A native of Johannesburg, South Africa who studied architecture at both the University of Witwatersrand and the University of California, Berkeley, Stanley Saitowitz has been designing buildings and other structures for more than 40 years. His outstanding accomplishments range from the Transvaal House (which was declared a National Monument by the Monuments Council in South Africa in 1997) to the New England Holocaust Memorial (which received the Henry Bacon Medal in 1998). Known as a modern innovator, he has also taught architecture at multiple institutions of higher learning including Harvard University; the University of California, Los Angeles; Cornell University; and the University of Texas at Austin.
Currently working as principal of Natoma Architects, Stanley Saitowitz has released his latest project – the OZ Residence in Atherton, California. Perched atop a steep hill, this property features a spacious main house, a guesthouse, and a pool house. Composed primarily of concrete and glass, these structures interconnect amid ample yard space in a series of stark and clean lines.
The OZ Residence evokes a thoroughly minimalist feel both inside and out. An uneven stack of large glass-covered planes, the home is defined by (in the words of the Natoma team) “transparency and lightness contrasted with solidity and mass.” Imitating the solid form design of digital devices such as the iPhone, Mr. Saitowitz and his supporting architects have minimized all connections and intersections to create a work that appears to be “of a single piece.”