a number of minimal steel-and-glass houses across California.

[Via Curbed]

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