Even when it was fairly new, the Hunt House looked as if it might topple over into the ocean at any moment. And if a recent demolition application is granted, it might do just that.

In 1955, Los Angeles–based architect Craig Ellwood was tasked with building one of the city’s imitable modernist homes on a steep beachfront hillside. The solution he devised was an elegant balancing act. With the help of architect Jerrold Lomax, he configured the house into a H shape. Weighted to the street, dual aluminum-clad garages unfurl into a translucent glass aerie that hovers perilously over Malibu’s coast.* L.A. Times* architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne described the overall effect as “graceful and direct, bordering on delicate.”

“The Hunt House was one of Ellwood’s earliest, and one of the simplest,” says designer Erin Ellwood, the architect’s daughter. She notes that the structure, which was purchased by its current owner in 2012 for $5.3 million, cost a mere $30,000 when it was built, adding that it was “really the beginning of the less-is-more movement in California architecture.”

Just last fall, the Malibu Planning Commission was tasked with deciding the fate of the midcentury landmark after an application was filed for its demolition. In a cringeworthy twist of fate, the owner of the home—who wishes to replace it with “a new 28-foot-tall, two-story, 5,511-square foot single-family residence”—is reportedly an architect. The city of Malibu says that a decision won’t be made until a thorough study on the architectural and historic significance of the Hunt House has been carried out. “The city is fully aware of and respects the architectural and historical value and integrity of the house,” says Bonnie Blue, Malibu’s planning director. “We are exploring with the property owner options to protect and honor that, and protect the property owner’s rights.”