Craig Ellwood’s Daphne Residence on the market

When you’ve only seen a house in photos taken 50 years ago, you’re not sure if you want to see it in its present-day condition. So, it’s a pleasant surprise to see the Daphne house looking kept up (if a little overgrown) and still looking like its original self.

Nicholas and Virginia Daphne commissioned Ellwood to design their house in the late 50s after trying unsuccessfully to work with Frank Lloyd Wright on a house design. In 1953, Mr. Daphne had visited and admired Ellwood’s Case Study House No. 16.

Built on a 2′4″ x 2′4″ module and raised three feet off the ground, the steel frame is infilled with full height Greek Pentelic marble and gray tinted glass. For a shadow effect, the panels of marble and glass were recessed seven inches from the frame. Adding to the sense of floating is the bed of black Mexican rocks around the platform.

The home’s architecture has a Classical look to it and comes across as a modern interpretation of ancient Greek/Roman architecture. This house still looks great and hopefully someone who appreciates its design will pick it up.

Update: Forgot to add this. Here’s the Arts & Architecture article from 1963 about the Daphne Residence.

Sidenote: This house is attributed to Craig Ellwood, but now, Jerry Lomax, an architect employed by Ellwood is recognized as the designer.

Here’s a then-and-now selection showing the house in 1961 (Photos by Morley Baer) and in 2008 from the realtor’s site.

Carport/Front Porch

Kitchen

Living Room

Pool

Sideyard

Links:

Agent’s Site

Virtual Tour

Craig Ellwood Slideshow on Flickr

California Modern: The Architecture of Craig Ellwood

Who is Jack Viks?

We’re not sure who Jack Viks is (was) as a Google search turned up no info. He sure designed a spectacular house though. Check out this cantilevered mid-century modern beauty from 1960. It’s currently for sale for $2.29M in Lake Forest, Illinois. The realtor says Viks was a student of Mies Van Der Rohe. This house certainly has Miesian traits to it like the steel frame with the exposed I-beams and glass walls. The interior seems much warmer than other minimalist houses like the Farnsworth house. Here are some pics of this spectacular house:

Click here to see the Listing at Realtor.com for more info

Jack Viks Slideshow on Flickr

Another Neutra on the Market

At considerable less cost ($1.259M) than Neutra’s remuddled Singleton residence, this Philadelphia house built in 1959 was originally the Hassrick residence. It was placed on the market by the second owners in 2002. Now, here it is again. The realtor’s description says it has fallen into disrepair. What happened in six years?

Here are some pics from the 2002 site:

Here are some pics as it is today:

Check these links for more:

• 2002 Site – Richard Neutra’s Cherry Lane House
• Sotheby’s Listing

MCM Architects on the Record

The Art Institute of Chicago has a large collection of transcripts of interviews with 20th Century architects “who shaped the physical environment in Chicago and surrounding communities”. Many of them are mid-century modernists who were well known in their day. Unfortunately, most have passed on and are becoming forgotten.

Here are a few with examples of their work:

• Gordon Bunshaft

Lever House

Bunshaft Residence

• Bertrand Goldberg

Marina City

• Paul Rudolph

Leavengood Residence

For more interviews: Chicago Architects Oral History Project

MCM Reborn! II

Nice article from the folks at globeandmail.com about the restoration and expansion of an mcm house built in 1956. The architect was Robert R. McKee from Vancouver. There’s practically no info about him online, though the name seems familiar. The expansion was carried out by Nick Milkovich, a frequent collaborator with Arthur Erickson. Wish there were more pics.

Read Article here: Modernist home gets a 21st century update

Interesting post about forgotten architects: Architects We’ve Never Heard Of