Modernist Architecture: The Ullman Residence

Photo ©Darren Bradley

The Ullman Residence was designed by local San Diego architect John Mock in 1964. Like Ellwood's Bobertz Residence, it's a perfect example of what can happen when the right owners find the right house. It's without question one of the nicest and most pristine modernist homes in San Diego. But it wouldn't be this way if not for the herculean efforts of its owners, Loretta & Mark Chavez.

Photo ©Darren Bradley

When Mark & Loretta first found the house, it was in rough shape. One the one hand, it was a time capsule. The home had originally been decorated by designer Ilse Ruocco (wife of architect Lloyd Ruocco). The original furniture was still in the exact location where it had been placed for the first photographs some 40 years prior. Everything, from the curtains and the carpets and everything else was original.

Approaching the front entrance. Photo ©Darren Bradley

Photo ©Darren Bradley

But it was also tattered and falling apart. More worryingly, rot and termites and time had taken their toll on the house.

Photo ©Darren Bradley

It was even unsafe to walk on the decks for fear of falling through. Everything needed to be restored - or replaced.

Photo ©Darren Bradley

Solari. Photo ©Darren Bradley

But Mark and Loretta embraced the task with enthusiasm. It took several years (they did most of the work themselves), but the results speak for themselves. The architecture, the mountainside setting, the view, the decor, and the people who live there... It all comes together beautifully.

Photo ©Darren Bradley

Photo ©Darren Bradley

The home is again perfectly complimented by Todd Pitman's landscape design. Todd, who lives in a beautiful modernist home by Lloyd Ruocco in the same neighborhood, has a profound understanding of these homes and their relationship to nature.