M. SANDOVAL ARCHITECTS, INC.

Eichler commissioned the respected architect and Wright disciple Robert Anshen to design his initial prototypes that he built in 1949. During the next 18 years, later versions of the Eichler began to emerge which were designed by the notable architectural firm Claude Oakland and Associates in San Francisco and Jones and Emmons in Los Angeles.

 

Defying the conventional building industry standards at this time, Eichler along with his stable progressive architects, built more than 11,000 homes which 10,000 of these homes are located in the San Francisco Bay Area alone.

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What differentiates the Eichler home from the other homes that glutted the market during the Post War II period, were a host of unorthodox and innovative features that included the home's post-and-beam construction, flat or slightly pitched tar-an-gravel roofs, , wood exteriors, slab floors with integrated radiant heating,, open floor plans, floor to ceiling glass windows and sliding doors. In addition, Eichler offered a second bathroom as a standard feature, some came with an entrance atrium courtyard, with all homes designed with his usual signature blank windowless street facade.

 

The Eichler's aesthetic emphasized modern homes with clean geometric lines with all having open floor plans, which promoted the indoor-outdoor living experience, by celebrating California's mild climate, which is neither too hot or too cold. 

 

Originally built for affordability,  the Eichler home that may have sold for $19,500 in 1960, can  now fetch upwards to almost  $3,000,000 in today's real estate market; making these homes that were developed over 71 years ago by Joseph Eichler's company, still enormously popular with those whom have the financial means to afford them.

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Inspired by this legendary mid-century merchant builder, we were contacted by a developer, who specializes in developing luxury residential properties to design a new home in the Wine Country for him.  The task he assigned us, was to essentially distill the look and feel of a traditional Eichler home so it may be translated for a different clientele who wanted to purchase a much larger new luxury home that came with its own vineyard.

 

Responding to this challenge, we set to work on developing this design for a new 6,200 square foot contemporary home with an attached three-car garage as pictured in these renderings. Although currently in the design phase, once the home is completed along with the primary residence, this project will include an in ground swimming pool, caretaker's cottage, vineyard storage barn, which will be built on an three-acre estate with its own small planted vineyard.