Home for the millennium – The Blazevich Hacienda de la Paz in Rolling Hills
The Blazevich Hacienda de la Paz Photo by David Fairchild (DavidFairchildStudio)
John Z. Blazevich drew upon 1,000 years of art, architecture and engineering to realize his vision for a 19th century California hacienda
In 1993, John Z. Blazevich began stealing time away from overseeing Contessa Premium Foods, the pioneering convenience food and seafood importing company he founded 10 years earlier, at age 28, to oversee the work of 300 desert nomads in Morocco.
Blazevich was introduced to the nomads by Spanish architect Rafael Manzano Martos, whom he had commissioned to design Hacienda de la Paz, a 51,000 square foot home he was building on approximately eight acres in Rolling Hills.
The nomads were hired to hand carve sandstone blocks, reliefs, archways, and capitals that were to form the walls and ceilings of his new home’s 10,000 square foot hamam, or Moorish spa. The spa was modeled after the Medina Azahara Palace their ancestors had built in Córdoba, which Martos restored for the Spanish government. The palace was built in the 10th century by a Moorish King
“I wanted to build a home that would stand the test of time and was reflective of California’s history. I did not want to build another California ranch style. I did not want a Southwestern, Mexican Colonial or a Mediterranean villa. I wanted my home to be first generation Spanish and authentic in every detail,” Blazevich said.
A canopy of carob trees is all that remains on the property of the two parcels he purchased in 1993. The drive beneath the carob trees is now Portuguese limestone, installed by Portuguese stone cutters.
The winding driveway ends at a motor court for six cars. A tall, white fountain appears beyond the tower in the center of the Andalusian courtyard. The Moorish gardens and fountains are the focal point of the plaza. When the gardens were nearly completed, Blazevich noticed one of the fountains appeared off-center to the others. The workers disagreed. Blazevich ordered a rotating laser transit to settle the disagreement. The fountains were indeed out of alignment by one-eighth of an inch.
The Andalusian courtyard and plaza is representative of a 19th century Spanish hacienda. Photo by Steve Brown/Sepia Productions
The workers corrected it.
“Visual precision is important and I have a gift for it,” he said.
A similar incident occurred with an out-of-line wood floor plank at the end of a long hallway in the main house. Blazevich had the hallway corrected because “that’s the way we do it here,” he told the perplexed carpenter.
“I can be a challenge to my workers,” he acknowledged
But he was also a benefactor to tradesmen and artisans of ancient and fast disappearing skills.
The Spanish tiles throughout the 20,000 square-foot main house are from Andalusia, whose combination of Spanish and Moorish architecture was the inspiration for Hacienda de la Paz. Blazevich chanced upon the tile maker while traveling to the Andalusian town where “The Good the Bad and the Ugly” was filmed. He is a fan of Sergio Leone’s spaghetti Western movies.
“I was out in a remote area, visiting a stone quarry and also to see the Sergio Leone movie sets when I saw him making tiles. I asked if he could make a lot of them and ended up ordering six 40-foot containers from him.”
Blazevich insisted on auditory as well as visual perfection. The hacienda’s 18th century Neoclassical ballroom’s 50-foot high ceiling was replaced several times until the acoustics equaled those of an opera house. Upon the completion of the ballroom, Blazevich surprised his mother on her 75th birthday with a performance of “Phantom of the Opera.”
Evidence of the 21st century, including the mixing console, sound system, movie screen and electric cables are hidden behind the walls and in the ceiling.
One New Year’s Eve, he threw a James Bond Theme Party. Johnny Rivers sang “Secret Agent Man,” backed by a 30-piece band. Bond film clips screened throughout the night.
Blazevich’s fiancée Alexandra “Alex” McLeod is an Emmy nominated TV personality and entertainment news correspondent. She was the original host of “Trading Spaces” and “Joe Millionaire I.” Recently, she has appeared on NBC’s “Open House NYC” and CNBC’s “Secret Lifestyles of the Super Rich.”
