Across and up the street from our new place in Port Orford, there’s a house that’s a wee bit different than what we’re likely to someday build. It’s a glass rectangle that sits up in the air, on top of two concrete “blocks”. Yes, they have a killer view, as do passersby of the inside of their house. I assume privacy is not high on their list of priorities.
Here’s how it looks from the side. Their (made) bed is clearly visible from this spot. It’s about 300′ above the ocean, and somewhat surprisingly, that section of the Port Orford head seems to not be solid rock, like most of it.
What’s interesting is that there’s no outside living space at all. Yes, it tends to be a bit windy up there, but that’s hardly all the time.
My logical guess is that the owners only come once in a while, and being ensconced in a glass cube rather than interacting with the elements and nature is their thing, enjoying the view to the south through the wall of glass.
Update: Eric703 left this video in the comments. It shows it better than my stalker shots. It sold for $1.5 million earlier this year.
It’s rather the polar opposite of our place. Speaking of, here’s a few snapshots from our last couple of visits, clearing out brush from the area around the pond, which was a part of a garden setting there that was essentially abandoned some twenty years ago.
Actually, I have very few pictures, as a long sequence of shots I took all were out of focus, undoubtedly because a piece of debris from al the chain sawing in my pants pocket must have stuck to the lens. But here’s one of Stephanie wielding the extension pole saw. Actually, she was just carrying it back to the van.
We’ve been uncovering all sorts of artifacts like these stairs, and others too, that are part of the network of trails around the pond in down the canyon. We had no idea they were there until I chain sawed my to to them.
Stephanie’s smiling, as she was having a ball finding big boulders buried under the sword fern and brush. It’s a bit like reclaiming an ancient Mayan temple in the jungle. And we’ve got quite a ways to go.
Here’s one of the pines at the edge of the pond showing off its freshly pruned trunk. And there’s someone sitting in it, keeping an eye on me as I walked right by it hauling cuttings to the brush pile.
A barred owl, and he was no more than some 6-8 feet away from me as I passed by him several times. Its head just turned to follow me.
Although the views of the ocean are a bit limited from the part of the property that we’ve been working on, and that has the most flat land to build on, there’s a corner of the 7 acre parcel that’s way up on the far side of the canyon that has a terrific view, especially at sunset. It drops off very quickly from the narrow flat spot along the edge of the street (Boot Hill Road), so there wouldn’t be more room than a narrow house.
Perhaps not totally unlike that Not-Niedermeyer house, ironically, but scaled down, sitting down on the ground, no or few windows on the street side, and with opening windows and a deck jutting out into the air. Got to be able to breathe (and smell) that ocean air.
Wow! I really like that house, so “Dwell”…actually it reminds me of my childhood best friend’s house, a concrete Bauhaus structure with lots of glass and tile. Her dad was an architect.
Your lot is coming along very well indeed also, starting to look positively inviting! I’ll bring the chips, you grill whatever you think is best, maybe something you can catch down off the beach…😀
Don’t know much about surf fishing or if it’s even feasible there, but there is a fishing fleet in town…or maybe rent a charter fishing boat? I’m actually getting the yen to do that, get out on the water,
Not today, though. Big storm rolling through with 45+ mph wind.
I like the house too, mostly, but it’s not really a house to live in. It’s more like a big, free-standing hotel suite, or vacation spot. I imagine a rather wealthy person bought it and maybe drops in for a couple of days a few time a year. It may well be one of several they own.
The lack of connection to the outdoors and non-opening windows are both non-starters for me. And there’s a few others too…
It took me a moment to realize that was a driveway, not a road they built the house straddling over. But where do you park? And how do you get in the house? I don’t see a door anywhere, at least not a front or side door. Anyway, one house feature I’ve always liked is a breezeway, an outdoor walkway that runs through the house front to back at ground level with the second level as cover, connecting the front and rear yards; this house takes that concept to extremes.
The one nod to privacy seems to be the gate along the driveway which is open here. But maybe they have that new kind of glass that can be turned opaque at the touch of a button, which has found its way into both cars (Toyota Venza sunroof) and houses.
