Ranch & Coast Magazine

February 2025

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T his is my first home that I've designed and lived in, so it's nice to finally have arrived at that moment," says architect Brett Farrow. We're here at SEA4 on San Elijo. e four residences are terraced against the hill, outstretched gracefully toward the ocean. Stopping traffic. As with all of Farrow's North County projects, there's an exploration of light, privacy, and sustainability with purpose-driven materials. Cast-in-place concrete quiets the interiors. Aluminum staves off salt corrosion. Western red cedar, which is resilient to termites, is warmed with patina from the Cardiff sun. Most meaningfully, every home at at SEA4 was designed to maximize ocean views with Farrow jigsawing them into different arrangements until the perfect configuration emerged. Inside, each home retains individual characteristics and surprise connections to nature. "Light is one of my building materials," says Farrow, who taught architecture at Woodbury University and NewSchool of Architecture & Design for 14 years. OPPOSITE The striking SEA4 development in Cardiff. "I can see seven surf breaks from here," says architect Brett Farrow from his balcony TOP LEFT C3 Bank in Encinitas gives a subtle lifeguard tower reference TOP RIGHT The San Dieguito residence in Cardiff "melds nature into the home's ethos" ABOVE In Carlsbad, Laguna Row's chiseled cedar exterior ties into the natural lagoon setting Twenty years ago, the architect and developer decamped Little Italy's burgeoning design scene for North County. At the time, colleagues like Jonathan Segal and Mike Burnett were transforming odd-shaped lots in South Park and Golden Hill with cool infill projects. ey balked at Farrow's move. at was then. "North County was always seen as a little bit more provincial. I was worried about how modern architecture would be accepted up here. But I also wanted to get back to the beach, and I grew up surfing," says Farrow, who with his wife, Heidi, raised his two daughters here and became very much rooted in the community. >> @ranchandcoast RANCH & COAST MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2025 61

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