150 HOUSES YOU NEED TO VISIT BEFORE YOU DIE
#architecturehunting #architecturelover #architectureporn: check those hashtags on Instagram and you’ll realise, architecture tourism is on the rise. Unsurprisingly perhaps: architecture is photogenic. But if you also get a chance to see what’s hiding behind the façade, the experience is truly inspirational. Is there anything more fun than peeking into original interiors? Especially if those homes were designed by a world-renowned architect? Journalist Thijs Demeulemeester and art and architecture historian Jacinthe Gigou are both crazy about 20th-century architecture. Together they drew up a shortlist of 150 stunning 20th-century homes that are open to visitors. Most are house museums with fixed opening hours. Others can be rented as Airbnb. And some are hidden treasures, which you can visit by appointment only. If you’re taking a road trip through southern France, which architectural marvels are worth the detour? Which houses should you see during your city getaway in São Paolo? Which pearls of residential architecture can you visit in Paris? What is the equivalent of Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye in Norway? And if you are planning an architecture trip to, say, Palm Springs, which architectural masterpieces should you most definitely book in advance? Let 150 houses you need to visit before you die be your guide. Unlike (art) museums, ‘house museums’ are often lesser-known gems. They won’t be featured in every tourist guide. Finding them or gaining access takes quite a bit of research. This book solves that problem. The authors scoured the world for 150 must-see modern private homes from the 20th century. So call 150 houses you need to visit before you die an architectural bucket list. Or a TO DO list for lovers of 20th-century residential architecture. Anyone who has visited all 150 houses, raise your hand. There’s a surprise waiting for you.
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OVERVIEW AFRICA
USA
AFRICA
MOROCCO
017
ALAN I W FRANK HOUSE
p.50
018
p.51
001
VILLA MAJORELLE
p.10
ALDEN B. DOW HOME AND STUDIO
002
VILLA RONDE
p.14
019
JUDD FOUNDATION
p.52
003
VILLA ZEVACO
p.16
020
EAMES HOUSE
p.53
021
ELROD HOUSE
p.54
022
FALLINGWATER HOUSE
p.55
023
FARNSWORTH HOUSE
p.58
024
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT HOUSE / THE KRAUS HOUSE
p.59
THE AMERICAS
THE AMERICAS
BRAZIL
004
CASA DAS CANOAS
p.18
005
CASA ABERTA
p.19
025
FRANK SINATRA HOUSE
p.60
006
CASA VILANOVA ARTIGAS
p.22
026
p.61
FREDERICK C. ROBIE HOUSE
CASA OSCAR AMERICANO
p.23
027
FREY HOUSE II
p.62
028
GAMBLE HOUSE
p.62
007
008 CASA DE VIDRO / THE GLASS HOUSE
p.26
009
p.30
CASA WALTHER MOREIRA SALLES
010
CASA MODERNISTA
p.32
CANADA 011
HABITAT 67
p.34
MEXICO
029 GARCIA HOUSE
p.64
030
GHOST RANCH
p.64
031
GRACE MILLER HOUSE
p.66
032
THE GLASS HOUSE
p.66
033
GROPIUS HOUSE
p.70
034 HOLLYHOCK HOUSE
p.72
035 JAMES ROSE CENTER
p.74
036
KENTUCK KNOB
p.75
037
KORMAN HOUSE
p.78
038 LILJESTRAND HOUSE
p.80
012
CASA BARRAGÁN
p.38
039 MANITOGA
p.81
013
CASA AZUL / THE BLUE HOUSE
p.39
040
p.82
