While composing about 10 Must-Know Modern Homes, I understood that at a third of them the architect functioned as client. Nevertheless the Gropius House, Eames House and Glass House (not to mention others, such as the Frank Lloyd Wright home and studio) are currently house-museums — can be seen by the public but long having given up their initial functions. Their architecture and furnishings are a snapshot of a specific period, no longer present as evolving entities, as houses tend to do.
So what about some present houses for which client and architect are one? What are they like? How can they tell us about the process of design? Let us look at seven architects as well as their houses to think about these questions relating to this unique relationship.
Architect Frederick Phillips purchased some land in the mid-1990s on Chicago’s north side — a triangular parcel that others saw as unbuildable. He set the house back in the street, place it at an angle and stacked the functions.
The ground and top floors, respectively a carport and a terrace, are open; the sleeping area is located on the second floor; and also the living room is located on the third floor — an inversion of the norm. The stairs are placed in a concrete center at the back of the home, so every floor is made up of two bays framed in steel columns and beams — very Chicago.
Here we view the open living room on the third floor, appearing from the open kitchen to the distant views to the south and east. Each floor is 600 square feet, so the area is most likely quite small for a single-family home in Chicago, especially with four floors. However, Phillips purchased the land when costs were low and the area was less than desired. It’s a website and design with some danger involved, and who better to take it on compared to the architect?
Andrea Swan – Swan Architecture
Minnesota architect Andrea Swan made her family’s fishing escape as a easy A-frame. Her husband wanted a Swiss chalet, but their budget precluded it. The pared-down design is very attractive and puts the majority of the emphasis on the lake and views of it in the home.
Andrea Swan – Swan Architecture
Swan sees the form as a universal one: “it is a doghouse, a ship vessel, a chapel. It’s uplifting and very religious,” she says. This understanding is evident from how she kept the living space open to the roofing. The sitting area within the kitchen is open to the space, a great touch that permits people there to appear toward the lake (supporting us in the photograph) and delight in the expansive yet intimate space.
DHV Architects
Regrettably not all architects are able to build new houses for themselves; often they need to reestablish. Architect Federica Vasetti along with her partner, math professor Jens Marklof, looked for some land in Bristol, U.K., to build their dream home, but a popular marketplace at the time meant programmers snagged everything before they might. They eventually opted for a Victorian home (what Vasetti known as unaffectionately “the dreadful home”) but wanted to open this up inside. Meeting their needs also meant stretching it at the trunk.
DHV Architects
The distinction between extension and old interior is evident at the ceiling. Reclaimed timber is utilized for the expansion, which can be seen through the door in the top-left corner. The couple also built much of this project themselves, which made the home even more personal and idiosyncratic.
OCO Architects, Inc..
Mickey Conrad, leader at OCO Architects, and his wife, Cyndee, were searching for a house in the historic King William neighborhood of San Antonio, Texas, but finished up with a little lot to build a home on.
They dubbed the consequent two-story home a metropolitan farmhouse, and it’s easy to see why. The shape straddles the two realms and fits to the historical context so well that many men and women believe the home, completed in 2010, is much older.
OCO Architects, Inc..
The reason people think it’s old comes from Conrad’s love of craftsmanship, be it handmade artifacts or hand-worked materials. Engineered wood is used throughout the house, from construction to flooring. He kept holes from the materials from previous uses, indications of their being worked by hand. These touches make the home special for him and a good neighbor in King William.
Charles Debbas Architecture
Architect Charles Debbas’ home on a steep slope in San Francisco is thoroughly modern, literally opening to distant perspectives. With only a garage poking up at the street, the home descends three degrees to your backyard.
Charles Debbas Architecture
It’s not unusual to provide some areas of large glass for carrying in opinions, but Debbas provided operable windows across the rear facade to actually connect the interior to the outside. Here we’re looking toward the projecting balcony observable in the previous picture.
Intexure Architects
I would be hard pressed to concentrate on architects’ own houses without revealing a live-work space. Intexture Architects made this live-work construction in Houston, sitting next to some houses the company developed and designed as part of the Museum Park Modern development. The working area is downstairs, and the living kingdom is upstairs. Therefore the home is much more private than the office area, which surely makes sense.
Intexure Architects
The office name is the very first thing someone sees when entering the front doorway. Maintaining a distinct separation between work and living spaces within an open, modern home is not simple, but the architects skillfully achieved it through opinions and circulation. Further, their living spaces upstairs overlook the double-height studio, keeping work at the middle of their lives.
Thomas Roszak Architecture, LLC
One thing which many modern architects probably wish to style, but have a hard time locating a client to want, is a glass house. Being one’s own client can help. Architect Thomas Roszak made a home for the North Shore of Chicago that taps to the town’s modern architectural background. What sets the glass home aside from the buildings by Mies van der Rohe and his disciples is the use of colour, apparent through the glass walls.
LLC, Thomas Roszak Architecture
Roszak painted the walls and beams to leave from the grayness of this concrete and complement the green surrounding the home. The architect-developer ended up selling this home (he had been asking about $4 million), but I doubt anyone will love it is as much as the architect who designed it.
Can you design your property? What type of client were you?