#harvard five

[nevermissblog]

Orlando Public Library, Arch. John Johansen.. student of Gropius

[thomasparkedinvilliers]

Bremer House, New Canaan, Connecticut. Eliot Noyes, architect.

[thisish20]

painting studio designed by Eliot Noyes, New Canaan

[vjtedvjk]

The Harvard Five

Form follows function

The Harvard 5

[nickkarth]

mid century modernism goes traditional

mid century modernism goes traditional

Having begun my architectural education in Southern California, Mid-Century Modernism (and especially Richard Neutra*) has always held a place of honor in my personal canon – MadMen be damned.  Among the Eastern variants of that style, the Harvard Five are most likely the most influential. Today’s work is a variation on Eliot Noyes’ own home at New Canaan, CT.  Effectively, I’ve taken the iconic…

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[lostprofile]

THE MODERN HOUSE VI: BREUER HOUSE II

Architect: Marcel Breuer Location: New Canaan, CT Date: 1951-51 Patron: Marcel Breuer

Begun in 1948, Breuer House II was the second private residence designed by Marcel Breuer in New Canaan, CT. In 1951, Breuer assumed ownership of the property, using it as his family’s country house.

The flat roof, extensive glazing, fieldstone veneer and daring cantilevers of Breuer House II influenced the design of countless “modern” suburban houses in the 1950s and ‘60s. The interior of the house today bears little resemblance to Breuer’s original conception, which concentrated the common public rooms of the house at the center of the plan and placed private rooms at the periphery.

Like Palm Springs, New Canaan is a showcase of mid-century modern residential architecture. Many of these houses were designed by the Bauhaus-influenced Harvard Five, a group of architecture professors of which Breuer was a member. Approximately half of the 90 houses built by the Harvard Five in the 1950s and ‘60s have been subsequently torn down. Breuer House II itself narrowly evaded demolition in 2005, when two architects not only purchased the house to save it, but removed additions made in the 1970s after the Breuer family sold it. The same owners, however, also commissioned the intrusive expansion wing designed by Toshiko Mori.  

Breuer House II was put up for sale in 2013 with an asking price of $5.8 million.

THE MODERN HOUSE

1. Douglas House, Richard Meier 2. Esherick House, Louis Kahn 3. Vanna Venturi House, Robert Venturi 4. House VI, Peter Eisenmann 5. Spiller Residence, Frank Gehry

[labellamacchina]

Glass/Wood House - John Black Lee / Kengo Kuma

New Canaan Connecticut

http://archrecord.construction.com/residential/recordHouses/2011/glass-wood-house.asp

[jodiduby]

Oklahoma City and Baltimore (my current city of residence and city of origin, respectively) share a bit of architectural heritage--each are home to one of two surviving theaters by Harvard Five architect John Johansen.  OKC's Mummer's Theater aka Stage Center has just emerged on the losing side of a preservation battle that would be all-to-familiar to fans of Baltimore's Mechanic. 

Last month plans were approved to demolish the 44-year-old structure--Preservation Oklahoma filed an appeal which was heard and denied this past week.  Thus Stage Center finds itself in the same limbo as the Mechanic: usefulness outlived, awaiting imminent demolition to pave the way for the towers of urban redevelopment.