BERNARD SCHWARTZ HOUSE / STILL BEND
014
p.40
041
MILLER HOUSE
p.84
042
THE MODULIGHTOR
p.86
CASA ESTUDIO DIEGO RIVERA Y FRIDA KAHLO
BUILDING
015
CASA O’GORMAN
p.42
043
HARVEY HOUSE
p.87
016
CASA ORGÁNICA
p.46
044
NEUTRA VDL HOUSE
p.88
OVERVIEW 045
PALMER HOUSE
p.89
EUROPE
046
p.90
THE SHEATS - GOLDSTEIN HOUSE
047
PRAIRIE HOUSE
p.94
060
DOMENIG STEINHAUS
p.112
048
SCHINDLER HOUSE
p.95
061
VILLA BEER
p.116
049
SAARINEN HOUSE
p.96
050
p.97
WICHITA / DYMAXION HOUSE
051
TYLER RESIDENCE
052
EUROPE
AUSTRIA
BELGIUM 062
HÔTEL MAX HALLET
p.117
p.98
063
HORTA MUSEUM
p.118
p.99
064
HÔTEL SOLVAY
p120
STAHL HOUSE / CASE STUDY HOUSE #22
065
HÔTEL OTLET
p.121
053
TALIESIN EAST & WEST
p.100
066
VILLA EMPAIN
p.122
054
UMBRELLA HOUSE
p.104
067
MAISON BERTEAUX
p.126
068
DE BEIR HOUSE / ‘BLACK HOUSE’
p.128
RENAAT BREAM HOUSE
p.130
VENEZUELA 055
VILLA PLANCHART
p.106
069
ASIA
CZECH REPUBLIC
070
BRUMMEL HOUSE
p.132
INDIA
071
VILLA WINTERNITZ
p.133
072
p.134
THE HIRSCH APARTMENT
073
VILLA MÜLLER
p.134
ASIA
056
JEANNERET HOUSE
p.108
ISRAEL 057
WEIZMANN HOUSE
p.109
DENMARK
SRI LANKA
058
BAWA HOUSE
059 LUNUGANGA
074
FINN JUHL’S HUS
p.136
p.110 p.111
FINLAND 075
AALTO HOUSE
p.137
076
FUTURO HOUSE
p.138
077 HVITTRÄSK
p.140
078
p.141
VILLA MAIREA
079 MUURATSALO EXPERIMENTAL HOUSE
p.142
OVERVIEW FRANCE
104
VILLA STUCK
p.184
080
LE CABANON
p.143
105
MASTERS’ HOUSES
p.186
081
HÔTEL MARTEL
p.144
106
SCHMINKE HOUSE
p.188
082
LOUIS CARRÉ HOUSE
p.146
107 WEISSENHOFSIEDLUNG p.192
083
p.150
108
MAISONS LA ROCHE-JEANNERET
084
MAISON UNAL
p.152
ITALY
085
PALACIO DE ABRAXAS
p.156
109
CASA CRESPI
p.194
086
POSTMAN CHEVAL’S IDEAL PALACE
p.158
110
CASA REMO BRINDISI
p.195
111
CASA SALDARINI
p.196
RÉSIDENCE LE POINT DU JOUR
p.159
112
VILLA BORSANI
p.198
113
VILLA
p.199
PRIVATE RESIDENCE OF JEAN PROUVÉ
p.160
THE ‘RADIANT CITY’ HOUSING UNIT
p.161
087 088 089
TAUT’S HAUS
p.193
NECCHI-CAMPIGLIO 114
VILLA LEONI
p.200
115
p.202
VILLA OTTOLENGHI
THE NETHERLANDS
116
DIAGOON HOUSING
p.204
117
JAN DE JONG HOUSE
p.206
090 STUDIO-APARTMENT OF LE CORBUSIER
p.162
091
p.166
STUDIO-HOME OF THEO VAN DOESBURG
092
VILLA CAVROIS
p.168
118
WALL HOUSE #2
p.207
093
VILLA E-1027
p.170
119
SONNEVELD HOUSE
p.210
094
VILLA FALBALA
p.171
120
VAN SCHIJNDEL HOUSE
p.212
095
VILLA MAJORELLE
p.172
121
KIEFHOEK RESIDENCE
p.214
096
VILLA ON THE ROCKS
p.174
122
SCHRÖDER HOUSE
p.215
097
VILLA NOAILLES
p.175
098
VILLA SAVOYE
p.176
123 JACHTHUIS SINT HUBERTUS
p.216
NORWAY
GERMANY 099
HAUS AM HORN
p.178
100
HAUS HOHE PAPPELN
p.180
124
VILLA STENERSEN
p.217
101 HOHENHOF
p.181
POLAND
102
p.182
125
KERET HOUSE
p.218
HAUS LANGE AND HAUS ESTERS
126
p.220
103
HAUS UNGERS
p.183
OSKAR HANSEN HOUSE
OVERVIEW OCEANIA
PORTUGAL 127
CASA DAS MARINHAS
p.222
128
VILLA SERRALVES
p.223
RUSSIA 129
GORKY HOUSE
p.224
130
MELNIKOV HOUSE
p.225
SLOVENIA 131
PLECNIK HOUSE
p.226
SPAIN 132
CAN LIS
p.227
133
CASA BATTLÓ
p.228
134
CASA MILÀ
p.228
135
CASA VICENS
p.230
136
LA FÀBRICA
p.231
137
p.234
LA RICARDA / THE GOMIS HOUSE
138
SOLO HOUSE
p.235
139
VOLCANO HOUSE
p.236
SWITZERLAND 140
HAUS DULDECK
p.237
141
MAISON BLANCHE
p.238
142
VILLA “LE LAC”
p.239
UNITED KINGDOM
