The Many Faces of Pismo Beach
The modern Pismo Beach has been built up over several generations, with successive groups of folks moving in from other places. As the town has grown, and the small amount of easily accessible and usable land already used for building… it was inevitable that building would progress higher up the hills. These newer homes tend to be more individual in character. These steep sites with engineered slopes and retainer walls lend themselves to custom planning for the habitation itself.
The stark geometric lines of the house below are natural extensions of the retainer walls of which the structure is well integrated with.
clean crisp lines in Pismo Beach
- Steep drops in Pismo Beach
Many of these homes are four levels high on the downhill side, yet the top floor is street level on the uphill side. Such requires massive pilings several meters deep into the underlying rock. The price of the lot is just the beginning of the costs…. but my.. what massive stunning and sweeping views of the coastline from those windows!
This coastline is something of a Riviera area…. the weather is mild… and the population seems to swell in the summer… in the winter it is a sleepy little town on the beach.
Iberian style architecture in Pismo Beach
The first Europeans in the area were the Spanish. But they used the area only for ranching, the nearby port was a handy place to load the stacks of cowhides that were this areas major export.
Close on the heels of the Spanish were a good number of Portuguese families who became known for fishing these local waters. They left their mark with the architecture, some local dishes, and names in the phone book.
This home is reminiscent of some of the homes in Portugal.
Steep hillsides in Pismo Beach
Strong retaining walls are required in these hills. You can take a steep hillside and convert it to a series of terraces…. sometimes each with one level of a home…. There are some nice examples of steep hillside dwellings in Pismo Beach.
