The Strick House sited on a bluff overlooking a golf course and the Santa Monica Mountains, created by Brazilian architects Oscar Niemeyer. The expansive one-story house, with a 14-foot-tall glass-walled living room, gradually became destabilized by seismic shifts in land values. Several years ago a developer bought the 4,600-square-foot house, planning to raze it to build one twice the size. The application for a demolition permit finally triggered the attention of the landmarks commission, which issued a stay of execution, putting the preservation community on alert. Now owned by Michael and Gabrielle Boyd, the Strick House (built for film director Joseph Strick and his wife) is T-shaped in plan. The one-story dwelling is capped by a flat roof and is sheathed in glass, brick, and stucco. One of the most prominent features is the row of tall, narrow exposed rafters that cover the entire roof in a serrated pattern and project beyond the overhangs of the front and rear of the home. – Oscar Niemeyer
