Monday, July 3, 2000  Ventura County Edition  Section: Metro  Page: B-1  VENTURA COUNTY NEWS  Local Eichler Homes Gain Respect; The Modernist Design Is Building a Reputation in Thousand Oaks  By: KATIE COOPER  SPECIAL TO THE TIMES  THOUSAND OAKS -- Tim Vick was running out of options. His Realtor was running out of patience.  Every home she showed him was just too normal, he said.  "I wanted something different--not some cookie-cutter house," said Vick, recounting his move to this east county city from Long Beach after a divorce nearly two years ago.  Finally, he said, she told him about this unusual little fixer-upper off Lynn Road. Instead of the traditional partitioning of rooms, Vick found floor-to-ceiling windows uniting the living room, kitchen and family room into one expansive, open space. Walls of glass seamlessly merged the interior with a verdant backyard. And a streamlined post-and-beam construction neatly framed the horizontal lines of the single-story, flat-roofed home. "The first time I saw this house, I knew it was something special," said Vick, an engineer. Vick, 40, had discovered an Eichler house, the tract home with a Frank Lloyd Wright sensibility and the darling of modern architecture enthusiasts. He had also found the only enclave of such houses in Ventura County. The collection of the 100 or so houses just east of where Camino Manzanas crosses Lynn Road were built in the 1960s by Joseph Eichler, a former butter wholesaler turned developer who had a mission to bring the contemporary home to the masses. Eichler hired the most talented modernist architects of his day to design houses that offered the middle-class suburbanite the craftsmanship and style of a custom home. For years, the Thousand Oaks collection has been overshadowed by better-known tracts in Northern California, Orange County and the San Fernando Valley, which were built in the 1950s and 1960s. But now, homeowners say, signs are everywhere that Ventura County's Eichlers may finally be getting the respect and attention they deserve. Last year, for the first time, a local Eichler's sale price topped $400,000. A community of retro-seekers recently cropped up on the Internet eager for word of any Thousand Oaks Eichler on the market. And an Orange County Realtor who specializes in the low-slung homes there has plans to expand to Ventura County. "No one used to know about the Eichlers here," said Marcia Sheffield, a Westlake Village Realtor, who has listed some of the local homes, and lives in an Eichler herself. "But now they are getting recognition. People are calling from out of the area to say they are looking for one." Hank West, the original owner of his 1968 Eichler, said that lately someone comes by his home on Stoddard Avenue nearly every week asking if he wants to sell. "I love this place, " said the 58-year-old Continental Airlines pilot. "I won't ever get rid of it. This is a California home, not a home in California." Architecture buffs lost track of the Thousand Oaks Eichlers because of the way suburbia grew in Southern California, said Ted Wells, president of the Pasadena-based Southern California chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians. "They always seemed the farthest out in the most egocentric Southern California view, because the majority of growth happened south and slightly east," said Wells, a Laguna Beach architect and restorer. * * * The Thousand Oaks tract, he said, "was always third on the list of historical significance in Southern California." But, he said, homeowners of well-preserved Eichlers in the enclave could take advantage of the recent wave of interest in mid-20th century modern homes. "People are definitely shopping for them," he said. Problem is, though, said Sheffield, the Realtor, most Eichler owners don't ever want to sell. The Thousand Oaks tract was designed by A. Quincy Jones and Frederick E. Emmons, architects who also designed major buildings on five University of California campuses. Homes in the development come in one of three styles, but all share basic design components: a stark facade with redwood siding and few windows; flat roofs, although some feature a single gable; an open floor plan with an orientation to the interior of the home and its backyard; wide expanses of glass and sliding glass doors; a simple post-and-beam construction with redwood ceilings and either mahogany or redwood paneling; and an atrium, what some homeowners regard as the most prized feature of all. The interior courtyards are typically lined with plants and add to the spacious feel of the homes, which are often no larger than 3,000 square feet. The inside of the houses are bathed in sunlight, but blinding glare is blocked by redwood eaves. To keep cool, residents rely on a cross breeze rather than central air conditioning, which is not a standard feature in the homes. "It's never been a problem," said West, who was relaxing recently between flights. "You just open the doors, and the westerly breezes come right through the house." And in an innovation borrowed from Frank Lloyd Wright, the houses are heated by a system of copper tubes embedded in the homes' concrete slab that circulate hot water. Local homeowners say most houses in the tract have been well-maintained. But many have been remodeled, with some sporting changes that make Eichler purists recoil in horror: pitched roofs, ornate front doors, and glass bricks. Some Eichler owners, Vick said, just don't get it and treat their homes like any other house. "They'll put up French provincial lighting," he said. "On a straightedge house, it sticks out like a sore thumb." The people who sold him his Stoddard Avenue home put a roof over the atrium and turned it into a spare room. Vick is now in the process of a six-year remodeling job to restore his home to its original styling and is using the home of neighbors Ricardo and Olga Zucca as a model, he said. The couple, who bought their Ellsworth Circle Eichler in 1972, have made few modifications over the years, because, they said, the house hasn't needed any. "It's a practical, well-designed house," said Ricardo Zucca, 64. After showing off her nearly original kitchen to a visitor, Olga Zucca, a retired computer programmer, was aghast to hear that a neighbor had modernized theirs. She had just pointed out the walk-in pantry, the vintage Thermador range and oven, and a counter top that folds out and expands into a breakfast table. "How can you modernize this kitchen?" she asked. "I love cooking here. It is so convenient." A block away, Christian Alexander said he tips his hat to the Eichler owners who carry the torch for the developer and architects who designed the tract. "But I wouldn't want to deprive myself of the conveniences and things on the market," said Alexander, who bought his home seven years ago. He and his wife, Arlene Saryan, plan to soon remodel their kitchen. They have also painted their home's interior white, going against the Eichler tradition of muted earth tones. Still, he said, he couldn't help marveling at the home's original design features. With the radiant heating system, Alexander said, it's nice to walk around barefoot on the warm floor. Both he and Vick believe that in the next few years more local Eichlers will be remodeled as the original owners decide to sell. And that makes Vick wonder whether the loose-knit homeowners association should be a little more active in protecting the integrity of the original design. Many of the Eichler homeowners' groups in the Bay Area, where the developer built 11,000 residences, have strict rules governing remodels. Community meetings there are packed with Eichler owners who have knowledge of contemporary architecture, said Jerry Ditto, owner of Palo Alto-based Eichler Homes Realty Inc. The homes in Northern California typically sell in the upper six figures, and for more than a $1 million in Palo Alto, Ditto said. * * * But the rising market for Eichlers in Thousand Oaks is not enough of a lure for Alexander to even think of selling his family's home on Camino Manzanas. His wife works as a bond trader in downtown Los Angeles, and is up before dawn. His company's office is in Costa Mesa, which as a telecommuter he drives to about twice a week. "Even with those commutes, we wouldn't move," he said. "That's how much we love this house."  PHOTO: Alexander family members relax with friends in their Eichler home, including its distinctive courtyard, on Camino Manzanas. PHOTOGRAPHER: ANNE CUSACK / Los Angeles Times PHOTO: This home in the local tract of Eichler houses appears to have been remodeled. PHOTOGRAPHER: ANNE CUSACK / Los Angeles Times PHOTO: (2 photos) Olga and Ricardo Zucca, left, in the dining area of their Eichler home. At right, Olga prepares them a salad. "How can you modernize this kitchen?" she asked. "I love cooking here. It is so convenient." PHOTOGRAPHER: ANNE CUSACK / Los Angeles Times