Rancho Verde Addition

Rancho Verde Addition Eichler Tract, Sunnyvale 94087

One of the Eichler homes in Sunnyvale’s Rancho Verde neighborhood, exemplifying the low-profile mid-century modern design and indoor-outdoor openness. The Rancho Verde Addition is a small Eichler subdivision in Sunnyvale, California, located just west of South Mary Avenue (around Sherwood Drive and Ticonderoga Drive) boyengarealestateteam.com. Built in 1962 as an extension of the larger 1960 Rancho Verde tract, this “addition” comprised roughly 40 new homes – a more upscale enclave adjacent to the original development. Famed Eichler architects Claude Oakland and Jones & Emmons designed the homes, ensuring they embodied Eichler’s trademark modernist style with post-and-beam construction, open floor plans, walls of glass, and seamless indoor-outdoor integration boyengarealestateteam.com. More than half a century later, Rancho Verde Addition remains a well-preserved time capsule of 1960s California Modernism, thanks to pride of ownership and conscious preservation efforts boyengarealestateteam.com.

Architectural Features and Style

A dramatic “Double A-frame” Eichler in Rancho Verde, featuring twin-peaked gables at the entry. Only a few of these high-profile models were built, standing out amid the tract’s flat and low-gabled roofs boyengarealestateteam.com. Homes in Rancho Verde Addition showcase an eclectic mix of rooflines – from sleek flat-top and low-gabled designs to a few eye-catching double A-frame facades with twin-peaked entry gablesboyengarealestateteam.com. Virtually all of the houses feature open-air atriums or central courtyards, a signature Eichler element that floods the interiors with natural light and blurs the line between indoors and outdoors. This variety of silhouettes gives the neighborhood visual interest while still adhering to a cohesive mid-century modern aesthetic boyengarealestateteam.com.

Notable design and layout features of the Rancho Verde and Addition Eichlers include:

• Spacious Floor Plans: Most Addition homes are four-bedroom, two-bath models (~1,700–1,970 sq ft), larger than earlier Eichler homes (which included 3-bedroom models ~1,370 sq ft) boyengarealestateteam.com. These expanded layouts – many with enlarged master suites and flexible living areas – reflected Eichler’s shift toward more upscale designs for “move-up” buyers in the early 1960s boyengarealestateteam.com.

• Introduction of the “Gallery” Model: The Rancho Verde Addition was the first to debut Eichler’s innovative Gallery model in 1962 – a floor plan featuring an elongated, art-gallery-like hallway running through the home boyengarealestateteam.com. Architect Claude Oakland pioneered this design as a creative new twist on the Eichler layout, marking a transition toward larger, semi-custom homes in this tract boyengarealestateteam.com.

• Classic Eichler Elements: Every home upholds Eichler’s modernist ethos – exposed post-and-beam structures, expansive floor-to-ceiling glass walls, and open-plan living areas oriented around private atriums or patios boyengarealestateteam.com. Houses sit on concrete slab foundations with in-floor radiant heating (a cutting-edge feature in the 1960s), and often include Eichler hallmarks like slender clerestory windows and globe pendant entry lights boyengarealestateteam.com. The facades are purposely minimalistic (many with no street-facing windows) to enhance privacy, while the rear walls are almost entirely glass opening to the yard boyengarealestateteam.com.

Eichler’s use of quality natural materials also adds to the homes’ appeal. Exteriors were originally finished in redwood board-and-batten siding, and interiors featured rich Philippine mahogany paneling – a palette that gave the tract a unified yet warm appearance boyengarealestateteam.com. Together, these architectural choices make Rancho Verde Addition a showcase of mid-century modern design, balancing uniformity and uniqueness in each home boyengarealestateteam.com.

Preservation and Legacy

Over the years, homeowners and city planners have taken steps to preserve the unique character of the Rancho Verde Eichlers. In 2007, the City of Sunnyvale even created a special “single-story overlay” zone for this neighborhood, prohibiting any second-story additions on Eichler lots. This measure ensures that new construction or expansions cannot overwhelm the low-slung profile of the original one-story homes or infringe on neighbors’ privacy.

Moreover, Sunnyvale has included Rancho Verde (and the Addition) in its Eichler Design Guidelines program – a set of design guidelines aimed at guiding renovations in Eichler neighborhoods to be sensitive to the mid-century modern aesthetic. These city-issued guidelines help homeowners plan upgrades (from exterior materials to window styles and landscaping) that honor the Eichler style, rather than replace it with incompatible designs boyengarealestateteam.com. Other Sunnyvale Eichler tracts under the same guidelines include Fairbrae, Midtown, Parmer Place, and Fairwood boyengarealestateteam.com. Thanks to such protective measures and a passionate community, Rancho Verde Addition remains one of Sunnyvale’s most cherished Eichler enclaves – a sought-after residential oasis prized for its iconic design, excellent schools, and convenient proximity to Silicon Valley tech hubs boyengarealestateteam.com. The tract stands today as a living reminder of Joseph Eichler’s forward-thinking vision, its timeless modernist homes continuing to captivate architecture enthusiasts and homeowners alike.boyengarealestateteam.com

Sources:

1. Boyenga Team – Rancho Verde Eichler Neighborhood: A Mid-Century Modern Oasis in Sunnyvale boyengarealestateteam.com
   
   

2. Eichler Homes for Sale – Rancho Verde Eichler Neighborhood: Timeless Mid-Century Community boyengarealestateteam.com