The Moorish gardens emphasize symmetry and bold colors. Photo by Steve Brown/Sepia Productions
Their home and her background make the couple highly sought after hosts for fundraisers and other gatherings, ranging from casual barbecues to lavish balls. President Jimmy Carter was the guest of honor for a 350 guest, Habitat for Humanity sit-down dinner. Other favorite charities include UNICEF and GRID for Alternatives (a provider of solar power to low income families.)
When not in use for social gatherings, the grand ballroom is also a tennis court, built to U.S. Open specs. Trompe l’oeil windows with physical balconies, brass and wrought iron railings create the illusion that the court is outdoors.
Peninsula Wimbledon champions Pete Sampras and Tracy Austin and Croatian Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic have played there.
Blazevich began playing tennis after finding a tennis court on one of the two lots he bought. “Growing up, I didn’t think of tennis as a very physical game. But after taking lessons, I quickly found I was so wrong. Now I love it,” he said.
Weather permitting, Blazevich, McLeod and their friends play on the outdoor, clay court, built to French Open specs, except for the composition of the red clay. “I went to the French Open and talked to the maintenance crew. They said dust blows off this clay whenever it’s windy, and it gets windy in Rolling Hills. So we modified the clay,” Blazevich said.
The 18th Century neoclassical ballroom is also a tennis court built to U.S. Open specs. Photo by Steve Brown/Sepia Productions
Blazevich’s account of a royal Spanish architect leading him to Moroccan stonecutters to build a 10th century Moorish bath in the desert, where it was assembled to make certain the pieces all fit, then disassembled, crated, shipped 6,000 miles across sea and land to a world 1,000 years removed and installed beneath a Rolling Hills home called Hacienda de la Paz, evokes images from a Gabriel García Márquez novel.
The hamam’s magical realism is heightened by star shaped lights in the amber sandstone ceiling that reflect off blue Murano glass at the bottom of the 40-foot pool. Blazevich picked the blue Venetian glass because he wanted the water to be the color of the Adriatic Sea, where he frequently sails.
“Swimming in the hamam pool, you feel as if you are floating through time. It is a supernatural experience,” he said.
Despite its earthen enclosure, the hamam suffers from neither the high humidity nor the chlorine smell common to indoor pools. Alcoves line either side of the pool. One has a 15-foot tall, waterfall.
“Showering under it is like having a massage,” he said.
Another alcove has adjoining mineral baths enclosed by vaulted, gold leafed walls. Another resembles the colorful, silk draped tent of a nomadic chief. “It’s like what you might see in ‘Lawrence of Arabia’” Blazevich said.
The pool’s 90-degree temperature is maintained by the home’s geothermal heating and cooling system. The geothermal system is coupled to dozens of HVAC units. In 2008, while at Contessa Premium Foods, Blazevich built a $35 million, green, LEED certified factory in the City of Commerce. It was the first green LEED certified frozen food factory in the world.
Blazevich grew up in San Pedro, where he attended San Pedro High School. He majored in marketing at USC, while also indulging in his love for history, art and physics.
His father Rudolf was a chef who escaped to the U.S. from Communist Yugoslavia in 1955.Three years later, his wife Ljubica and son joined him in San Pedro.
Blazevich contemplated buying a Spanish Colonial Revival home in Beverly Hills, designed by Wallace Neff.
He was acquainted with the legendary Pickfair architect’s son. Though he decided against the Neff home, Neff’s enduring architectural influence proved instrumental in enabling Blazevich to convince the City of Rolling Hills to approve his ambitious, new home.
“I wanted to build something iconic, with privacy and panoramic views when I found these two adjoining parcels in Rolling Hills,” he said. The property offers views of both the Los Angeles basin and the Santa Monica Bay.
