WINDHOVER

Windhover, at Sea Ranch in northern California, calls to mind the temple form that goes all the way back to ancient Greece. Versions of this houses great pediment, raised upon two massive columns, have appeared in thousands of banks, courthouses, churches, and (most relevant for residential design) grand houses—those that have graced American estates, plantations, and boulevards for well over 200 years.

What's most curious about Obie Bowman's design is that the strongly classical overtones are contradicted by the spareness, indeed primitiveness, of the materials and surfaces. Though the pediment above the entrance has a shape handed down through centuries of human culture, the house has a rustic air. The "columns" are tree trunks with only the bark removed. You can even tell where the branches used to grow. They give the house a muscular feeling, which is intensified by the columns' lack of either capitals or bases. The tone of the steps ties the building to the earth. The bold temple shape helps a modest-size (1,570-square-foot) dwelling hold its own in a neighborhood of larger homes. Once you look past the columns, it becomes evident that this is, nonetheless, a thoroughly contemporary house. Glass abounds. Double-height glass beneath the pediment consists of inexpensive, stacked sliding glass doors. The interior is open and full of angles, with white gypsumboard walls contrasting against extensive areas of wood, so that although there is a hearty connection with nature, the overall esthetic is bracingly modern.