If you’re curious, below is a video tour of that house from when it was for sale earlier this year. It sold for $1.5 million, incidentally:
Thanks. That shows it better than my stalker shots.
I’ve also added it to the post.
Regarding ‘the glass house’ ~ Nope, no tinting on those windows. From the several homes to west of the glass house it’s like a drive-in movie screen – lit up most nights. And newly installed window coverings are see-through, so any bedroom ‘scenes’ are in full view. Vacation home renters might want to keep that in mind.
Paul and Stephanie, it’s going to be great having you in the neighborhood.
More, another time (without the subject above).
PS. Wanting to note / clarify: the original owner was extremely considerate with keeping interior lights turned way down and installing a dark standing screen that completely covered the western bedroom windows from view. There were essentially no lights showing to the outdoors through his ownership, also essentially no outdoor lights (out of respect for the town’s dark sky ordinance) and carport lights turned on only as needed. Hopefully these wrinkles for the new owner’s ‘fitting into the neighborhood,’ perhaps with instructions left for the guests or timers set on the lights, will be smoothed out. With appreciations.
Thanks for the updates.
The Not-Niedermeyer house reminds me somehow of the house in (the movie) Sleeper. Although I know I am supposed to be reminded of Philip Johnson.
Perhaps they have an Orgasmatron. 😉
I think the Actual-Neidermeyer house with opening windows and a deck will be perfect. Man, what a site.
Yes! You beat me to it.
I love that house. Throw some electrochromic glass on there and call it a day.
The lot looks it’s coming along nicely, and you get some extra Indiana Jones action as part of the clearing!
Not so fast. Before we can “throw” the glass in we’ll have to “slip” over there to “slap” some scaffold up and “pop” out the old winderz. lol
i much prefer your approach to a home. Enjoying nature with it so close at hand is a privilege. I guess the glass house folk are followers of Mies van der Rohe.
The original Glass House: https://theglasshouse.org
Also reminds me a bit of Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye.
The curse of Architecture History classes at uni…
“Port Orford”, that’ll bring me some confusion with Mont Orford, a mountain near Magog in Quebec who’s part of the Appalachian mountains.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mont_Orford
Your property looks like it’s coming along great — and I love the uncovered artifacts. Even small things like a long-buried set of stairs is exciting when it’s unearthed.
Though being on Boot Hill Rd., I hope you don’t uncover any graves!
The old graveyard is in a little lot of its own, on private property just past the end of Boot Hill Road.
The $1.5 M house absolutely must be used only as a vacation spot. Oregon has one of the very highest state income tax rates in the USA; nobody who would buy such an odd home in that price range could sanely expose himself to those Oregon rates as a full time resident. New owner is from Washington, Nevada, Wyoming or Texas.
No garage? Just park underneath? Not for a new Bentayga, Cullinan or AMG GT nor for even my cars. Maybe OK for a rental Hyundai over the weekend.
nobody who would buy such an odd home in that price range could sanely expose himself to those Oregon rates as a full time resident.
Please don’t jump to conclusions that are obviously not supportable by facts. As a matter of fact, we have quite a healthy number of very wealthy full time Oregonians. Phil Knight comes to mind…but there’s plenty others.
Oregon’s income tax tops out at 9.9%.New York City residents pay almost 15%, if they’re wealthy enough. You might be surprised to know there’s a few rich folks who are NYC residents.
FWIW, Oregon has no sales tax. And property taxes are fairly reasonable. The overall tax burden is not high.
Oregon’s top rate is lower than California’s top rate. At some point it just doesn’t matter anymore. Not having a sales tax makes up for a part of it too. In any case, $1.5 million for that house in that spot strikes me as a bargain, but that style appeals to me.
Plenty of people live on the Colorado side of our (your/my) border even though our tax rate of 4.63% is exactly 4.63 more than yours. Taxes aren’t necessarily everything to a lot of people.
Is there any evidence that any of the windows open? Could get a tad hot on a sunny day. In any event, doesn’t look very energy efficient. (BTW: I didn’t realize that there are King Streets in the US. Figured it was just a Commonwealth thing.)
There are quite a number of King Streets in the US, many of them dating back to colonial times.
