Wright Chat

Why Do Homes by Modern Masters Keep Getting Torn Down?


David

"Why do homes by modern masters keep getting torn down" is only half of the question. The second half is "Why are these houses replaced by such dreck?"

I watched a show on PBS about the construction of one of those ridiculous skinny towers being built around Central Park. When it was completed, the interior of the top apartment, with floor-to-ceiling windows and floors, walls and ceilings of white Carrara marble. the place had all the charm of a public toilet. It was priced at $150M.

The above-linked article showed up at designboom this week. Is there a source of good images and drawings of this house ?

https://www.designboom.com/architecture ... 8-31-2023/

S

I just found out this past week that one of Alfred Browning Parker's masterworks and undeniably his best preserved extant house - and one of the many houses he designed and built for himself - was recently purchased for $36,000,000 and the new owners intend to tear it down. Unbelievable, to say the least. The house was selected by House Beautiful magazine as its 1965 Pacesetter, one of several Pacesetters design by ABP. Their May 1965 magazine issue featured the home extensively. Its located at 140 Arvida Parkway in Gables Estates in Coral Gables, FL. This is a dagger into the heart of ABP's architectural legacy and will be a huge loss when it falls.

That's a shame, Randy.

In looking for images of the 11,000 sq ft, 5-bed 5-bath home I find only the same 13 exterior views. I wonder if there are more, anywhere online---now.

https://coralgablesmagazine.com/histori ... -teardown/

https://www.reddit.com/r/architecture/c ... uilt_1964/

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/0c/5a/7e/0c5a ... owning.jpg

S

My theory: it's about population. Here in Seattle we have a limited amount of land and an ever increasing population, mostly of tech workers. This raised the price of space itself. 80 years ago, space was cheap and the average college grad could buy a lot, hire an MCM architect (like Paul Kirk), and have a modest home built. All this for about one year's professional salary. Population has changed all of this and so the small one story modest homes on big lots are torn down and the lot packed with 4-6 three story townhomes, each with a footprint of around 800 sf. We're losing not only great architecture, but tree canopy.

It is said that an American trait is being practical, wanting things convenient, and seeking comfort. If you think of the great estates of the Gilded Age, and through the 20th c, including so many modest but wonderful modern houses, they have typically been kept in the family for only one generation - the lifetime of the original owner, whose offspring had their own desires. There is no American tradition of landed gentry as there is in England. Architectural styles and stylish locations change rapidly, from generation to generation, if not sooner. Americans are mobile and move to the latest opportunity or fashion. The vast majority of Americans, regardless of their financial situation, are not educated in art, much less architecture, and have no appreciation of the work of the modern masters.

We talk of trophy houses for a reason, as they create:
- an image of wealth and power
- one-upsmanship
- a barrier between the owner and source of the wealth
- an image of leisure
- a demonstration of au courant "modernity"

Unfortunately, many of the best buildings also have the best sites. Out with the old, in with the new.

Sigh.