At first glance, the outside of this house is somewhat startling; windows and doors aren't quite where you expect them to be. But in this case you must go inside. Then everything explains itself. It's an inside-outside house.
Here are high windows and treetop views, a bay window that seats you in the trees, skylights overhead, open balconies to coax you out-and what the architects call a "light grabbing" central court, which functions like an interior room that's open to the sky. There are many ways this court can be used. It's an alternate route from living room to kitchen if the weather is good. It's an outdoor room private from the outdoor world. It's roomy; on good days it doubles the size of the living room.
The upper level is open and sunny, with natural daylight flowing in from overhead. Downstairs the plan is not open, but closed. The house was an award winner in an A.I.A.-Sunset Western Home Awards program.
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source: Sunset Books - Sunset Homes 1967
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