San Francisco firm Malcolm Davis Architecture has divided this holiday home at the Sea Ranch community in California into two cedar-clad volumes, which face out in different directions to overlook the rugged coastline.

Malcolm Davis Architecture's Coastal Retreat is located at the top of a grassy slope in Sea Ranch ? a planned community in California's Sonoma County that was first established in the 1960s, and occupies a long and narrow coastal strip facing the Pacific Ocean.

Designed as "a modern getaway" for a European couple, the residence comprises two wings: one hosts the living areas and the other the bedrooms. These are set at angles and feature large windows to make the most of the elevated vantage of the water on the western side. "Each wing is intentionally positioned to maximise views of the rugged California coast beyond," said Malcolm Davis Architecture in a project description.

A porch covered in corrugated steel that will weather over time slots in between, forming the entrance to the property and the connection between the two.
The firm chose to clad the two bigger volumes in cedar planks as a reference to the barns that occupied the site prior to the Sea Ranch. The material is also in keeping with the aesthetic that was used for the properties built in the early stages of the community's development.

Malcolm Davis Architecture similarly chose simple shapes and local materials for another home built nearby.
For Coastal Retreat, t...