Y
ou can build your dream house, but you can’t build your dream view. So when a London- based family with San Diego roots started its search for a vacation home in La Jolla, it kept
one thing in mind: potential. In 2013, the family purchased a property on Mount Soledad, a 1960s home with a pool and a guest house. The foundation was failing. The pool had seen better days. But the sweeping view of the Pacific was priceless. The owners interviewed a half dozen architects before landing on Mark A Silva (who doesn't punctuate his name). They gave him a design brief: number of bedrooms and bathrooms, key features—and all of their trust. The design process was done almost entirely remotely. Silva frequented the site until he was intimately familiar with the lot size, its orientation and the levels of privacy throughout. He memorized the view. Walked the terrain. Inhaled the salty breeze. Traced the sun’s path. And started to sketch. The owners understood Silva’s concept when it was just lines on paper. He presented an angular, contemporary home, brimming with natural light, multiple indoor-outdoor living spaces, and floor-to- ceiling windows that did the ocean view justice. Early in the process, the family dubbed its vacation home Can Deus: “House of the Gods.” Construction was completed in 2016. The steps that wind through the backyard, and the retaining walls that line them, are the only original element. Inside the home, a light-wood ceiling soars toward a wall of windows, showing off an infinite sky where it collides with the blue-green of the ocean. Outside, lush landscaping frames the steps as they descend toward the lowest point of the property, home to a new pool and guest house. As you walk back up the steps and face the back of the home, the lines of the roof “are like two arms embracing you,” says Silva. “The outcome of a project very clearly shows: How much did you care? ” says Silva. “It’s not just doing the design, plans, and permit. It has so much more meaning to me.” As he reminisces on the Can Deus project, Silva points to eight design elements—from the cantilever deck that captures an unexpected view to the natural light that pours in through skylights—that combine to form a home fit for the gods.
LEFT Two-story windows frame the ocean view in the great room. ABOVE The backyard steps are the only original element on the property. BELOW A row of skylights illuminates the south stone wall.
51 SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE
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