The additions and expansions of Seiche in La Jolla Shores will adhere to historic designation regulations and coastal requirements.
La Jolla Development Permit Review Committee trustees had nothing but praise for proposed renovations to a historic La Jolla home at 9530 La Jolla Shores Dr; the project met with rare, first-time committee approval Nov 11.
The project entails an addition and remodel of the existing, 3,998-square-foot, three-story, single-dwelling unit known as the “Dr Walter and Judith Munk Seiche House” in La Jolla.
Walter Munk was a renowned oceanographer whose work as a geophysicist at La Jolla’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego led to groundbreaking observations of waves, ocean temperature, tidal energy and more.
The home, Seiche (a standing wave oscillating in a body of water), was designed by both Munk and his second wife, artist and architectural designer Judith Munk; Judith designed the property and landscape.
Walter and Judith lived in the home from its construction in 1953 until Judith’s death in 2006 and Walter’s in 2019.
Seiche was listed on the National Register of Historical Places in 2021, following an action by the California State Historical Resources Commission; it was deemed historic locally in 2023.
The current plans for renovation include a 1,125 square foot addition to the second floor; conversion of 565-square-foot, detached guest house to an accessory dwelling unit with an addition of 375 square feet; expansion of the basement to 1,103 square feet; and additions of a new, attached 628-square-foot, two-car garage, new retaining walls, new driveway, new landscaping and new utilities.
The plans, presented by La Jolla architect Ione Stiegler, whose firm achieved the historic designation, incorporated coastal and historic organization requests to adhere to height and other regulations, Stiegler said.
Materials used in the addition will conform to Secretary of the Interior standards for historic preservation, she added.
The project will create an entirely new kitchen in the current garage area; the current kitchen will become part of the living space.
Melaleuca trees on the property will be maintained per the historic designation; other elements of the historic landscape will follow the concept of “succession planting,” Stiegler said, in which plants will be replaced with similar species.
In a rare move, DPR trustees first voted unanimously to make the preliminary review a final review and then voted to approve the project, sending it to the La Jolla Community Planning Association for ratification.
