Gerald Sussman House Rye New York? any information?

Silk&Morgan · Post by **Silk&Morgan** » Sat Oct 27, 2007 10:27 pm

Does anyone have information about a house designed for Gerald Sussman, Rye, New York? It looks very much like the Turkel House in Detroit. I saw the drawing "In the Realm of Ideas" book byPfeiffer. Im dont think it was ever built. would love to know more.

SDR · Post by **SDR** » Sat Oct 27, 2007 11:24 pm

Hi, Norman and Dale:

The book I got the picture from predates the 1990 traveling exhibition. But I have pictures of the house that was exhibited and it is certainly similar. Unlike your house, it is a single-story design.

Entrance side -- carport at right

I took these photos with a disposable panoramic camera, at the exhibition grounds adjacent to the Marin County Civic Center. You have your choice of exterior tones ! The house was made to appear like concrete, but was made of wood products painted with sand paint. The knock-down parts were showing a little wear by the time it came to California.

Interestingly (to me) Rye is the town I grew up in. It is also home to Wright's Max Hoffman house.

SDR

Paul Ringstrom · Post by **Paul Ringstrom** » Sun Oct 28, 2007 10:19 am

I saw this house when it was in Chicago. The living room had a wonderful feel to it. I understand the parts to this house are in storage in AZ.

SDR · Post by **SDR** » Sun Oct 28, 2007 10:34 am

Here is another Usonian Automatic, the Kalil house in Manchester, NH (1955). It seems
similar to the layout of the house above with this difference: the exhibition house has
an entrance loggia that passes through to the terrace beyond (visible in the center of the
last shot above) while the kitchen ("workspace") takes the location of the study in this
plan. Thus, Kalil is more compact. . .

The placement of the operable sash in the living room "basket" makes for a lively
rhythm. . .

Illustrations from W A Storrer's "FLW Companion"

Roderick Grant · Post by **Roderick Grant** » Sun Oct 28, 2007 4:04 pm

I saw the exhibit in D. C. There were some wonderful models of unbuilt structures, including the Arizona State Capitol. The model house was squeezed into a too-small space, which did not do it justice. Also, because one of the major donors to the project was Kohler Plumbing, there was an oversized bathroom to showcase all of their latest fixtures, including a black Darth Vadar toilet that looked like it could eat your ass. The compromise to the design was more humorous than troubling, but to visitors who did not know that much about FLW, I imagine the bath made more of an impression than it should have.

SDR · Post by **SDR** » Sun Oct 28, 2007 4:15 pm

Ah -- I recall that, now ! There was something odd about the kitchen, too, I thought -- too big, or too tall ? Of course, Wright liked the idea of kitchen as chimney, for natural ventilation -- and something may have prevailed upon Taliesin (?) to increase the footage to accomodate modern sensibilities ?

SDR

jim · Post by **jim** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 10:35 am

I too saw and photographed the "model house" when it was erected at the Marin County Civic Center in 1990 as a part of the "In the Realm of Ideas" exhibition. The book by the same name, essentially the exhibition catalogue, includes a rendering of the unbuilt Sussman House on page 115. The exhibition was largely funded by Whirlpool and Kohler and featured their products.

Somewhere at the time I found a published plan of the Sussman House. One error made in the model was the lack of a roof overhang on the public side of the bedroom wing, an obvious error to anyone. The overhang did show on the published Sussman plans.

The living/dining spaces were quite magical.

According to the book, the model house was to be re-erected in Scottsdale at the end of the exhibit as a FLLW museum, as the City of Scottsdale funded the model house construction. I doubt this happened and it seem unlikely the structural system of the model would have either survived or met any building codes for a permanent building.

SDR · Post by **SDR** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 12:27 pm

. . .or even the rain, if Scottsdale gets any (and it must, if early tales of Taliesin are true. . .) !

Would the unadorned high roof of the model also be a deviation from the Usonian Automatic norm ?

SDR

hypnoraygun · Post by **hypnoraygun** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 8:49 am

There is some additional information in the book "Treasures of Taliesin: Seventy-Six Unbuilt Designs " There is a good picture in there and it talks a little about the house.

Rood · Post by **Rood** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 5:22 pm

SDR wrote:Hi, Norman and Dale: The book I got the picture from predates the 1990 traveling exhibition. But I have pictures of the house that was exhibited and it is certainly similar. Unlike your house, it is a single-story design.SDR

Actually ... The Sussman design includes a mezzanine "study" tucked almost like an afterthought above the dining alcove of the living room. Most visitors to the model weren't aware of its existence, but I was able to get up there.

It wasn't easy, though, as there was no stairway. Neither does a stair appear on published plans. I believe I managed with a rope ladder.

SDR · Post by **SDR** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 7:31 pm

Ha ! At which location on the tour of the house model did you accomplish this feat ?

SDR

Rood · Post by **Rood** » Fri Sep 30, 2011 1:11 am

It was in Arizona. I took a chance and asked if I could climb up ... and grabbed the opportunity when no one objected. The lack of a stairway demonstrated how quickly the design was tossed out of that sleeve. In process something must have fallen on the floor.

m.perrino · Post by **m.perrino** » Fri Sep 30, 2011 10:50 am

I spoke with Indira yesterday and she confirmed what I had previously heard that the Exhibition House was ultimately destroyed. Through all the 'assembly' and 'dis-assembly', shipping, handling etc at all the venues, it did not hold up well.

Sad, as it was an amazing structure and perfectly promoted the ideas of organic arch and the Usonian design.

Reidy · Post by **Reidy** » Fri Sep 30, 2011 10:55 am

Was the travelling Sussman a sound, habitable building? My understanding is that it was made of styrofoam sprayed with concrete, which would raise questions about weatherproofing and fire safety.

SDR · Post by **SDR** » Fri Sep 30, 2011 11:14 am

I visited the exhibition site in Marin while the house was under construction. I saw bits and pieces at close hand. It was made of plywood and particle board/OSB, covered with sand paint. It was like something you would erect at a trade show -- not intended to be weatherproof, and in no way a "real building." Its function was to replicate the appearance of a Usonian Automatic. I had not heard until now that it was modeled on the Sussman design. The kitchen was oddly grand and contemporary, as I recall.

Here are photos I took with a disposable panoramic camera: