Affleck House Analysis

[Tom]

If the roof is concrete that place bakes people.

[Roderick Grant]

True, curved plywood is strong and supportive, but remember that these cylindrical walls were interrupted by narrow bands of glass, so each cylinder consisted of a lower wall and an upper wall, with the slenderest of mullions between them.

I am not sure what construction of the walls in Bruce's house are, but they are not exposed plywood. Every surface is stucco and thicker than a plywood wall would be. Perhaps Rood would be the best source of information on this house?

[SDR]

Good point. The living and dining cylinders have those window slots; the other spaces do not. Still, Archilogic's images show absolutely no means of support, there; I would want wood or steel verticals to wed the upper and lower halves of those walls. Wright's elevation of Jester seems to show something other than clear glass, there---maybe Pyrex tubing ? But that's irrelevant to the structural matter.

The Archilogic digital model video, flawed but useful, is not in evidence online now.




© The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Archives (The Museum of Modern Art | Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library, Columbia University, New York)

[HOJO]

A long time ago I knocked on the wall and it sounded hollow. I asked BBP if it was a wooden construction and he nodded.

[SDR]

I'm not sorry it got built---but I'd still like to see something closer to Wright's original version come into being, somewhere, someday.

I do believe Jester has more descendants---all of them on paper only---than any other Wright design. Maginel Barney runs a distant second---unless I'm forgetting another multiple. No two of the hemicycles is really the twin of another . . .

S

[Rood]

The walls of Pfeiffer House were built with 2 x 4's ... and before the walls were enclosed, fiberglass batts were stapled in ... but during that night a strong wind came up. The next morning most of those batts were found scattered all over the mountain side.

Most of the construction was done by a three-man team of hired workmen, who usually worked for the Foundation. One summer day, when they happened to be at Taliesin West, the men's locker room caught fire. The small group of people in residence at the time tried to put the fire out ... but there was no water pressure in the hoses. As the source of water was the Fellowship pool (not the triangular pool), one of those three workmen dove into the pool, where he found a sheet of paper at the bottom of the pool, covering the outlet.

[Tom]

Affleck House exterior wood finish:
Talked with Fred Butters today about finishing the exterior.
The only exterior finish they have done are the skylights and the long parapet for the deck.
They dismantled the deck, and installed new framing.
They stripped the wood planks and used Sikkens Cetol 1 as the base coat and Sikkens Cetol 23 for the top coats.
Butters says Sikkens is a very tough but very finicky product to use. It sets up fast.
You have to know how to use a brush.


Looks like PPG has bought Sikkens/Cetol for sales in North America:
https://www.twincreeksloghomes.com/blog ... ns-to-you/

[SDR]

I hope you're working on a book or some memoirs, Rood; you have a priceless trove of anecdotes---and who knows what else !

S

[Rood]

I hope you're working on a book or some memoirs, Rood; you have a priceless trove of anecdotes---and who knows what else ! S

Hmm... something I've resisted doing for decades. Indeed, Indira recently begged me (again) to finally submit something for the record. And ... some want a tell-all book, while others say for God's-sake please don't! It was for the latter reason that I refused to be interviewed for the book on the Fellowship, and for other book projects. Maybe if I live long enough everyone with any qualms about reading about themselves will be dead ... because I don't like to self-censor myself. I'm not afraid of embarrassing myself, either. If I ever did sit down to write something about life in the Fellowship, I'd try to be perfectly honest. Unfortunately, a book of anecdotes simply wouldn't do.

[SDR]

That's perfectly sound thinking. So, do it for the next generation. One thing is undeniable: you can't tell the story if you weren't there, and those who were are thinning out. I suppose it wouldn't be the first time that History has had to wait its turn to be told ?

Another fact is that no two experiences at Talesin were identical---by a long shot. Everybody who was there has a unique perspective on the thing, and thus is a priceless resource.

And, there's no law that says you only get one crack at it. Not to draw comparisons, but E Tafel published two memoirs--the first his personal scrapbook of time spent with Mr Wright and (F)ellows, the second a collection of thoughts and memories contributed by friends and colleagues.

Anecdotes now, the nitty-gritty later ? You could agree to be interviewed---in a whisper . . .

S

[Tom]

I'd say 'just do it' - swoosh

[Roderick Grant]

The perpetrators of "The Fellowship" convinced John Geiger their intention was to do an even-handed history without any salacious gossip, and apparently that was an honest representation at the time. However, the publisher, Judith Ragan, publisher of "If I Did It, Confessions of the Killer," rejected the first draft and demanded they "look under the sheets." I bought a copy at a book signing before all was revealed about all that had been revealed. Writers Zellman and Friedland were very nervous at the reception.

[g.dorn]

Affleck House exterior wood finish:
Talked with Fred Butters today about finishing the exterior.
The only exterior finish they have done are the skylights and the long parapet for the deck.
They dismantled the deck, and installed new framing.
They stripped the wood planks and used Sikkens Cetol 1 as the base coat and Sikkens Cetol 23 for the top coats.
Butters says Sikkens is a very tough but very finicky product to use. It sets up fast.
You have to know how to use a brush.


Looks like PPG has bought Sikkens/Cetol for sales in North America:
https://www.twincreeksloghomes.com/blog ... ns-to-you/

I worked for a builder a couple years ago, had me apply those sikken's product to new cedar door and window frames - 2 coats of each - took me 3 weeks full time! To me they seemed to merely be translucent plastic paint. So will only last about 5 years before it starts to flake off. - might last longer in colder climates and not exposed to the sun.

and yes, if you are not careful the extra brush /roller strokes or splashes can build up and give an uneven appearance.

[Tom]

I recently used on my own house the TPW product that I read about being used on the Pope-Leighey restoration.
It is a stain that soaks into the wood. They have a clear stain which gives no UV protection.
So I used the 'Natural' colored stain which has the UV filter- the one used at Pope-Leighey and I 'm very happy with it.

[SDR]

Let's see a pic . . .

S