143
BARBICAN ESTATE
p.240
144 BLACKWELL
p.241
145
CHARLESTON HOUSE
p.242
146
ELTHAM PALACE
p.243
147
THE HILL HOUSE
p.244
OCEANIA
AUSTRALIA 148
BOYD II RESIDENCE
p.246
149
BUTTERFLY HOUSE
p.247
150
ROSE SEIDLER HOUSE
p.250
Africa
01
Morocco
VILLA MAJORELLE (1923) By Robert Poisson and Paul Sinoir Rue Yves St Laurent, Marrakech 40090, Morocco (15)
TO VISIT BEFORE YOU DIE BECAUSE
Witness the house where Yves Saint Laurent would design his haute couture collections.
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A veritable Eden in the heart of Marrakech, the Villa Majorelle and its lush 9000 m2 garden form an oasis of intense blue, the favourite colour of the painter Jacques Majorelle (1886 - 1962), who settled here in 1929. The son of the Art Nouveau cabinetmaker Louis Majorelle, Jacques suffered from a lung disease that forced him to settle in hot countries. He chose to live in Marrakech, where he bought a palm grove in 1922, and had a Moorish Art Deco villa built by the architects Robert Poisson and Paul Sinoir. It was here that he set up home, as well as a huge studio in which to paint his immense orientalist decorations. It was only in 1937 that he painted it with the intense shade of indigo blue to which he gave his name: Majorelle Blue. Passionate about botany, he created a garden of tropical species, like a living painting, which he made open to the public in 1947. When he died, the villa and its garden were left abandoned. Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé fell under the spell of this lost paradise, which the couple went on to buy in 1980.
www.jardinmajorelle.com
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The Americas
04
Brazil
CASA DAS CANOAS (1951) By Oscar Niemeyer Estrada das Canoas, No. 2310, São Conrado, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
TO VISIT BEFORE YOU DIE BECAUSE
This refined and forward-thinking masterpiece from Niemeyer was fit to be his home.
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The master of lyrical Brazilian architecture, Oscar Niemeyer (1907–2012), built his personal home in a lush forest near the ocean in Rio. With its light and very open constructive dynamic, it seems to have been discreetly placed in the heart of nature. The designer of Brasilia and a great humanist, Niemeyer is part of the second generation of Modernist architects. He embodies a form of architecture that is very poetic and highly inventive in terms of its forms, which he prefers to keep free and sensual. He stands out strongly from pioneers of the movement such as Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe: 'I am not attracted to angles, or the straight, hard, inflexible lines created by man,’ Niemeyer once said. ‘I like fluid and sensual curves. The curves I find in the mountains of my homeland, in the sinuosity of its rivers, in the waves of the ocean, and on the body of a beloved woman.' The house is a sensitive integration of the spaces that are built into the heart of the canopy. The disarming simplicity of its fluid lines makes this house timeless and unique.
