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Remuddled Louis I Kahn

last year

This house is part of the Greenbelt Knoll project (1952-1957) as the first racially-integrated project in Philadelphia and one of the first in the US.

This particular house was designed by Louis Kahn but it has been pretty thoroughly remuddled on the inside. This was never a fancy or expensive house ($~20K new, $224K today). It would take a lot of work to restore this and turn in back into what it should look like, which would probably price it out of its location

Historic Photo of house in the development.

https://www.estately.com/listings/info/3-longford-street-philadelphia-pa-19136

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Comments (10)

Fori
last year
It's nice, even so.

But I will be mentally stubbing my toe on that nutty hearth long after I leave.
palimpsest
Original Author
last year
last modified: last year
The off-axis hearth is a thing that Kahn seemed to do thematically, in both High and Low houses. As did Anne Tyng (who was probably much more active in the design process in Kahn's office than she was given credit for, and as did the architect who designed my house (and allegedly worked briefly in Kahn's office and was definitely inspired by him).

Anne Tyng's is maybe even a bit more problematic except that this staircase only goes to her personal sleeping loft.

Kahn Fisher House

My fireplace was slightly askew but this was not by design but by execution, in my particular house. We straightened the hood out as much as possible and got rid of the raised trapezoidal hearth and set a corrected trapezoidal hearth more or less flush with the floor. It's not in a particular traffic pattern although a french door did open against it. And by against it I mean not all the way.
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Palimpsest : I need your perspective.
Q
Comments (50)
I agree that a garage door is not a facade. And I agree that in a Victorian nieghborhood--or any neighborhood, the new or infill houses should engage the street in the Same Manner as the other houses on the street. But I think there is a difference between engagement and hostility. The Glessner House hardly engages the street but the facade is certainly interesting enough to interest one as you walk by. The thing that I don't like about the house in the original post is the relative blankness of the left, the strange ajar door, and the appearance of mildew--that provides a feeling of neglect. But when I think of my new house for example, the only way that the street could be engaged at all would be to set the house on the rear lot line and obliterate any possibility of a backyard. The front would not be particularly comfortable to use, because it would still be on the sidewalk. But the inside of the house is quite a surprise. Two complete walls of glass, two outdoor spaces in a neighborhood where one's outdoor space may be wide enough for a trashcan, and where most windows must be covered for privacy. In contrast there is ONE window in my entire house that absolutely needs to be covered for privacy (or decency's sake) The other large expanses of glass could go completely uncovered due to their placement. "I would not want to feel as though I had been institutionalized or incarcerated living in one of those concrete fortresses." I can't say that I really understand this comment because most of the houses we are talking about are mostly glass, and engage the outdoors more than a typical house, just not at the front door.
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Louis Kahn house, in brutal condition.
Q
Comments (29)
My house was designed by Hyman Cun1n, an architecture-school friend of Louis Kahn's at U-Penn. There's a photo of those two together in this book. He coincidentally also was the architect of a New Jersey JCC, though not the Trenton one shown above. Though nowhere near as famous or prolific as Kahn, he clearly shared the same aesthetic and was an unappreciated talent. My house built in 1951 is basically the one in the first post minus the funky roof. Everything else, like the short gunslit windows in the front walls or the wood-beamed interior could be Kahn's work. My home also has the same large glass panes that wrap around the corners as the Fisher house. LOL at the '58 Packard fins on top of other fins. Those sold abysmally - less than 2,000 for the entire year, and it's not hard to see why that was the last year they were made. Even sadder considering just a few years earlier they sold about 60,000 cars which were graced with these "cathedral" taillamps which are a thing of beauty. Photos don't capture how elegant these look in three dimensions with the perfectly cylindrical lenses with an arch that sweeps over and above them.
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Quotes 6 - 30 - 15
Q
Comments (2)
Frank Zappa was very astute, and Demetrius Martin made me chuckle.
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I can't decide whether to move or stay put.
Q
Comments (77)
Oh my dear, please don't go Grey Gardens on us! I am super sentimental and realize how hard it is to part with things but even I, in my pandemic homeboundness, have been clearing out "precious" objects. As I do, I realize these things were dragging me down and I feel so much lighter as I give them away, sell them, or ugh, send some to the landfill. As an example, I was just sure someone would want my 1950's chair I had intended to reupholster so I was going to put it on Craigslist. I put it in the driveway for a photo but needed to move my car to give it better lighting. As I backed up a few feet, I heard a crunch. Sure enough, I had tipped the chair, causing one of the legs to break unrepairably. I decided that was the universe telling me to let it go. So it's slated for bulky trash pick up tomorrow. Now if I put it on the curb and someone takes it before that... :-) As for the house, sell it now. It has become your albatross. What once gave comfort and shelter is now an annoyance and budget drain. It has served its purpose for you and your family and now it's time to let it serve a purpose for someone else. Don't deny that someone else of what is a wonderful opportunity for them! Contact a reputable realtor and explore options for both selling and buying. Once you decide your path and goals as @ocluke advises, the universe will open up endless possibilities. Don't block the blessings! I can tell this is all overwhelming and depressing you. Imagine a day not far in the future when you have sold the house, sold the possessions through a good estate sale company, and are living in your new home. You can't see that now because you are depressed so turn it over to the pros. Lots of people are working from home now and are looking to get out of big expensive cities. Your home might be just what they are looking for. All the best to you.
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palimpsest
Original Author
last year
Kahn's Roche house has a Massive chimney, and technically the whole tiled area with the deer sitting in it and the purple bit over by the love seat, that is all the "hearth" or maybe inglenook since there is also a raised hearth under the chimney breast proper.
Fori
last year
I do like the CONCEPT of that triangular fireplace. It serves both "rooms". It sort of designates and separates the room areas. With a proper furniture arrangement it's probably not even dangerous. Unlike that Tyng fireplace which isn't nice at all unless you are a cat.

