Malibu’s Only Robert Skinner-Designed Home Still Evokes Midcentury Summers

Upon relocating to California in 1960, German-born physicist Gisela Eckhardt — best known as co-inventor of the Raman laser — was looking to put down stakes in the Los Angeles area. She wound up falling in love with a Robert Skinner-designed house in the Trousdale Estates neighborhood of Beverly Hills, and subsequently enlisted the modernist architect to create a ranch-style home for her in the eastern reaches of Malibu, directly above Big Rock Beach.

Completed in 1966 — and sold for $4 million in late 2020 after Eckhardt’s passing to a real estate developer with Maison d’Artiste, with a staunch promise he had made to her that he would preserve the home in keeping with Skinner’s original design — the extensively restored property has again popped up on the market, asking a smidge under $11.5 million.

Skinner’s only Malibu creation, the midcentury gem is rightfully known as the “Eckhardt House,” and features four bedrooms and three baths filtered across nearly 2,700 square feet of open-concept living space boasting whitewashed interiors, block walls, natural oak accents and new terrazzo floors. Large expanses of glass also provide sweeping city lights and ocean views from almost every room.

Nestled amid a bluff-top parcel spanning a little more than 3 acres, the striking all-white structure is fronted by a motorcourt flanked by an attached two-car garage. An atrium entry greets, and flows to a sunken living room sporting a decorative floating-hearth fireplace, while an adjacent dining area adorned with a massive mural adjoins an eat-in kitchen outfitted with bespoke cabinetry, Corian countertops, and top-tier Miele, and Fisher & Paykel appliances.

Elsewhere is a glass-lined master retreat flaunting a built-in desk, private sauna and walk-in closet, as well as a spa-inspired bath equipped with dual vanities and a custom waterfall shower. Outdoors, the terraced backyard hosts a large white-bottom pool, fire-pit, “strolling gardens,” and numerous patios ideal for al fresco lounging and entertaining.

The listing is held by Elizabeth Donovan of Coldwell Banker Realty.