Midcentury Modern Home Designed by Donald Olsen Lists for $1.425M

A significant midcentury modern residence in Berkeley, California, known as the Kip House, has been listed for sale for $1,425,000. This property, located at 775 San Diego Road in the Thousand Oaks neighborhood, has a notable history, having changed hands only once in the 73 years since its construction in 1952. The house was designed by Donald Olsen, an architect who would become one of Northern California's most influential modernist figures. Olsen, who had studied under Walter Gropius, the founder of the Bauhaus movement, at Harvard, applied his training to the Kip House, evident in its clean geometric lines and extensive use of glass.

The Kip House was commissioned by Arthur Frederic Kip, a professor of physics at UC Berkeley. Professor Kip's research in semiconductors was pioneering and provided foundational scientific principles for the development of computers and electronics in subsequent decades. The commission represented an early project in Olsen's career. The split-level, approximately 1,900-square-foot home is integrated into a hillside. Entry is on the intermediate level, which houses the kitchen and dining area. The floor plan ascends to a living room and study, while two of the three bedrooms are situated on the lower level. The home has been largely preserved in its original design, with much of its midcentury character intact. A main-floor bathroom was updated in 2013 following asbestos abatement, retaining its original linoleum tile.

The Kip House is situated on a street that has become an unexpected enclave of Bay Area modernism. Donald Olsen's own residence, built a few years after the Kip House and now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is located just a few doors away. This concentration of modernist architecture stands in contrast to the surrounding neighborhood, which is predominantly characterized by Mediterranean and Tudor-style homes from the 1920s and 1930s. The Kip family, Arthur Frederic and Joan Kip, owned the property from 1952 until 2013, a period of 61 years. This marked the sole sale of the house in its history until the current owner, Susie Injijian, purchased it in 2013 for $1,025,000. Since acquiring the property, Injijian has focused on maintaining its historical integrity rather than undertaking extensive renovations. The property's sale represents a rare opportunity for a new owner to acquire a historically significant architectural work in a unique setting.