However, in Oregon, places named King are more likely to be named after other people. For example, when the Oregon Territory was being settled in the 1850s, US Vice-President William King died in office, prompting some things to be named for him. The most notable of these was King County, which is where the City of Seattle (now part of Washington State) is now located.
I have no idea how this particular King St. got its name, but chances are pretty good it wasn’t named after a monarch.
Oh, and I was wondering about whether the windows open too. Sure doesn’t look like it from the video.
There’s even a King Ranch, Ford named a truck after it. The ranch is about the size of Rhode Island (part of the New England region) and in Texas. The truck is slightly smaller.
We also have Burger King. Royalty, indeed. 🙂 They’ll give your kid a crown made of paperboard if you ask, which makes it official.
My high school used those as homecoming crowns.
Wow, that house is like a glass shoebox on stilts! You are right, that is probably a vacation home, especially without a garage. Hopefully the new owner won’t start renting it out through Air B&B or another service. The aerial view reveals that it’s not too far from the neighbors but you couldn’t pick out much detail of the occupants if you caught a glimpse of them.
Was there a house previously on your property? Those stairs and the pond, makes me think that someone spent a lot of time there. Maybe there’s some foundation left where the prior structure burned down? Either way, Oregon has been home to many pioneers and now you get to recreate their adventures.
The house (and one acre) were partitioned off in 2005. It sits up behind a lot of dense trees to the south, and has a good ocean view. What was left and what we bought had been their “back yard” or garden. They were gardeners, and had it landscaped, creating the pond, the plantings, and other hardscape elements like the stairs (several) boulders, walkways, etc.
The owner lost that house in foreclosure, one he deliberately created in 2006 by taking out a HELOC well in excess of the value of the house (easy to do back then) and then walking away, never making one payment. This was not all that uncommon during the housing bubble at the time, and was one of the reasons it crashed.
He kept the remaining 7 acre lot, but never did any more maintenance on it. That’s why it was so overgrown. His wife died some time ago.
Not my favorite architectural style, but it certainly is striking, and if the owners find it fulfilling that’s what counts. I imagine it would be a little like living on the bridge of a ship, what with that amazing ocean view. I hope whoever lives there installs a big wheel and compass for imaginary voyages.
Congratulations on your new winged friend. I’m a big advocate for modern architecture but the Non-Neidermeyer house is way too sterile for my taste. No deck also leads me to believe it’s just for the view. If your future house design is still undecided may I Suggest the Sea Ranch community in California.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_Ranch,_California&ved=2ahUKEwiLt4Ol0eTzAhULac0KHRslBboQmhN6BAgIEAI&usg=AOvVaw0lIEkE8i8zowHOFumVMYE-
The oh-so-common Junk Bauhaus, this. Ugly commercial windows, thick plinth, stodgy oversized fascia, zero care in detailing, zero elegance. Dominating and crass.
The real deal, similar only in shape, would float like lightweight wing, unobtrusively hovering above that drawing of the impossibly broad, elegant and glassy Catalina wagon belonging to the real not-Neidemeyers from the other day.
It doesn’t help that, to Australian eyes, this $1.5 pisstake is disturbingly reminiscent of the grim “portables” (relocatables in US?), or moveable school classrooms that too many us were stuffed into for too many years, so I may yet be biased.
I think a lot of people would call this house elegant, not that I’d agree with them.
We call them portables in the US too.
That is a terrific house that is very suitable for its location. I want no stairs, so this isn’t the design for me. Yet, considering everything, I think the price isn’t unreasonable either. My favorite part of German housing is the use of glass. Glass doors, large windows, all help light the rooms naturally. Sunshine is good for you, even if it is a cloudy day. The other thing I stopped worrying about after living there, was privacy. There isn’t any reason I should be overly concerned about some peeping tom getting his jollies gawking through my windows. I only pull the blinds at night on the side of our house facing neighbors or the street. If you want to gawk and stare into our house from the rear, go ahead and knock yourself out – you want to see me nude – your loss of eyesight, dude. (another thing I learned to love about living in Germany).
I like the owl. Thankfully the one that flew down my chimney wasn’t that big as I had to grab it by throwing a blanket over it to avoid injury to both of us.
