English singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist, pianist, rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Born in Exeter, Devon, he went to University College London, where he formed the band Starfish with classmates Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman and Will Champion Chris Martin has finally followed through on plans to demolish the very first of his multiple Malibu homes.

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The Coldplay frontman completely leveled almost the entire Point Dume estate, though it appears he found a way to spare much of the property’s forest-like collection of mature trees — for now. But the house itself, once jointly occupied by Gwyneth Paltrow and Martin, is long gone.

That bygone residence had an interesting architectural history. Built in the early 1970s, the 3,650-square-foot structure was designed by acclaimed avant-garde architect John Lautner, a onetime Frank Lloyd Wright apprentice who also designed several other homes that are now California Historic Landmarks. Known as the Garwood Residence, the Point Dume house was remodeled in the late ’70s, reportedly without Lautner’s input or approval. Portions of the home were again renovated in the ’90s by a local developer, leaving the place an interesting hodge-podge of somewhat divergent styles and tastes. Martin acquired the estate in 2014, paying $14 million, and enlisted designer Windsor Smith to redecorate the interiors, per Dirt.

Over the years, opinions on the Garwood Residence’s architectural merits have varied. In 2012, Curbed snarked about the house as follows: “There are several downright mindblowing John Lautner-designed houses in Malibu. This is not one of them,” while also noting the blame lay mostly with some “weird remodeling and staging.” But the home’s former listing agent disagreed, saying “the Garwood Residence … is akin to a precious diamond,” and is “a rare, architecturally unique [property] in a breathtaking setting.”

Martin first announced his intention to raze that precious diamond way back in 2019. Early that year, the English crooner filed an application for demolition; the permit was approved following a public city hearing. The permit revealed Martin plans to replace the Garwood Residence with a 5,489-square-foot, all-new structure. The replacement building will stand two stories tall and include a new tennis court, swimming pool and an outdoor amphitheater. There will also be a detached garage building, a 900-square-foot guesthouse/studio, an open-air carport and outdoor stairs leading from the backyard to a woodsy pathway with direct access to Little Dume Beach.

It’s easy to see why Martin would want to build on this particular property, as opposed to some other already-vacant Malibu lot. The relatively large estate is very private, surrounded on all sides by years-old mature trees. It lies on coveted Point Dume, and sits on one of the most celebrity-favored streets in the entire city. Peek-a-boo ocean views are the proverbial cherry on top, as it were.

Of course, it will likely be several years before construction on Martin’s new dream home is completed. In the meantime, he and longtime girlfriend Dakota Johnson have moved to their Malibu “crash pad” — another $14 million Point Dume estate that’s walking distance from this construction site. Martin also owns a smaller Point Dume property he reportedly uses as a guesthouse, plus the multimillion-dollar Malibu Playhouse event space.

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Sources: Dirt

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