That second FP, well, yeah, that's unquestionably a good one. I dare ya to post a color version on the "design dilemma" board and see if you should paint it, German schmear it, or just rip it out. :)
palimpsest
Original Author
last year
Well AT was a single mother (in 1952) and designed this house for herself, so she had a kitchen with a circular stainless steel bilevel sink as the only "counterspace" to speak of. (She apparently ate mostly nuts and grain), and slept up those stairs right under the roof on a little platform surrounded by little windows (but no AC, I think). So the house was very specific to her as an individual occupant.
Fori
last year
I'm sure it worked for her (and her cat). I like that it's weird. But aside from pleasing its owner (which really SHOULD be enough), I would consider that fireplace to be a miss. Grade A for effort and all that...
palimpsest
Original Author
last year
last modified: last year
Well we looked at Anne Tyng's house when it was for sale, and besides being very small, it was too personal and quirky, and the Anne Tyng house is one where I would feel as if I were nothing more than a steward. I certainly would Not feel comfortable changing anything as a matter of my personal taste. Weird fireplace and bed aside, changing those things or painting any wood or anything would be like painting a bob haircut on the Mona Lisa. (Is this a masterwork like the Mona Lisa? Maybe, nobody paid much attention to that painting at all until somebody stole it.)

The Louis Kahn house in the OP has already been bastardized really, with no attempt to do any of the new work in a manner that resembled anything original, so that is a house I could Re-renovated (more appropriately) and not feel like I was doing anything bad to, because that moment has already passed.
palimpsest
Original Author
last year
This is Anne Tyng's sink, the only counterspace she had in the original kitchen. The kitchen has been redone with the Heath or Fireclay backsplash, with wood doodads and a small commercial style range. It looks nice enough but I wonder what she would think if it, because I am sure hers was much plainer. (And yet functioned more or less like this one since nothing was really added except a movable island.
Fori
last year
I'd like to use that sink before passing judgement. (I'm very judgmental.)

You'd have to be a pretty tidy chef I'm thinking...

What's the little basin?
palimpsest
Original Author
last year
The small one is the garbage disposal.

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