www.niemeyer.org.br/fundacao/locais/casa-das-canoas
The Americas
05
Brazil
CASA ABERTA (1968) By Ruy Ohtake R. Antonio de Macedo Soares, Nos. 1812, 1804, and 1800 Campo Belo, São Paulo, Brazil
TO VISIT BEFORE YOU DIE BECAUSE
This studio-home reveals a subtle blend of two cultural influences resulting from the architect’s dual nationality.
15
The Japanese-Brazilian painter and sculptor Tomie Ohtake moved to Sao Paulo in 1936, where she built the studio-home of her dreams – designed by her son, the architect Ruy Ohtake (1938). The building evokes the artist’s dual nationality, mixing Brazilian energy and Japanese minimalism. The Brutalist bias of the concrete sets off the artist’s multicoloured works, numbered in their hundreds, that are displayed inside the house, as well as in the tropical garden. Bathed in light, the 750 m2 building also includes the artist’s studio, which is topped by a huge skylight – an impressive structure made of metal and glass tubes. In addition to the works of art, colour is present in the cut-out sections of wall that take on vibrant shades of blue and yellow.
No official website
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The Americas
06
Brazil
CASA VILANOVA ARTIGAS (1949) By João Batista Vilanova Artigas Rua Barão de Jaceguai, 1151, Campo Belo, São Paulo, Brazil
TO VISIT BEFORE YOU DIE BECAUSE
Recently transformed into a cultural centre, Artigas’ private home is characterised by its expressed reinforced concrete.
18
As godfather of the Paulista School in the 1950s, João Batista Vilanova Artigas (1915–1985) was an influential figure in Brazilian architecture. But in contrast to Niemeyer’s organic formal language, this school favoured complex structures in exposed concrete, which are also typical of the work of Paulo Mendes da Rocha and Oswaldo Bratke. Artigas’ 1949 home in São Paulo interweaves those Brutalist Paulista elements with international Modernist influences. ‘People passing by rang the bell to ask if there was a factory, machine shop, or church,’ recalls Artigas’ daughter Rosa. In Artigas’ time, the glass house with the atypical butterfly roof was a meeting place for communists, artists, and scientists from his left-wing entourage. After surmounting numerous obstacles, the house eventually opened to the general public in March 2019 as the Casa Vilanova Artigas Institute (ICVA): a cultural centre for architecture, design, and art, which also houses a café and co-working space. You can visit Artigas’ intriguing house for free from Wednesday to Saturday. On other days, it is open by appointment only.
www.casavilanovaartigas.org
The Americas
07
Brazil
CASA OSCAR AMERICANO (1953) By Oswaldo Arthur Bratke Estrada das Canoas, No. 2310, São Conrado, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
TO VISIT BEFORE YOU DIE BECAUSE
Located in the heart of a lush tropical park, this residence encapsulates the chilled Brazilian way of life.
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Oswaldo Arthur Bratke (1907–1997), who built several residences in São Paulo, was invited by his friend Oscar Americano - an engineer, patron and a successful Brazilian businessman - to build the family residence. The house has been adapted to suit the natural profile of the sloping terrain and sits proudly at the heart of a lush park, making the most of a full symbiosis with tropical nature. The entrance to the property is located in the lower part of the plot, while the house is located in the upper part, offering greater privacy. Designed along a horizontal plane in order to make the most of the gardens, the building nestles around a central patio, a kind of green oasis with tiered, cascading ponds. The Maria Luisa and Oscar Americano Foundation was created in 1974 and offers a panorama of historical and contemporary Brazil. Here you can see collections covering four centuries of paintings, porcelain, tapestries, and sacred art.
www.fundacaooscaramericano.org.br
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