A Frank Gehry Protégé Transformed 20 Blank Acres in Marin—Now it’s On the Market for $4.4 Million

Two decades ago, the architect Jeremy Kotas, a Frank Gehry protege, was given something few architects get: a clean slate in the form of a 20-acre parcel in Marin. 

The resulting home, at 200 Mountain King Road in Lagunitas, California, is now being sold for $4.4 million.

"Properties with this combination of attributes rarely come to market," says listing agent Eric McFarland of The Agency. "Local experts have described it as one of the finest properties they've seen in the San Geronimo Valley."

Original owners Kenneth Hillan and Duncan Robertson had previously hired Kotas to remodel their home in San Francisco's Castro neighborhood.

"With a vacant 20-acre lot, we knew Jeremy would be excited to approach this project as a 'blank sheet'," they say. "The design process with Jeremy and his team was endless fun."

Kotas, a UC Berkeley-trained architect who worked early in his career for Gehry, the late architect behind the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and Los Angeles' Walt Disney Concert Hall, became known for unconventional Bay Area houses that mixed modernism with regional and historical references.

"We wanted the home to be contemporary, yet consistent with its natural location," the owners say. The design follows passive solar principles, with walls of glass and soaring ceilings oriented toward Mount Tamalpais.

The 3,361-square-foot residence offers three bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms. The kitchen features Poggenpohl cabinetry, Gaggenau appliances and a Sub-Zero refrigerator and wine cooler.

"The view from the kitchen counter, over the meadow and pool, watching the evening shapes and shadows gather on Pine Mountain and Bolinas Ridge, is the perfect place to relax and unwind," the owners say.

The primary suite opens to a private courtyard with a reflecting pool and includes a deep soaking tub, natural stone, Boffi fixtures, walnut floors, radiant heat and automated blinds. A two-level guest house adds a kitchenette, sleeping loft and view patio.

Outside, Australian-born landscape designer Bernard Trainor, founder of Ground Studio, built the grounds around what was already growing there: purple needlegrass, yarrow, lupines, poppies, manzanita, madrone, coast live oaks and a century-old bay tree. The New York Times featured the landscape in 2008.

Broad concrete steps descend through the meadow to a heated 25-yard lap pool, which was designed for both swimming laps and lounging. 

"Swallows drink from the pool on calm evenings, and it reflects the sky as a giant mirror," they say. "It's dark-sky country, so the view of the Milky Way with a sky full of stars is magical from the hot tub."

Sculptures by San Francisco blacksmith Jefferson Mack are placed around the property, which also includes vegetable gardens, a deck beneath mature oaks and a 48-panel solar system.

"It's virtually silent up there," McFarland says. "You have the privacy and expansive views of a ridgeline property while still enjoying a significant amount of level acreage."

Set up a private gated road, the property borders Samuel P. Taylor State Park, "providing exceptional access to hiking and biking trails practically from the doorstep," McFarland says. Both Fairfax and Point Reyes National Seashore are under a 20 minute drive.