Architecture Wednesday: Japanese-Inspired Berkeley Midcentury

Tucked into a steep hillside in Berkeley, California, is a 3,449-square-foot home was designed by noted architect Robert Klemmedson in 1959. The modernist architect—who spent 10 years in Japan and often incorporated traditional Japanese elements into his Bay Area designs—loosely modeled the midcentury residence after the Katsura Imperial Villa in Kyoto, Japan.

The home sits on a private Berkeley road developed by another famed architect, Bernard Maybeck, who was also known for his many prized works in the Bay Area. On the way to the property at 14 Maybeck Twin Drive, you’ll pass by Maybeck’s personal studio, as well as other residences the architect designed for his family.

Situated on a 15,133-square-foot lot with panoramic views of the San Francisco Bay Area, the hillside home includes four bedrooms and three-and-a-half bathrooms spread across two levels. In addition to a kitchen, living room, and dining area, there is also a media room, a detached two-car garage, and even a wine cellar … oh, I do love a wine cellar.

In the spacious living room, a wood-burning fireplace sits near sliding glass doors that open to a partially covered deck with Bay views. Traditional wood paneling and an earthy palette are accentuated by high ceilings and wide picture windows. And that’s the one thing I love about the house; the hints of Japanese design and architecture which is sadly missing from the dining room, kitchen and bedrooms; those rooms could be in any house.

And while the property also includes a private patio and a wraparound deck, as well as a peaceful, Japanese-inspired garden filled with greenery, it’s the treatment of the exterior, giving me 1940’s convict vibes … or Beetlejuice … that also bother me.

Perhaps a few tweaks because of its proximity to The City and Berkeley and those views?

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