Moving Bachman House
Moving Bachman House
Not sure why this is getting so much coverage.
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/blogs/open-ho ... 80221.html
Wouldn't it be easier to just raise the house a few feet if it is in this flood plain?
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/blogs/open-ho ... 80221.html
Wouldn't it be easier to just raise the house a few feet if it is in this flood plain?
The floods on the site are substantial, moving a few feet would only lessen the depth of the flood water in the house. To move the house any amount would require demo and reconstruction of the existing 1st floor slab and radiant heating, as well as the concrete masonry, which is discontinuous and not a simple box. To move the house a few feet requires almost the same effort as moving it a mile.
Not sure if a 1950's CMU block Usonian is appropriate to Fiesole. I suspect Wright would have adopted a different palette of materials and grammar for that environment....a NJ creekside is not a hill town in Tuscany.
Not sure if a 1950's CMU block Usonian is appropriate to Fiesole. I suspect Wright would have adopted a different palette of materials and grammar for that environment....a NJ creekside is not a hill town in Tuscany.
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This proposed move would be equivalent to the process necessary to move the Gordon and Pope Houses in that they are both concrete block houses on a slab. It would be essentially a reconstruction not unlike the way they do historic restorations in Japan. From what I have read about the restoration of the Jiyu Gaaken School and the Imperial Hotel lobby they basically took the whole thing apart and rebuilt it from the ground up.
So we see that this idea is possible, but probably not real cheap.
So we see that this idea is possible, but probably not real cheap.
Owner of the G. Curtis Yelland House (1910), by Wm. Drummond
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I believe much of the floor and block walls of the Gordon house were rebuilt...so they are not original. I would think it possible to raise the house to a safe height. I've seen larger homes moved by digging out the foundation and bracing it with steel and putting the whole thing on to a trailer. Here you would just have to jack the foundation up. Seems much less destructive that taking it apart for shipping.
I also question the $1.5 million price tag. Is this a bid by the owners to clear the property for some larger development?
I also question the $1.5 million price tag. Is this a bid by the owners to clear the property for some larger development?
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RG,Roderick Grant wrote:Paul, is that true about Jiyu Gakuen? As I understand it, the building stands where it always has and, being in more or less original condition, but just a bit worse for wear, was spruced up.
I will check with the producers of the movie Magnificent Obsession (http://www.magnificent-obsession.org) in Japan to confirm my story.
Owner of the G. Curtis Yelland House (1910), by Wm. Drummond
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RG,
Here is part of the response I got.
Paul,
Yes, they absolutely took it apart,
piece by piece, then rebuilt after replacing a majority of those pieces.
Cheers,
Karen Severns, Japan
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She also told me the restoration was covered in one of the Quarterlies. I have not found which issue yet.
Here is part of the response I got.
Paul,
Yes, they absolutely took it apart,
piece by piece, then rebuilt after replacing a majority of those pieces.
Cheers,
Karen Severns, Japan
----
She also told me the restoration was covered in one of the Quarterlies. I have not found which issue yet.
Owner of the G. Curtis Yelland House (1910), by Wm. Drummond
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Considering how the Japanese do things, it doesn't surprise me that they took the building apart, but did they move it to a different location? The original reason the building was endangered in 2000 was because the value of the land had soared to $20M or so, but I believe it was not moved to another location.
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I believe the Farnsworth House has the same problem. It was auctioned off a few years ago and was purchased by Landmark Illinois and the National Trust. A design competition was held to solve the flooding problem and nothing surfaced as a reasonable solution - and this is a house on stilts! I'm afraid mother nature is impossible to keep at bay without expending far more than the cost of moving the home.
It seems that there are two different approachs, however - The Gordon technique (subdivided into two portions) and the complete dismantling, which I believe is the technique required to ship it to Italy. One would think that the first approach retains much more of the actual construction of the house, i.e., mortar joints, framing, fasteners, etc. than the second.
It seems that there are two different approachs, however - The Gordon technique (subdivided into two portions) and the complete dismantling, which I believe is the technique required to ship it to Italy. One would think that the first approach retains much more of the actual construction of the house, i.e., mortar joints, framing, fasteners, etc. than the second.
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Italy, a peninsula? I think the area it will be located is not near water.
Can we keep it in the U.S? Like let's move it just a few inches on the
original site. It would be sacrilegious and utterly wrong to move it somewhere else beyond the U.S. There has to be a solution out there
and cheaper too.
Can we keep it in the U.S? Like let's move it just a few inches on the
original site. It would be sacrilegious and utterly wrong to move it somewhere else beyond the U.S. There has to be a solution out there
and cheaper too.
JAT
Jeff T
Jeff T