William Turnbull Jr.

In William Turnbull’s work, architecture and landscape are one. While every building is meant to exist in context of its surroundings, Turnbull seemed to have had a deeper dialogue with the landscape itself as he designed spaces for people to experience both architecture and nature.

“Bills most fundamental mentor was the landscape itself. His closeness to the forms and processes of nature made him ever alert to its demeanor. In placing buildings, he was especially adept at finding positions of advantage and imagining ways of building that complemented the character of the site. His approach to the landscape as to his life was not one of emulation but of cultivation. The land, the family the acts of building the joys of inhabiting, all merged in bills mind into home for the imagination. He created places that are both precise and alive, that inspire even as they accommodate. The integrity of his buildings delineated with quiet care, reflects the intensity of their conception and the passion with which they were nurtured. They are buildings that honor human presence in the land.“ – Donlyn Lyndon

There is a serenity in the work of William Turnbull. His buildings, which influenced by his upbringing on a New Jersey dairy farm, can be described in ways that you might describe a barn. They are humble, frugal, natural, and purposeful, sitting on land as if nature had made a place for them there all along. The modern and simple geometric masses contrast with their organic surroundings in form, but blend in through their soft and earthy wooden materiality. Each structure is specific to the space around it, offering special experiences of nature from within the structure.

Spec II house is perhaps the most barn like. It was one of the first homes built in Sea Ranch and was eventually reproduced 17 times. The inspiration for this house might be traced to the simple yet monolithic, Black Point Barn which was one of the first structures ever built on the ranch over 150 years ago. The houses are tidy and simple shapes on the landscape. Inside, are spaces that feel like a barn, defined by exposed cross bracing and gables, Douglas Fir walls, and plywood cabinetry. The experience of the inside extends outward through corner window seats that are somewhat of a middle space between interior and exterior.

Another study in this landscape and architecture continuum is the Budge House, located in Healdsburg, California. The central space of the house is flexible and can change to extend into a patio that surrounds most of the house through a system of plywood panels that can be raised up, opening rooms to the exterior. The house cascades onto the land by a wooden patio that was built underneath a majestic canopy of oak trees. This space becomes the largest room in the house.

Of all his work though, the Sea Ranch Condominium which was designed he designed in collaboration at MLTW is probably the most well known structure and most interesting take on contextual relationship between architecture and land. On the site, a larger multi-unit structure cascades on the landscape as a larger mass. The shape of the building follows the form of the slope using angled geometry which guides wind up the slope and over the building. Within the complex, architecture and landscape meet in a central courtyard where the entire slope that the building sits on is exposed, giving context to the building. From within one of the condos the experience reveals the wooden mechanics of the structure. Like his other buildings, the the beams and gables are exposed and the warmth of wood envelopes the whole space. The condos which are a puzzle of space offer residents experiences of being outside the main structure from within, perched safely above the rocky cliff and turbulent shore below.

Turnbull’s work provides a model for how architecture can sit more humbly in the landscape. This light and gentle approach to design also offers a much needed serenity in the built environment.

Images courtesy of William Stout Architectural Books
Words by Dante Iñiguez