The Things We Do For Love

How do you list a masterpiece? That was the question when Susie, my client, asked me to represent her in the sale of her home, 775 San Diego Road in Berkeley, designed by world renown architect Donald Olsen in 1952 for UC Berkeley physicist Arthur Kip and his wife.

I loved the house at first sight. There is simplicity and gravitas to it—the geometry, the glass, the relationship to the hillside, and an intriguing red balcony.

My love of architecture goes back to my hometown of Barcelona, where the Gothic buildings of the 1400s coexist with the modernity that transformed the city in the 1990s. Old buildings are still part of everyday life and, just like the Kip House, can feel modern so many years after they were built. Growing up around that mix gave me an appreciation for functional design and architecture that has followed me into real estate. So when Susie entrusted me to list 775 San Diego, I felt a particular responsibility to understand what made this house iconic (one of my favorite words, by the way!).

I sought out Pierluigi Serraino, the Italian architect, author, and architectural historian whose scholarship on Northern California modernism includes Donald Olsen. Pierluigi was incredibly generous with his knowledge and materials, including photographs and archival information about the house. We connected personally as well (he's Italian, as is my family) and our conversations about Olsen, architecture,  and the house became an important part of how I came to understand it. I bought two of Pierluigi's books and kept following the history. He also had an original photograph of the Kip Residence by Rondal Partridge, the renowned Bay Area photographer and son of Imogen Cunningham, which you can now admire at the house.

I went back to the house's appearance in Arts & Architecture in 1952 and reproduced those pages as part of the presentation. They can be found on the property website.

Pierluigi and I made a video where you can hear directly from him and truly grasp the significance of the house and its place in Bay Area modernism. I also commissioned a contemporary print of the house by Amsterdam-based architectural artist Sander Patelski (that one you’ll have to come to the house to see, but here’s a link to his website: anderpatelski.com)

We approached the PR with the same care, because this was a story that belonged in a larger architectural conversation. That work ultimately led to 775 San Diego being featured in The New York Times.

If you know me, you'll understand that being published in The New York Times is really a thrill for me. More importantly, it’s a wonderful way to introduce the home to the eventual buyer.

Whenever I’m entrusted with listing a home, I fall a little in love with it. Needless to say, every house is loved in different ways and, as a result, needs a different marketing approach, different staging, and to be placed in a different context. Sometimes that leads to a New York Times article; sometimes it leads directly to the buyer who will buy the house. Ultimately, every house deserves the same attention to detail, thoughtfulness and care.

The little extra things we do for love—of the house, the clients, the community—are what truly make a difference.

For the deeper architectural story of the Kip Residence, the link to the full NYT article and my film with Pierluigi Serraino, visit 775sandiego.com