Architecture
When Architects Design Homes for Themselves
See the amazing results when 7 modern architects take on their own idiosyncrasies in very personal designs
While writing about 10 Must-Know Modern Homes, I realized that in a third of them the architect also served as client. Yet the Gropius House, Eames House and Glass House (not to mention others, like the Frank Lloyd Wright home and studio) are now house-museums — able to be visited by the public but long having given up their original functions. Their architecture and furnishings are a snapshot of a particular time, no longer existing as evolving entities, as houses tend to do.
So what about some current houses for which architect and client are one? What are they like? What do they tell us about the process of design? Let's look at seven architects and their houses to consider these questions about this unique relationship.
So what about some current houses for which architect and client are one? What are they like? What do they tell us about the process of design? Let's look at seven architects and their houses to consider these questions about this unique relationship.
Here we see the open living area on the third floor, looking from the open kitchen to the distant views to the south and east. Each floor is 600 square feet, so the area is probably quite small for a single-family house in Chicago, especially with four floors. But Phillips bought the land when prices were low and the area was less than desirable. It's a site and design with some risk involved, and who better to take it on than the architect?
Minnesota architect Andrea Swan designed her family's fishing retreat as a simple A-frame. She and her husband wanted a Swiss chalet, but their budget precluded it. The pared-down design is very appealing and puts most of the emphasis on the lake and views of it from the house.
Swan sees the form as a universal one: "It's a doghouse, a ship vessel, a chapel. It's uplifting and very spiritual," she says. This understanding is evident in the way she kept the living space open to the roof. The sitting room over the kitchen is open to the space, a nice touch that enables people there to look toward the lake (behind us in the photo) and enjoy the grand yet intimate space.
Unfortunately not all architects are able to build new houses for themselves; often they need to renovate. Architect Federica Vasetti and her partner, mathematics professor Jens Marklof, looked for some land in Bristol, U.K., to build their dream house, but a hot market at the time meant developers snagged everything before they could. They eventually opted for a Victorian house (what Vasetti called unaffectionately "the ugly house") but wanted to open it up inside. Meeting their needs also meant extending it in the back.
The distinction between old and extension inside is evident at the ceiling. Reclaimed timber is used for the extension, which can be seen through the doorway in the top-left corner. The couple also built much of the project themselves, which made the house even more personal and idiosyncratic.
Mickey Conrad, principal at OCO Architects, and his wife, Cyndee, were looking for a home in the historic King William neighborhood of San Antonio, Texas, but ended up with a small lot to build a house on.
They dubbed the resulting two-story house an urban farmhouse, and it's easy to see why. The form straddles the two realms and fits into the historical context so well that many people think the house, completed in 2010, is much older.
They dubbed the resulting two-story house an urban farmhouse, and it's easy to see why. The form straddles the two realms and fits into the historical context so well that many people think the house, completed in 2010, is much older.
The reason people think it's older comes from Conrad's love of craftsmanship, be it handmade artifacts or hand-worked materials. Reclaimed wood is used throughout the home, from structure to flooring. He kept holes in the materials from previous uses, signs of their being worked by hand. These touches make the house special for him and a good neighbor in King William.
Architect Charles Debbas' house on a steep slope in San Francisco is thoroughly modern, literally opening up to distant views. With only a garage poking up at the street, the house descends three levels to the backyard.
It's not uncommon to provide some areas of large glass for taking in views, but Debbas provided operable windows across the rear facade to really connect the interior to the outside. Here we're looking toward the projecting balcony visible in the previous photo.
I would be hard pressed to focus on architects' own houses without showing a live-work space. Intexture Architects designed this live-work building in Houston, sitting right next to a few houses the firm designed and developed as part of the Museum Park Modern development. The working space is downstairs, and the living realm is upstairs. Therefore the house is more private than the office space, which certainly makes sense.
The office name is the first thing someone sees when entering through the front door. Maintaining a distinct separation between work and living spaces in an open, contemporary home is not easy, but the architects skillfully achieved it through views and circulation. Further, their living spaces upstairs overlook the double-height studio, keeping work at the center of their lives.
One thing that many modern architects probably want to design, but have a hard time finding a client to want, is a glass house. Being one's own client can help. Architect Thomas Roszak designed a house for the North Shore of Chicago that taps into the city's modern architectural background. What sets this glass house apart from the buildings by Mies van der Rohe and his disciples is the use of color, apparent through the glass walls here.
Roszak painted the beams and walls to depart from the grayness of the concrete and complement the green surrounding the house. The architect-developer ended up selling this house (he was asking about $4 million), but I doubt anybody will love it is as much as the architect who designed it.
Did you design your house? What kind of client were you?
Did you design your house? What kind of client were you?
The ground and top floors, respectively a carport and a terrace, are open; the sleeping area is on the second floor; and the living area is on the third floor — an inversion of the norm. The stairs are placed in a concrete core at the back of the house, so each floor is made up of two bays framed in steel columns and beams — very Chicago.