“This home’s views are considered the best by many because of the positioning,” Mike Gilson, the listing agent for the property, said in a statement to Architectural Digest. “You are close enough to the ocean to hear the soothing sounds and high enough to have spectacular views up and down the coast.”
The structure was initially conceived in 1968 by Richard Clements, an architect taking inspiration from the Paro Takstang Monastery in the Himalayan Mountains of Bhutan. Like the Takstang Big Sur, that monastery is built to blend into its cliffside environment and offer incredible views from high balconies. The Takstang Big Sur was initially intended to be a resort hotel, but the lobby was the only portion of this planned structure completed.
When the property was purchased in 1997, the new owners hired renowned Big Sur architect Mickey Muennig to reimagine it as a single-family home. Muennig propounded an organic architecture philosophy that sought harmony between artificial buildings and natural structures. This was fitting, as the organic style, in some ways, resembles the Hindu architectural philosophies that inspired the Takstang Monastery: the Vastu Shastras. This perfect match led to the completion of a home unlikely any other, a two-bedroom, two-bath abode with 3,635 square feet of living space on 9.5 acres of the Big Sur coastline.
The property and lobby were purchased at $1.3 million in 1997. The completed house and property are on the market for $25 million.
The home benefits beautifully from its design philosophy, feeling like part of the natural landscape. The great timber trusses and beams that support the interior ceilings call to mind the surrounding trees, and the stone fireplaces in the great room and primary bedroom evoke the cliff itself. A meditation cave takes inspiration from the famed “tiger’s nest caves” of the Takstang Monastery. Still, the primary suite’s sunken tub is all about unparalleled human comfort, as is the cliffside patio hot tub overlooking the sea. A theater, an entire garden, and walking paths of the surrounding property enhance the home’s natural feel.
Its third owners are currently selling Takstang Big Sur. The future fourth owners of the property will have the option to expand the building if they choose, as the property’s listing describes space sufficient for constructing a secondary structure. Takstang Big Sur is located along Highway 1, near Julia Pfieffer Burns State Park and natural marvels like Partington Cove and McWay Falls.
Big Sur’s $25M Oceanfront Mansion: A Tribute to Pacific Coast’s Beauty and Echoes
Big Sur, a popular tourist destination on the central coast of California, where the Santa Lucia Mountains meet the Pacific Ocean, has a new property for sale. Takstag Big Sur is a 25-million-dollar home on the coast that provides some of the world’s most breathtaking views and stands as a work of architectural wonder.
Initially conceived by the San Francisco architect Richard Clements, Takstag Bug Sur’s design was inspired by Paro Takstang, a Buddhist temple in the Himalayan mountains that, by standing over 10,000 feet above sea level, offers fantastic views of the upper Paro valley while blending almost seamlessly into the mountainside.
Like this monument, which has become a cultural icon in Bhutan, the organic material used to create Takstag Big Sur—a list that includes stone, concrete, and timber– blends into its natural environment, and its high balconies offer similar panoramic views. As such, its organic style echoes the Vasatas Shudras, the Hindu architectural philosophies born in the original Buddhist monastery.
The home’s unique position enhances these views, blending sights and sounds into an unforgettable sensory experience. Mike Gilson, the listing agent for the property, explains, “You are close enough to the ocean to hear the soothing sounds and also high enough to have spectacular views up and down the coast.”
Takstand Big Sure was initially intended to be a resort hotel. However, after the lobby was completed, the project stalled, and the structure sat idle for decades until new owners purchased the property for $1.3 million in 1997. These new owners then enlisted the services of Big Sur architect Mickey Meunnig’s services, who designed the famous Post Ranch Inn, an internationally renowned luxury hotel 7 miles away from Taskstag Big Sur.
Manning helped the new owners reimagine the structure as a single-family home. The result was a novel two-bedroom, two-bath home with 3,665 square feet of living space on 9.5 acres of Big Sur coastline.
The home’s interior and surrounding property also enhance the home’s overarching organic motif. The home offers timber beams and trusses, stone fireplaces, a meditation cave, a hot tub overlooking the sea, an outdoor amphitheater that can be converted into a guest room, a full garden connected to the house by a landscaped outdoor staircase, walking paths surrounding the environment, a freshwater stream beneath the southern part of the house, and an adjacent redwood canyon. These features combine to magically synthesize the natural sensory engagement when the mountains meet the sea.
If they so desire, the new owners will have the space to build additional structures. The property is located along Highway 1 near the natural beauty of Pfeiffer Burns State Park, Partington Cove, and McWay Falls. The new owners will also have access to the redwood forests and the many hiking trails and beaches that bring between 4.5 to 7 million visitors a year to Big Sur.
