First Wright house with radiant floor heating

Roderick Grant · Post by **Roderick Grant** » Sat Feb 20, 2010 1:55 pm

FLW first encountered a radient heating system in Japan, where an all-tile system was heated by steam through clay pipes criss crossing under the floor. I believe there's mention of it somewhere in the Autobiography. Jacobs I was his first use of the system, hot water with iron pipes. The current owner had to tear out the floor of the entire house and replace the system during his remarkable restoration process. Leaking also caused problems at Zimmerman (rebuilt system), Sol Friedman (replaced by radiators) and Reisley (last I heard, the minor leaks had not been dealt with).

Jeff Myers · Post by **Jeff Myers** » Sat Feb 20, 2010 2:15 pm

That's right Japan was where the Radiant Heated flooring systems were first started.
I said it was the romans. So did the Imperial Hotel use radiant heat? To bad we don't know for sure since it was demolished in 1969.

peterm · Post by **peterm** » Sat Feb 20, 2010 2:32 pm

It might be possible that Wright was already thinking about incorporating this concept in 1924 when Neutra met Wright (at louis sullivan's funeral!)... Neutra was in Wright's office between '24 and '26, and maybe the idea of red concrete floors was already being discussed at that time.

Is Willey the first Wright house built on a slab. I think Stafford told me that there are portions with wood floors, too...

peterm · Post by **peterm** » Sat Feb 20, 2010 2:52 pm

And the red concrete floor is also a coincidence?

flwfan · Post by **flwfan** » Sat Feb 20, 2010 3:00 pm

Storer house (1923) has radiant heating on the lower level with concrete floors. Still works great, no leaking. Upper floors are wood so electric heat in special designed grills.

DavidC · Post by **DavidC** » Sat Feb 20, 2010 3:01 pm

Jacobs I originally didn't have radiant in-floor water heat. It actually started out with radiant in-floor steam heat. Not too long after it was changed to forced hot water, after the steam failed to produce an even amount of heating.

David

peterm · Post by **peterm** » Sat Feb 20, 2010 3:08 pm

Storer! That's interesting...

Of course, it's probably the California textile block house which first incorporate scored concrete floors. I'm now remembering the square grid at La Miniatura, ten years before Neutra's Beard house...

flwfan · Post by **flwfan** » Sat Feb 20, 2010 3:31 pm

Actually, Storer's original concrete floor may have been concrete blocks not single scored slab. Fairly sure, especially as the kitchen and the lower bedrooms are concrete block floors, while the entry/dining area part is a slab that is scored.

Both are radiant.

I don't know what heats Millard, which is earlier than Storer.

Both post the Imperial hotel of course.

Wrightgeek · Post by **Wrightgeek** » Sat Feb 20, 2010 3:46 pm

Jeff M-

Hanna was definitely after Jacobs I. Jacobs I was 1935-6, and Hanna was more like 1938-9. I'm too lazy to look it up right now, but those dates are pretty close, I'm sure.

peterm · Post by **peterm** » Sat Feb 20, 2010 5:51 pm

double post

peterm · Post by **peterm** » Sat Feb 20, 2010 5:52 pm

It looks like Wright's first in floor radiant heat is the Imperial Hotel (finished 1923?...). Anything earlier? And what was the Imperial ground floor made of?

SDR · Post by **SDR** » Sat Feb 20, 2010 5:53 pm

For those who might be curious about the house which Peter refers to, here are the relevant pages from James and Katherine Morrow Ford's
seminal catalog of American modernism as of 1940. Wrighters will be disappointed (or worse) to find none of this architect's work represented;
the list includes so many others, some known today, most unknown.

With number of houses shown, they are: G Ain (3); W F Bogner (1); W W Brewster Jr( 3); K Day (2); W F Deknatel (1); DeWitt and Washburn (1);
A Dow (!); A E Doyle, P Belluschi (2); P L Goodwin (1); Gropius and Breuer (4, including the authors' own residence); H H Harris (2);
C F Hegner (1); V and S Homsey (1); G Howe (2); B Hoyt (1); G F Keck (3); A L Kocher and A Frey (1); W Lescaze (2); H Lippmann (1);
P B Maher (1); C W W Mayhew (2); R Morse (1); Morse and A T Brown (1); W Muschenheim (1); R J Neutra (8 ); G H Perkins (1); J Ruthenberg (1);
R M Schindler (2); R S Soriano (2); E D Stone (1); Stone and C Koch (1); H Stubbins and R B Wills (3); P Thiry and A A Shay (1); S Vallet (1);
R Ward (1); W W Wurster (2).

peterm · Post by **peterm** » Sat Feb 20, 2010 6:17 pm

Thanks, Stephen. I have that book, too, and it is a bit unsettling to notice Wright's exclusion...

According to the text, I guess the Beard house did not use hot water, but heated air under the concrete slab...

This house is right around the corner from my place and I drive by often to drool. It really is an anomaly in Neutra's ouvre. The spatial complexity is reminiscent of Schindler's work (possibly due to Gregory Ain's collaboration?) It's striking to see it's shiny aluminun paint over the steel siding, contrasted with a wild garden of native plants and the San Gabriel mountains behind it.

Beard house now:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3580/345 ... 4f.jpg?v=0

Jeff Myers · Post by **Jeff Myers** » Sat Feb 20, 2010 6:26 pm

The foundation for the Imperial Hotel was a floating pier system that also had benefits for surviving a earthquake. I can't seem to confirm nor deny the Heated Floor. It is possible though.
When the new Complete Works comes out we will have to see what it says. I am going to be getting that book later on.

SDR · Post by **SDR** » Sat Feb 20, 2010 8:31 pm

I have searched Rayner Banham's apparently unique volume, "The Architecture of the Well-tempered Environment" (London and Chicago,
1969) for mention of floor heating of any kind, anywhere -- in part because the author is clearly a Wright enthusiast, spending time first with
the Larkin building -- where he reveals (quoting the architect) that the separate stair towers at the entrance were a last-minute refinement,
added in great part to provide essential fresh-air intake ducts.

He then looks closely at the Baker, Ross, and Gale residences, exploring their heating and ventilating systems (in holistic partnership with light and
view), before examining even more carefully the Robie house. Here he finds many concealed hot water radiators -- and a set of special compact
ones designed to be placed under the floor in front of each of the french doors that line the south elevation of the principal level. Banham
apparently explored the cavity created for these radiators, and found a "massive hot-water pipe provided for them" -- but no radiators. They
were apparently never installed. Instead, later owners placed additional radiators in the corners of the room, not at all concealed as are the many
that Wright provided in the space.

The only mention anywhere in the book of underfloor heating occurs late, when he finds that P Johnson heated his Glass House with electric
elements buried in both floor and ceiling. The house has single-pane glass, so is extraordinarily exposed to heat gain and loss. (Banham is at
pains throughout this book to emphasize the degree to which the modern propensity for large glass areas represents a challenge to the
environmental engineer.) Johnson did not install air conditioning in his glass box, depending instead -- apparently with success -- on the shade
provided by the trees which stand to the south of the structure.

But not a word about Wright's "gravity heat" -- nor anybody else's.

SDR