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- The Lumiere House in Point Richmond is listed for sale for $899,000 for the first time.
- The three-story, 1,186-square-foot cone-shaped home has prism-like translucent walls.
- The waterfront 0.15-acre parcel includes terraced gardens, ponds, fruit trees and Bay.
In a neighborhood where homes can blend into the hillside above San Francisco Bay, one address in Point Richmond is hard to miss.
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The Lumiere House, a historic conical home at 331 Wester Drive, is on the market for the first time, with an asking price of $899,000. Built as a private residence by architect Walter Thomas Brooks and his family, the structure stands out for its prism-like exterior and a site plan that makes the lot part garden, part rugged hillside stage with Bay views.
The house sits on a waterfront parcel terraced with fruit trees, ponds, ferns and reflecting pools. The two-bedroom, one-bath home measures 1,186 square feet on about 0.15 acres.
The property offers a quiet little sanctuary and thrilling views in the distinct town of Point Richmond, which lies within the city of Richmond. It’s about 75 miles southwest of Sacramento and 20 miles north of San Francisco.
The Lumiere House’s form is striking: a cone that reads as both futuristic and handmade. The effect was intentional.
Brooks was “designing a prism effect with the translucent walls giving the sense of refracting light,” listing agent Terry Tilley of The Agency said in an email.
The listing says Brooks blended “crystalline” translucent walls with a small-footprint, passive-solar, earth-shelter approach and lines “copacetic with nature.” A plaque at the site says it’s “the first plastic shingled house constructed in America.”
The home has “aerodynamic ship-building sensibility, seen in the built-in furniture, prow-shaped front of the home, two mezzanines, and crow’s nest at the top,” according to the listing.
Tilley said the architect’s broader themes also show up in the way the house is fitted to the site and furnished from within.
“Organic architecture style is a thread through his work,” Tilley said.
Built-in elements and custom woodwork were common in Brooks’ designs, she added, along with a close integration with nature through large windows and an emphasis on views.
“I love the living room where it feels like I am on a ship in the bay,” Tilley said. “The water views stay in your mind so even after I leave the property, I still see the gleaming surface of the bay dotted with sailboats.”
In its premiere issue in 2000, Dwell magazine said the house offered “a breathtaking view of the San Francisco Bay and a cozy conversation pit that seats 24.”
In the article, Brooks also framed his minimalist approach as values-driven.
“If you create a good house for yourself, you help create a good family and a better society,” he said.
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Point Richmond’s waterfront is scenic, but it is not lined with single-family properties. Tilley said that scarcity is part of the appeal.
“Everyone wishes they had waterfront property, but there are very few — its location and view are breathtaking and rare,” she said. “And the epic design is one-of-a-kind, so there are no homes around it that have quite the same vibe, even in wonderfully quirky Point Richmond.
The lot’s design amplifies the setting. Tilley said the home and site were crafted to make use of the hillside, with terracing that creates flatter pockets for gardens and ponds as well as “an incredible range of vistas.”
The house itself rises three stories, keeping the footprint small so more of the land can be used outdoors. That vertical layout makes the views a feature on every level. The landscaping more than a backdrop, with spaces that feel like outdoor rooms.
“I find the fern grotto to be particularly peaceful and cool,” Tilley said. “The property has a wonderful mulberry tree that I have made incredible jam from.”
Lumiere House has drawn attention for years among architecture fans, including a nod in the inaugural volume of Dwell magazine (October 2000).
Now that it has come to market, Tilley said the first-time sale is significant for buyers who track architect-designed homes.
“Many people know of Lumiere House but have never seen it,” Terry said. “Coming to market for the first time gives people a chance to appreciate this home in person.”
Tilley said the house remains largely in original condition, and “is a work of art.”
The house was a family build, according to Brooks’ daughter Carrie Brooks.
“We were told we would be building a house in 1970,” she told SF Gate in an email. “I was about to start Cal that summer. It was going to be covered in plexiglass shingles. My mom made a model (which I have now). We bought the plexiglass in large sheets and had it delivered to a rented warehouse in west Berkeley where we cut the shingles in different widths on a bandsaw. Then we predrilled the holes on the top for screws.”
The hope, Tilley said, is that the next owner will preserve its character.
“Now, I hope we get a buyer who wants to cherish it and maintain it into its next many years,” Tilley said.
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This story was originally published July 30, 2026 at 11:45 AM.