Harry Gesner

Gesner's first notable project was the Eagle's Watch house, designed for a client for whom Gesner had previously designed apartments. Gesner proposed the ambitious design for a difficult site above these apartments, which could only be reached by a funicular. Named for the eagle Gesner had repeatedly observed at the site, the 1957 house had a spreading wing-like roofline.[18] This was followed by a commission Gesner obtained through Patty's connections. The Kimball House was designed in 1957 for a site in Tarzana, bridging the walls of a small canyon.[19]

In 1957 Gesner was introduced to recently-divorced swimwear manufacturer Fred Cole, who had bought a difficult site overlooking Hollywood and the Los Angeles basin. Cole wanted an exotic house that could serve as a set for photo shoots featuring his swimwear products. Built in six months to meet a deadline for the showing of the new Cole of California collection, the Cole House was described by contemporary writers as an "inverted V," resembling what later became known as the A-frame.[20] The house received extensive publicity.[21]

In 1956 Gesner was contacted by friends from his post-war time at Lake Arrowhead, Glenn and Gerry Cooper. The couple asked for his assistance in finding a coastal site in Malibu. They found a site with good surfing, and Gesner camped at the location. According to Gesner, he paddled offshore on his surfboard and sketched the house's design in grease pencil on his surfboard, looking back at the site. Gesner designed the house to extend into the surf at high tide.[22] The Wave House was designed with projecting rooflines resembling breaking waves, cantilevered over circular balconies. The interior focused on a central conversation pit and fireplace overlooking the ocean.[23] The house received widespread attention. The same year, Danish architect Jørn Utzon submitted his concept for the Sydney Opera House design competition, with sail or wave-like forms. Utzon's design was compared to Gesner's, and in the early 1960s, Utzon called Gesner to express his appreciation for Gesner's work. Neither architect felt that the Opera House design was influenced by Wave House, but both acknowledged each others' work.[24][25][26]

Wave House was later owned in the 1970s by Rod Stewart, who commissioned Gesner to design railings for the initially rail-less balconies.[27]

By 1958 Gesner had an established practice with repeat clients. For a client with 20 apparently unbuildable lots, Gesner designed the Hollywood Hills Boathouses, with street-level entrances on the uphill sides and dramatic views of the San Fernando Valley on the elevated downhill side. Gesner designed several additional speculative houses for the client, Ronald Buck, developing what Gesner called the W house. The central component of the W is similar to an A-frame, with wings supported on splayed frames rising from the base of the A. Following the pattern of the Boathouses, the houses are entered via an uphill street entrance, and the living spaces are oriented for views of the valley on the downhill side.[28]

These projects were followed by a series of small houses on flat sites, with impressive views. The houses featured centralized themes, with fireplaces, sunken living rooms, or in one case an atrium with a pool in the center of the house. Shortly after these commissions, the now-divorced Gesner pursued a newly-divorced friend, Pat Alexander, and they were married by 1962. For several years, Harry and Pat lived in Switzerland, where Pat, a native Californian, had established a life. By 1966 the couple was divorced, and Gesner moved back to California and resumed his practice. [29]

Gesner's chief 1966 commission was the Scantlin House, commissioned as a bachelor residence for John Scantlin, the wealthy developer of the Quotron stock market terminal.[30] Gesner's design for the site, which has a panoramic view of Los Angeles and the Pacific Ocean, featured a single large 1-inch (2.5 cm) thick pane of glass to frame the main view. The house also included an outdoor lap pool with an underwater entrance to a grotto in the master bathroom. The house was later acquired by the J. Paul Getty Trust and was used by architect Richard Meier while he designed the Getty Center.[31]

From 1966 Gesner focused on circular designs. In 1968 Gesner reunited with former casual girlfriend Nan Martin, who moved in with him at Gesner's studio in Tarzana, becoming Gesner’s fourth wife. Fulfilling a promise to Martin, Gesner designed their house on a cove in Malibu close to the Wave House. The Sandcastle used circular forms, and gave Gesner access to surfing from his own beach. The house was primarily built of salvaged materials.[32] There followed a series of Malibu beachfront commissions into the 1970s.[33] Gesner continued to design houses on challenging and spectacular sites into the 1980s. Following a major 1993 wildfire in Malibu, Gesner designed a new house for playwright Jerome Lawrence, whose house had burned. Lawrence died in 2004 before the house was completed, and the design was changed by subsequent owners. A subsequent owner approached Gesner to complete the house to Gesner's design. The house was named "Ravenseye" by the new owner.[34]