A narrow, circuitous driveway leads up a hill screened by a canopy of trees. At its crest, the drive bursts onto a cobbled motor court that seems to be at the top of the world, or at least the top of Pasadena. The vista is stunning, the surrounding foothills backed by the stern San Gabriel Mountains.
The house that sits here, called Rapor, is not the flamboyant showpiece that one might expect, but rather a salient example of the quiet genius of the man who built it for himself: the late Conrad Buff III, better known simply as the Buff in Buff & Hensman.
For fans of Southern California residential architecture, the name Buff & Hensman (or Buff, Straub & Hensman, as the firm was known from 1953 to 1963) has an iconic ring. The partners designed two influential and inventive Case Study houses and a slew of celebrity houses for the likes of Steve McQueen, James Garner and Frank Sinatra. They designed and built more than 300 custom homes throughout Southern California and won more than 40 awards from the American Institute of Architects. Such was their fame by the early 1970s that they were selected as the architects for Ronald Reagan's 10,000-square-foot governor's mansion outside Sacramento. (Please see sidebar.)
The team excelled in the post-and-beam construction that formed the backbone of the postwar housing boom in Los Angeles. Among many fans, simply saying "Buff & Hensman" triggers images of their 1960s designs, but the reality is that the duo's style continued to evolve.
"Buff and Hensman, through their long careers, moved beyond the Case Study model and expanded into an expressionist and compelling style," says architect and historian Alan Hess. "Their vocabulary was strong enough to bridge the gap between post-and-beam and later architectural styles."
For proof, one need look no further than Rapor, built in 1977. As his own client, Buff had few limits on his architectural freedom and design innovation.
"My father was always designing houses for himself as long as I can remember," says Buff's son, Conrad Buff IV, the Oscar-winning film editor of "Titanic."
"Everywhere he'd go, if he saw an interesting piece of geography, he'd design a house he'd like to live in to fit on it. When he found the site for the Rapor house, he was thrilled. It was exactly what he was looking for: a challenging site that was secluded and private but with a tremendous view."
