Property of Mr. and Mrs. Henry McIntyte, Hillborough, California | Architect: Joseph Esherick

9/22/2025 10:11:00 PM

Only the closest and most trusting of partnerships between an architect and client could bring to life this extraordinary house. The architect, Joseph Esherick, has honored all his clients' spoken needs and taken infinite pains to sense those that were never voiced. His clients, Mr. and Mrs. Henry McIntyre, asked for no particular style of architecture, but felt rather that something beautiful would come from Mr. Esherick's work and "what we did inside." The result of such mutual trust is a monumental house-unconventional and intricate, but exciting in all its many facets. Constructed almost entirely of precast concrete, the house covers half a hillside in Hillsborough, Calif. Rising further up the slope in three levels is the water garden, a silvery expanse of paving, steps and cascading water; the only ornament is provided by fountains, pools and a trim rectangular island nurturing a pair of olive trees.

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Governing all architectural considerations was the McIntyres' desire for absolute personal privacy-for themselves, for their two sons and their two daughters. Out of this desire grew a compartmented living concept which took form as a trio of suites almost as self-sufficient as independent houses. There was nothing anti-social about this plan. "We think 'togetherness' is wonderful in its place," says Mrs. McIntyre, "but we also think 'separateness' is just as important. Our family is of quite different age groups and likes different things." The elder McIntyres use their suite constantly: an interior designer, she has a home office there; a business executive, he enjoys the sitting room for reading.