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A Malibu beachfront property designed by Harry Gesner, one of America’s most eclectic and unconventional architects, has come on the market, for the cool sum of US$22.5 million (NZ$38m).
Gesner was often inspired by the surrounding environment, which is why this house, also known as the Malibu Sand House, takes the shape of a child’s sandcastle. It is built almost entirely from reclaimed materials, and, with its curved lines, exposed timber beams and large windows, the house is in complete harmony with nature.
Often inspired by the surrounding environment, Gesner gained recognition for his unique approach to design, particularly his incorporation of organic forms and his willingness to challenge traditional architectural norms and difficult building sites.
Mike Helfrich
Harry Gesner’s spectacular Sandcastle house on Malibu is looking for a new owner. With wrap-around views and numerous quirky features, the house takes its name from children’s sandcastles.
The six-bedroom, six-bathroom property, built in 1961 for Gesner’s fourth wife Nan, spans more than 37m of prime Pacific Ocean beachfront.
Inside, the focal point is a large brick fireplace and hearth in front of the sunken living room. Other significant features include a spiral staircase, built-in furniture, floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, a solarium with stained-glass panels, eyebrow windows and a loft space.
Expansive decks enhance the connection between indoor and outdoor spaces and contribute to the overall character.
Mike Helfrich
It’s easy enough to see where the design influence. The architect died last year, at the age of 97.
Mike Helfrich
The house was designed for Gesner’s fourth wife Nan, a Broadway actress. There’s also a tree house and separate apartment on the property.
According to Gesner’s son, Gez Gesner, “The house was largely built with salvaged materials such as old telephone poles, maple from a high school gym, old-growth redwood harvested in the 1800s, and windows and doors from one of Hollywood’s silent film theatres.”
Gesner’s design philosophy to create homes that provide functional living spaces is seen throughout the property, which includes, in addition to the main home, a “tree house” apartment with a kitchenette, living and dining room, bedroom and bathroom.
There is also a “boat house” with a full kitchen and bath, bedroom, and living and dining room area; and another one-bedroom “nest” apartment above the indoor-outdoor cabana.
Mike Helfrich
Everything radiates from the focal point of the interior, the massive fireplace.
Gesner’s personal life was almost as interesting as his home designs. Born in Oxnard, California in 1925 to an artist mother and inventor father, Gesner attended Santa Monica High School and became one of Southern California’s expert surfers and a skier.
Enlisting in the Army at age 17, Gesner was initially assigned as a ski instructor in Colorado but later moved to the infantry where he was part of the D-Day Omaha Beach invasion in Normandy, France.
Gesner credited his surfing skills he used to evade the Germans’ bullets that helped him survive. He also was a soldier in the Battle of the Bulge in 1944 where he was severely injured, developed gangrene, and barely escaped amputation of both legs.
Mike Helfrich
There’s a central island, and curved counter for casual eating.
Mike Helfrich
There are dreamy views from every room.
After the War, Gesner moved around to New York, Ecuador and Mexico before going back to Southern California, where he began working in construction and became a self-taught architect. He was married four times and died in 2022 at age 97. Gesner was still surfing until just a few years before his death.
Sandcastle is listed with Zen Gesner and Chris Cortazzo from Compass. Information courtesy of TopTenRealEstateDeals.com.
Mike Helfrich
It’s hard to beat the location. Gesner had a lifelong love affair with the sea, surfing right up till just a few years before his death.
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