Brilliant house from the inside, it leaves little between you and the view. Not so much from the outside, it does nothing to integrate into the landscape. Not that the neighboring houses are much better, though.
I’d want a good, long hard look at the architectural plans for anything built that close to a cliff edge. It’s a fair assumption that the foundation is anchored into the bedrock and that the sandy edges of the cliff are surficial, but still…for $1.5 million I wouldn’t be making any assumptions.
I prefer the slightly more organic versions of this concept, California midcentury, with wood,
stone, and a bit of integration with the environment ala Frank Lloyd Wright.
A bit of thoughtful landscaping would help make this seem a little less like an abandoned
Eastern European clinic.
“Elegant simplicity,” right. The resident’s life had better be severely simple. Did you notice that no closets are visible in the video? Parties have been held here, I’d wager, and nights have been spent. But anyone living here would be living out of a suitcase. This isn’t a home, it’s a set. Or maybe it’s a villain’s lair?
I find myself more drawn to the home next door, with the peaked roof.
Who in their right mind builds a house right on the ocean with windows that don’t open? The best part of staying on the ocean is the sea breeze and the sounds of the surf and the cry of the gulls. The view is great but I’ve been in parking garages that had more atmosphere.
That house is not going to be there in 100 years, and ocean rise is only a part of the problem. There are 1950’s subdivision houses along the coast above the Pacific in Daly City (just south of San Francisco) that consist of only a driveway today.
Although it would ruin the purity of the shoebox, I would certainly want a deck on the ocean side. Actually on the other side too. Of course in that location on many afternoons being sealed off from the cold foggy ocean winds thing would be just fine.
Architecture with a capital A. It is not to most tastes but popular in certain architectural circles. It’s exquisitely done on the inside but outside the architect seems to have been happy to just leave the house in the box it came in.
$1.5 M seems like a pretty good price to me.
I never understood houses w/o basements. I’ve been looking to relocate further south and find that less than 5% of the houses south of I-40 and west of the Mississippi have them. It seems to me that the hotter the climate, the more useful a basement because they moderate temperature swings. I can see not having one on the coast subject to storm surge or on a lot subject to flooding, but why not everywhere else? Even if there’s no dedicated living or laundry space down there, it’s the perfect place for HVAC and it’s much easier to work on plumbing in a basement vs. built into a slab.
I agree: $1.5M seems awfully cheap for a house in that fantastic location.
R, basements are expensive. When deep footings are not required by the frost depth, they rarely happen. Slab on grade is the cheapest way to go. Screw the next guy being the main mantra of construction, worry about the plumbing when it breaks in 30 years…
I agree with your appreciation of basements, but I grew up where the frost line was 4 feet down.
That house, as shown, is an artifact and not a place to live. No light control, no curtains, no blinds, just one external overhang. No roof deck, no connection to the outdoors, other than thru the windows. A version of big building design, shrunk to fit a house. It reminds me of a nice tower in Manhattan, resized.
I’m not saying this house has it, but glass that turns opaque is becoming more and more popular in some circles and/or pricepoints. See the Toyota Venza Limited’s panoramic roof as an automotive example. Tap a button and watch it turn from completely transparent to frost white. Darker shades are possible too. No need for curtains or blinds.
That house was clearly built to someone’s specific spec. It would not have been difficult to add a roof deck and/or exterior decks and/or large doors (folding/sliding) to bring the outside in. Obviously the owner didn’t want that. Perhaps they had allergies 🙂
Jiro, I’m always looking at potential RE purchases with the intent of modifying them to fit my needs. Curtains and blinds are cheap. A ground level deck could easily be added to one side or the other of that house, keeping the middle for car parking. Then replace a couple of windows with bifold glass doors and build an outside staircase down to the deck. Maybe $100K total for a pretty high-end design/build? Less than 1/10th of the purchase price. Or double that amount and do something similar at floor level.
As Michael Allen stated above, and the pictures of the eroding cliff bears out, this house will not be there in 100 years. Mother Nature always wins.
My first reaction when seeing the aerial shots was “earthquake”. It sure is on the edge of looks like a not very stable cliff. Maybe it’s equipped with airbags? Or ejection seats.
