Historic Duncan House by California Modern Architect Warren Callister Put on Market for First Time

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Architect Warren Callister's crowning achievement in residential design, Duncan House, is for sale by the original owner. House Beautiful, House and Home Magazine and Signature Architects of the San Francisco Bay Area are just some of the publications which have featured the historic home.

Duncan House, commissioned in 1959 by Dr. Cloyce Duncan, is located on a spacious lot adjacent to open space in the Twin Peaks community above San Francisco. The owners have kept the home in pristine condition and completely unchanged from its original design.

Callister is considered a leader in California's mid-century modernist movement, often compared to Frank Lloyd Wright, Bernard Maybeck and the Greene brothers. Best known for his use of organic materials, Callister's designs seamlessly weave together California Modernism and historic Japanese architecture.

Climate, geography and lifestyle all contributed to the development of each of Callister's projects, using a technique he described as "listening" for the structure to manifest itself.

At Duncan House, which offers tremendous views of the city and Bay, cable cars and ferry boats were the muse behind the centerpiece of the house: an immense, arched roof of unfinished redwood that took nearly two years to complete.

Callister also borrowed heavily from the Japanese aesthetic of Wabi-Sabi, a concept derived from the Buddhist assertion of the three marks of existence. Throughout Duncan House, trios of wood and glass are used to create rhythm and visual texture while grounding the occupants among 28-foot ceilings.  

Built on a hillside, the position and form of the house integrate with the demands of the site. Contrasting horizontal and vertical spaces tie seamlessly through varying ceiling heights, creating dramatic, light-filled spaces. This architectural device is designed to evoke appreciation, awe and inspiration.

Callister considered the changing spatial proportions of Duncan House to evoke two moods – 'party' and 'temple'. Architecture, he said, "is not building a shelter, but a mood, a feeling, a sense."

Callister visited the house and had lunch with the Duncans before the architect's death in 2008. Dr. Gwendolyn Evans-Duncan noted that Callister remembered the house perfectly and reminisced it was one of his most ambitious and rewarding projects.

For photos and additional information please visit www.176PaloAltoAve.com.

SOURCE Ackerman Realty Group