Home of the Week: Inside ‘Matrix’ Producer Joel Silver’s $52 Million Modernist, Mexican Marvel in Brentwood

A rare private home designed by master Mexican architect Ricardo Legoretta in Los Angeles is on the market for $52 million. The home, which is located in the city’s ultra-exclusive Brentwood Circle district, spans a massive 25,000 square feet and was custom-designed for Silver, who originally bought the property in 1988 for $3.3 million. The house is set on four acres of land and includes eight bedrooms—most notably, two primary suites with their own dens, walk-in closets and oversized bathrooms. In total, there are nine bathrooms overall. 

Tyler Hogan

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Best known for producing mega hits such as Die Hard and The Matrix, the Legoretta property is just one of many architecturally important homes owned by the design-minded producer. “The Silvers’ real estate portfolio reveals them to be ‘architectural collectors’ as well as collectors of many fine things,” said a source close to the home’s listing and sale, which is being repped by Branden and Rayni Williams of Williams & Williams at The Beverly Hills Estates and Jade Mills at Coldwell Banker. “Their portfolio includes a repertoire of Frank Lloyd Wright homes, a plantation in Georgia, and many others.” Indeed, Silver previously owned Lloyd Wright’s Storer House in the Hollywood Hills, which he sold in 2002 for $2.9 million. 

According to reports, Legoretta completed the Silver home in 2001, crafting a modernist mansion from elegant pink stone that reflects both the architect’s Mexican heritage and the home’s Southern California location. Surrounded by deeply verdant lush gardens, the compound is a riot of towering skylights, geometric angles and cooling reflecting pools that defined Legoretta’s inimitable style. The Silvers were also major art collectors and “there is a $3.5M piece of artwork built into the Legorreta home that can be sold separately from the home,” said the source. 

Tyler Hogan

The estate is accessed by a grand motor court that leads to the various Legoretta-designed structures. The main entrance is designed like an atrium, towering over cool limestone floors sourced from Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula and capped by a retractable skylight.  Further on is a central dining room whose ceiling is shaped like a pyramid—which is an important Mexican cultural motif saluting both the ancient Aztec and Mayan empires. The home builds upon this aesthetic with novel interpretations including ziggurat-styled ceilings and glass brick walls. In many of the rooms, the ceilings feature 100 year-old wooden beams that were salvaged and repurposed from churches in Connecticut.

This being LA, there’s also a large screening room that can easily accommodate 20 people in tiered seating as well as a gym, office and game room. There is also a circular atrium with retractable skylight and 30-foot-tall family room with hydraulic doors.  Across the estate’s myriad outdoor spaces, there’s an English-styled maze garden, sunken basketball court, swimming pool, al fresco kitchen and pizza oven.   

Tyler Hogan

The home is known as Casa de Plata (“House of Silver” in Spanish) and was one of the last private homes completed by Legoretta, who’s widely considered to be one of Mexico’s most celebrated architects. As with the case of much of Legoretta’s work, Casa de Plata pays reference to Luis Barragan, Mexico’s other architectural master who was a key Legoretta inspiration. Silver took a fully collaborative approach to the home’s development, which was commissioned after the producer saw another Legoretta-designed house and heavily admired the results. 

Casa de Plata’s current $52 million price tag represents a sizable reduction from its original listing price of $77.5 million back in 2019.  That price didn’t last long and was reduced to $75 million in 2021.  The new price reflects the current Brentwood-area market, which has seen major deals during the pandemic. A year ago, music mogul Scooter Braun purchased a $65 million Brentwood estate, which was a record for the tony area.  And mega-developer Ray Nosrati sold a Brentwood home last year for $44 million to hedge fund titan Jeff Feinberg (who is now reportedly looking to flip it for a cool $48 million). 

Tyler Hogan

“The (new) asking price (for the Silver estate) now is set by the celebrity comps set in the last year,” the listing’s source explains. “There have been sporadic luxury closings during August and July, but September is anticipated to be a big month for luxury real estate. especially at a competitive new price of $52M.  We see the buyer for this home as someone who loves architecture, privacy, and security on 4.5 acres.”

Check out more photos of the property here:

Tyler Hogan

Tyler Hogan

Tyler Hogan

Tyler Hogan

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