Fashion designer Hiroki Nakamura, whose Tokyo-based luxury menswear brand Visvim has a devoted following, is selling his 1959 California house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright disciple Aaron G. Greenfor $8.8 million.
He and his wife, Kelsi, bought the 2,175-square-foot home—known as the Judge and Jeannie Anderson Residence—in Rancho Palos Verdes, a coastal enclave south of Los Angeles, for $5.4 million through a limited liability company in 2018, according to property records.
The Nakamuras later added two adjoining parcels to the property, which had been subdivided through the decades, restoring the original acreage.
Green was Wright’s West Coast representative from 1951 until 1959, and this house is considered an important example of his Organic Modernism, said Nate Cole of Modern California House, who listed it on Sept. 20.
“Although there are other modernist homes in Rancho Palos Verdes, this is the only one by Green,” Cole said. “This house is one of his masterpieces.”
The oceanfront estate, which is nestled on 3.4 acres that offer views of the Pacific Ocean, Abalone Cove and Catalina Island, is V-shaped to follow the contours of the land and is designed in such a way that the ceilings “seem to almost float above the living spaces,” Cole said, adding that “when you walk in, you see one of the most spectacular views reflected through the windowpane. It’s a spiritual experience to be here.”
The house’s three bedrooms are tucked away in a private wing, and two of them, guest rooms, face a Japanese garden.
In the primary bedroom suite, where a massive stone fireplace warms the bedside, a wall of windows and a pair of monumental glass doors open the space to expansive ocean views.
The public spaces—living room, dining room and kitchen—live at the opposite end of the house. Built-ins in the kitchen that look like fine furniture blend it seamlessly with the living and dining areas, and the sunken living room, which has an enormous stone fireplace, retains its original built-in seating and architect-designed furniture.
“It’s a really dramatic house, but there’s a subtlety to it,” Cole said. “The views are a big portion of the house, but they are not allowed to dominate it. There are spaces that are more sequestered so you can be away from the drama.”
He noted that given that the house has had four owners, “it’s extraordinary that it’s almost entirely intact.”
In 2003, architect Eric Lloyd Wright, son of Frank Lloyd Wright Jr. and grandson of Frank Lloyd Wright, designed a primary bath expansion, a swimming pool update and a spa tub addition that are in keeping with the original design of the house and its terraces, planters and gardens.
“The lack of neighbors to one side and privacy provide value,” Cole said. “It’s almost like you own the hill.”
In addition to Visvim, which he founded in 2000 and is sold in major luxury department stores and boutiques around the world, Nakamura, who is 53, designs the menswear line F.I.L. Indigo Camping Trailer. Kelsi designs the Visvim womenswear line, WMV.
Green, the first recipient of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation’s Gold Medal, worked on 40 Frank Lloyd Wright projects, including the Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael, California, which broke ground in 1960, a year after Wright’s death. He eventually moved his practice to San Francisco, where he died at age 84 in 2001.