John Z. Blazevich and Alex McCloud in the meditation room their home’s spa. Photo by David Fairchild
Rolling Hills’ rural zoning promised privacy, while still fostering a family oriented community with amenities for residents, community clubs and events including Easter, Halloween and Christmas parties for children.
But the building department requirement that all homes be white, single story and ranch style posed a problem.
“I did not want to live in a barn with marble counter tops,” he said. “You cannot build an iconic home with board and batten siding.”
During a careful reading of the Rolling Hills building code, Blazevich discovered that Cliff May, the architect who popularized California ranch homes, is not the only architect whose style is allowed. Neff is also mentioned. Blazevich knew of at least one adobe home in Rolling Hills, though it is largely hidden from view.
Still, city staff was not happy with his plans for a 51,000 square foot home, 31,000 of it, including a ballroom and Moorish spa, below ground.
“The city thought I was going to build this huge monstrosity and destroy the image of the community. I told them I would be using adobe, which better reflects the rural setting. Fortunately, I was young enough, at 38, and had enough money and determination to convince them.”
When finally completed in 2010, 17 years after conception, Hacienda de la Paz invited comparison to Hearst Castle in San Simeon. While comfortable with the comparison, Blazevich points out that Hearst Castle reflects William Randolph Hearst’s’ eclectic tastes and as a result, lacks cohesiveness.
Hacienda de La Paz also brings together seemingly disparate elements, spanning a millennium of architecture, art and engineering.
“The Andalusian architectural style of the estate is 19th century, the Neoclassical ballroom is 18th century and the hamam is 10th century,” he said, all wired with 21st century HVAC (with the help of experts such as ac companies in Jacksonville, FL), security, lighting and entertainment electrical systems.
The interlocking salon ceiling was designed in the Mudejar style and assembled without nails by Spanish craftsmen. Photo by Steve Brown/Sepia Productions
The challenge, he said was to harmoniously weave together these 1,000 years of influences.
“I called it Hacienda de la Paz because when I came home from a 12-hour work day, I wanted my senses to be awakened by the aromas and the colors of the gardens, to listen to the sounds of my fountains and to feel at peace,” he said.
After overcoming the city’s resistance, Blazevich embarked on executing his Andalusian vision.
Rafael Manzano Martos was King Juan Carlos’ curator and is the world’s foremost expert on Mudejar architecture. The Mudejars were Spanish Moors. In addition to introducing Blazevich to the Moroccan stone masons, Martos helped find complementary art.
A painting in the entry hall commemorates the 100th anniversary of the 1615 publication of “Don Quixote.” The painting formerly hung in Madrid’s Prado Museum. The entry hall’s four life-size, silver and gold busts of bishops are 400 years old. They come from an Italian library that was undergoing modernization.
Wrought iron window grates on the main house are from a 15th century Seville convent.
To coordinate with the city on building codes and contemporary amenities, Blazevich recruited Peninsula architect Anthony Inferrera.
Also from Madrid, was Nicolas Luca de Tena, who worked for Spain’s royal family as an artist and art restorer. He is the 15th generation grandson of Hernan Cortes, Spanish explorer who conquered the Aztecs and discovered Baja California.
Luca de Tena lived at Hacienda de La Paz for 10 years, painting trompe l’oeil frescos, ceiling murals and original art and applying gold leaf accents. His painting over the living room fireplace is an interpretation of a Joan Miro painting. Blazevich liked the original Miro, but not its blue background, so he asked Luca de Tena to repaint his version with a warmer, yellow background.
Other contemporary artists’ paintings hang alongside Flemish tapestries and Dutch masters’ because, “I don’t want the house to be caught in time,” Blazevich said.
Spanish father and son interior designers Bruno and Manuel Gavira were responsible for bringing harmony and individuality to the main house’s nine bedrooms and 25 bathrooms, as well as the guest house and Renaissance chapel.