I must be in a morbid mood tonight. The photo of the owl reminds me of walking in Vancouver’s Stanley Park several years ago, noticing a large owl perched in a tree some distance away, and then hearing and almost feeling it whoosh by just over my head. Which in turn reminds me of the mysterious ‘Staircase’ murder, that some have suggested might actually have been an owl attack.
Perhaps a geologist looked at the site, and has a better sense of what might be under the surface than what you see, and perhaps the foundation addressed any issues.
Perhaps they aren’t concrete “blocks,” but cores that support the entire structure.
Perhaps your logical guesses are wrong.
Perhaps you have no idea whatsoever as to who built it, or who bought it.
Perhaps there’s a way to constantly bring fresh ocean air into the house that doesn’t involve opening windows.
Perhaps plans were in place to address relevant privacy issues.
Perhaps it wasn’t someone with deep pockets built the house, but it was a labor of love, so some things had to be omitted for a time.
Perhaps there were plans for outdoor spaces and landscaping that would have softened the overall project, reduced privacy issues, especially over time, and extended the living options, but weren’t completed due to cost and change in plans.
Perhaps everyone doesn’t live the way you do.
Perhaps your “absolute must” is wrong.
Perhaps steps were taken to address energy efficiency and solar gain.
Perhaps “float like lightweight wing” was somewhat similar to the original intent, but insanely expensive to engineer.
Perhaps it was built for someone who leads a relatively simple, non-materialistic, minimalistic life, without the need to jam stuff in closets, and perhaps there is more storage than you noticed.
Perhaps the project wasn’t completely finished.
Perhaps mistakes in design were made, and costs went beyond what was comfortable, which in part led to the sale.
But, please, back to faulty assumptions and inaccurate guesses, having fun picking apart what others have done, it seems a great use of one’s time–whatever works for y’all.
Thanks for your comment. It explains a lot.
I can’t speak for the other commenters, but I very much assumed that the location was considered geologically sounds, despite appearances. The Port Orford heads are ancient solid rock.
I used the term “block” metaphorically; it’s clear that they are massive concrete structures that support the house, and undoubtedly, quite adequately.
Thanks for filling in the other details, such as ventilation, privacy and the unfinished nature of the place at the time of its sale. I have been watching the current owners build the outdoor living areas, and I’ve seen the privacy screens in action.
Most of all, I’d like to say that I very much appreciate and understand your vision. It’s a superb house on a truly stellar setting. As my wife Stephanie said: “there’s a part of me that could go there”. I can only imagine waking up to those views.
I can also relate to the issue of letting a house dream get away from reality and finances, having had a somewhat similar experience in going totally overboard in the expansion and complete rebuild of an 1866 Italianate house in Los Gatos, CA. We had to sell at a loss during a recession when my income stream ended.
I’m sorry the vision didn’t fully pan out, in terms of living there, but the end result is that an amazing house stands there, a testimony to that original vision.
Thank you very much for your comments, they are sincerely appreciated.
Hi Paul! we ( wander.com ) actually purchased this property! It is now available for booking starting February of 2022.
If you would like to take a further look of it please message me and we’ll get something arranged!
We’ll answer all of those comments 🙂
We’ll be including cool features such as:
1 Gbps internet
Gym
Hot tub
Tesla
Niedermeyers, hello!
Any hope you might decide to switch to brush burning in drizzly weather (with no wind)? We’ll be getting plenty. These are the glory days, midwinter. The smoke in the air makes it unpleasant (to unhealthy) for others to be outdoors. As another in our neighborhood noted from 101: “It’s filling the town.”
Thanks if a slight change in plans works for you. Would love to be out in the sunshine too.
A Neighbor
I’m sorry about the smoke this morning, when I burned some wet debris. As it turns out, the wind has shifted directions and the fire’s hot, so what little smoke there is is now blowing out to sea.
Burning on a drizzly day without any wind would be not only very difficult to get the fire going, but it would smoke much more and then just linger in the immediate neighborhood.
The current breeze means the fire is hot and smokes relatively little.
I need to finish this pile, hopefully by this afternoon. The wind is forecast to be out of the northeast again tomorrow, which is as good as it can get for having to do this messy job.