ARCHITECTURE

Home of the Week: Architect Harry Gesner’s personal home, the $22.5M Sandcastle House in Malibu

Known for his distinctive and avant-garde architectural designs, Harry Gesner often pushed the boundaries of traditional norms.

His most famous project, the Wave House in Malibu, is one of the most recognizable homes on the California coastline.

Next to his most famous creation, we find the pioneering architect’s personal home, an equally striking architectural home that’s currently on the market for $22,500,000.

The Sandcastle House in Malibu

Known as the Sandcastle House due to the roofline’s unique design, inspired by sandcastles, Harry Gesner’s house in Malibu is a true architectural feat.

With 122 feet of beachfront land, this uniquely cylindrical 6-bedroom, 6-bathroom property comes with 3 additional small living units.

Inside Harry Gesner's house 

The main home’s entry features a library sitting area with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and panoramic ocean views,

while the heart of the home features beams and a wood-plank ceiling wrapped by windows with large living and dining areas.

Anchored by a Hollywood Bowl-inspired brick fireplace

The Fireplace was built to resemble a Greek Theater Shell with the cantilevered concrete hearth as the stage, and the sunken living room in front of it becoming the theater house,” Zen Gesner shares.

The space was “Built for my mother, Nan Martin (his wife), who was a well-known Broadway actress“, to act as her stage, complete with a large, polished concrete hearth.

A solarium with stained glass panels

flanks the dining area, and the kitchen wraps around a circular island featuring stained glass lunettes fitted into the overhead beams, a fireplace, new appliances, a breakfast bar, and a walk-in pantry.

The primary suite is in its own tower

and has high ceilings with large beams, eyebrow windows, a brick fireplace, a sitting area with ocean views, and a spiral staircase that leads up to a loft space.

In addition to the main house, there’s also a “tree house” apartment with a kitchenette, living and dining room area, a bedroom and bathroom, and a wraparound deck with ocean views.

There's also a 'boat house' 

on the property that includes a full kitchen, an ocean-view living and dining area with a full bathroom and a bedroom, while the third addition is a smaller, one-bedroom “nest” apartment

The architectural marvel has remained in the Gesner family ever since it was built in the early 1970s.

Following Harry Gesner’s passing in 2022, the property landed on the market in May 2023 with a $27,500,000 asking price and a stellar team. The price has since dropped to $22,500,000.

Leading Malibu real estate agent Chris Cortazzo shares the listing with the architect’s own son, Zen Gesner.

The two Compass agents are also part of the team repping Gesner’s neighboring masterpiece, the $49.5 million Wave House.

Swipe up to learn more about Harry Gesner's house, dubbed Sandcastle, now on the market for $22.5 million.               -->    SWIPE UP    <--

White Frame Corner

Photos by Mike Helfrich courtesy of Compass

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