A chapel dedicated to Santa Catalina sits off the poolside loggia. Photo by Steve Brown/Sepia Productions
“No two rooms have the same design,” Blazevich said.
There are surprisingly whimsical touches. The ladies powder room has a confessional and allows two women to converse in privacy through a
screened confessional window. The men’s room has an original Thomas Crapper.
The interlocking ceiling beams in the living and dining rooms were designed in the Mudejar style by a Madrid professor of architecture and assembled without nails by carpenters brought from Madrid.
The artisans responsible for the three-foot-thick adobe walls came from closer by.
“I hired the workers who restored the California missions,” Blazevich said.
Despite the adobe walls’ thickness, they didn’t meet California’s seismic safety standards. So they were reinforced with wood and steel posts. Blazevich then stuccoed the walls white. “When city officials first saw the adobe walls, they liked them and thought I should keep them exposed in some areas. I said, ‘Wait a minute, the code says houses need to be white.’ These were challenging times with the city. But we came to a compromise and everyone is happy with the end result. Many haciendas have been built now behind the gates. I paved the way.”
Los Angeles building inspectors, whom Rolling Hills contracts with, spent so much time on the site, that Blazevich said they worried him.
“I asked, ‘Am I doing something wrong? Why are you guys here all the time?’ They said they had never seen a house so over-engineered. They wanted to know why I was using 8-inch pipe when I could use 6-inch pipe. I said, the labor and material costs are almost the same and I want this house to last hundreds of years. The reason housing systems go south and need to be replaced is because the requirements are so lax,” he said.
Haman spa meditation room. Photo by Steve Brown/Sepia Productions
Blazevich’s decision to go subterranean stemmed in part from building restrictions, but more importantly because, he said, “Even on eight acres, 51,000 square feet on one level would be too much. I wanted amenities, like an indoor pool during the winter and a tennis court that I could use after work. The city doesn’t allow night lit courts.
“It’s a well-intentioned restriction and I agree with it. There are no streetlights or sidewalks in Rolling Hills. The quiet, coastal views and privacy suggest the romance of the ‘30s and ‘40s.”
An essential characteristic of Mudejar architecture is beautiful gardens.
Blazevich planted dozens of fruit and nut trees, including navel, Valencia and Sanguinello (blood) oranges, avocado, figs, apples, peaches, apricots, lemons and limes; as well as herbs and vegetables in the summer, winter, fall and spring gardens that border the entry driveway and are spread elsewhere across the eight acres.
“My goal was to be able to feed off the fruit and vegetables any time of year while walking through an aromatic property,” he said.
Hamam spa red jaima room. Photo by Steve Brown/Sepia Productions
The property has become a sanctuary for Peninsula wildlife and migrating birds.
“Every March, three days before the swallows return to Capistrano, the swallows stop here to dip in our pool. They’re like a sign from heaven,” Blazevich said.
In 2013, just three years after completing the final building stage of Hacienda de la Paz, Blazevich put it up for sale. Hacienda de la Paz is listed at $48 million. He estimates that building his home today would cost close to $100 million.
But Blazevich appears in no hurry move. The home has hosted several weddings and his may be next. He and McLeod are engaged, after having lived together on the property for more than a decade.
Blazevich said he decided to sell Hacienda de la Paz because he wants to move on to his next project. His son Andreas, a student at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, prefers to have his own home. Blazevich sold Contessa Premium Foods in 2011, by which time its aggregate sales had exceeded $4 billion.
He declined to disclose what his next project is, except to say it might be in Croatia, where his family owns olive groves and vineyards.
Because olive oil was important to 19th century haciendas, Blazevich planted over 60 olive trees from the Central Valley on his property. An olive oil tribute room in the main house features large, ancient, clay vases and photos of old Spanish olive mills. Salads from the gardens are dressed with olive oil from his family’s olive groves in Croatia. The bottles are labeled Hacienda de la Paz.
Photos by Steve Brown Sepia Productions Inc.