This is where the story needs an important clarification.
One Xasteros structure was discovered abandoned in a forest near Loutraki, west of Athens, more than a decade ago. It was subsequently displayed at the 2009 Athens Biennale before its trail was lost after dismantling. Cividino's own website confirms this history.
However, the specific Xasteros House eventually acquired by Brad Pitt was found in the Kalyvia area near Athens, rather than being definitively identified as the same unit that was displayed at the Athens Biennale.
Cividino has described finding Pitt's eventual house in a severely neglected condition. Catalan News reported that he recalled it as a "total wreck", surrounded by discarded bottles and showing decades of neglect.
So, while "rescued from abandonment" is accurate, calling Pitt's exact house the one "rescued from an abandoned forest" risks combining the histories of two Xasteros structures.
How did the house get rescued?
Cividino, who specialises in unusual 20th-century prefabricated architecture, became interested in the Xasteros design after receiving a photograph of an abandoned example in Greece.
He eventually tracked down the owner of the structure near Kalyvia. After acquiring it, the house was transported to France and restored at a boatyard in L'Escala, Spain.
The restoration was possible partly because of the home's fiberglass construction. Cividino also located the architect's daughter, who provided plans and drawings that helped with the restoration.
The restoration largely preserved the original design. One notable change was the replacement of the original window colour with smoky-brown Altuglas glazing, according to Architectural Digest and Cividino's own account.
Inside Brad Pitt's tiny futuristic home
Despite its spaceship-like appearance, the Xasteros House was conceived as a functional small home.
Reports put its floor area at roughly 45 to 50 square metres, depending on the source. It has a compact interior built around the home's curved geometry, with wooden flooring and fiberglass forming much of its distinctive shell.
The original concept included a living room, small kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. The curved walls and compact footprint make the interior feel more like a futuristic capsule than a conventional house.
When the restored structure was exhibited at Terra Remota in Catalonia, its interior was also used to showcase striking 1960s and 1970s design pieces, including furniture and lighting associated with the Space Age aesthetic.
The result was less a traditional celebrity mansion and more a walk-in piece of architectural history.
Where was Brad Pitt's UFO house displayed?
After restoration, the Xasteros House was installed at Terra Remota, a vineyard in Sant Climent Sescebes in Spain's Catalonia region.
The property became a temporary setting for the futuristic home from 2023 until 2024. Photographs from the period show the white capsule surrounded by trees, making its spacecraft-like silhouette even more striking.
It was during this period that the house attracted Pitt's attention.
How did Brad Pitt move the house to California?
The Xasteros House was never intended to be treated like an ordinary permanent building.
For its journey to California, the structure was dismantled. According to Catalan News, the roof was separated into two sections while the walls were divided into three sections. The pieces were then packed into two large shipping containers.
The move reportedly took place during the final quarter of 2024. The acquisition itself remained private for months and only became widely known in June 2025.
The house was ultimately transported to California, where Pitt keeps other architectural acquisitions.
Brad Pitt's fascination with architecture
The Xasteros House fits into a long-running interest in architecture and design associated with Pitt.
His real-estate portfolio has included several architecturally significant homes, including a midcentury-modern property in Los Angeles and his former Hollywood Hills compound. Architectural Digest has also documented Pitt's interest in modernist architecture and his collection of unusual properties.
That makes the Xasteros purchase less of a random celebrity splurge and more consistent with Pitt's established interest in distinctive architecture.
Why the Xasteros House is so unusual
The appeal of the house goes beyond its UFO shape.
It represents a period when architects were experimenting with fiberglass, plastics, prefabrication and modular construction. The idea was to create lightweight homes that could challenge the traditional concept of a fixed house.
