Purchased an apprentice designed home

vortrex · Post by **vortrex** » Tue Dec 24, 2013 12:26 pm

I've recently purchased an apprentice designed home in the Northside area of Ann Arbor, the personal residence of Larry Brink (built 1967). Does anyone know anything about this house? Much of it has been left intact, but it does need some later updates reverted to something more original.

BhamRuss · Post by **BhamRuss** » Tue Dec 24, 2013 12:29 pm

I recall viewing the exterior during my U/M days. Some photos would be appreciated.

vortrex · Post by **vortrex** » Tue Dec 24, 2013 12:34 pm

The home came with a full set of the original plans. Here's a picture from that set.

RA · Post by RA » Tue Dec 24, 2013 2:54 pm

More drawings, photos, floor plans, ... please!

vortrex · Post by **vortrex** » Wed Dec 25, 2013 12:02 am

Here are some realtor photos with the staging furniture and floor plans. The wood and tile floors are being removed. The living room actually is another step down but the previous owners had a platform built to level the floor with the brick. That is being reverted. The indoor planter under the staircase is being brought back to life. The kitchen and bath cabinets, along with the credenza banisters, were made by Larry I believe (according to the blueprints). The room next to the breakfast room was originally a photography darkroom and the room off the garage was a ceramics studio with a kiln.

http://www.smartfloorplan.com/orders/bi ... 46&idx=yes

RA · Post by RA » Wed Dec 25, 2013 1:07 am

Very nice! Quite a surprise. Thanks.

ScottCLE · Post by **ScottCLE** » Wed Dec 25, 2013 4:51 am

What a great home! Congratulations! =)

Craig · Post by **Craig** » Wed Dec 25, 2013 6:57 am

Beautiful house. The living space and brick floors are great. Looking forward to seeing that sunken living room brought back. Keep us posted. Thanks.

Roderick Grant · Post by **Roderick Grant** » Wed Dec 25, 2013 12:53 pm

I knew Larry years ago when we were on the Taliesin Fellows Board. He was a terrific man, gone far too soon. I had never seen any of his work. For some reason, many of the apprentices were shy about showing their own work, perhaps feeling it suffered by comparison, but Larry need not have worried about that.

The house is very handsome, and will be improved greatly by getting rid of the wood floor. The corner of the living room with the fireplace is especially grand with its fenestration, but needs that extra step down.

aldebaran1991 · Post by **aldebaran1991** » Wed Dec 25, 2013 7:42 pm

The Larry Brink Archive, which consists of about 98 percent of the material in Larry's office at the time of his death, is housed at the Scott Architectural Archives. Please feel free to contact us at [email protected]. Thanks William B. Scott, Jr., Architectural Historian

Education Professor · Thu Dec 26, 2013 12:22 pm

Thanks for the info about your new home. It is an interesting design, and I wish you the very best of luck with the restoration. Your efforts to remain faithful to the original design are commendable, and I hope you will be able to keep us updated on your progress.

On a related note, I believe that Mr. Brink was involved as a consulting architect for the Palmer house, especially during the construction of the patio walls in the backyard. What was the timeline for Mr. Brink's apprenticeship at Taliesin?

EP

Paul Ringstrom · Post by **Paul Ringstrom** » Thu Dec 26, 2013 1:24 pm

Vortex,
It would be interesting to find out what the original wall colors were that were specified by Mr. Brink. I can't believe that the current white-White-WHITE is what he wanted. I doubt if colors were specified on the blueprints. Maybe historical photos would help if you have access to any.

vortrex · Post by **vortrex** » Thu Dec 26, 2013 3:04 pm

The plans don't really go into any of the finishes. It does show that all the non-brick areas were carpeted. I will be going back to that, except for probably the breakfast room since it leads directly outdoors. For the upstairs it only says the studio was oak parquet, but doesn't say what the rest was. I can only assume that all of upstairs, except the bathroom, was this oak parquet flooring? The plans also show the original roof as cedar shingles and the entire outdoor front entrance being brick with a wooden bench and light built by Larry. The doorwall was also full height according to the plans. I will be replacing the existing doorwall/transom with something more original. The windows off the back of the house were also different, with the larger ones having a fixed glass portion.

SDR · Post by **SDR** » Thu Dec 26, 2013 6:06 pm

Wonderful ! The building form and exterior cladding suggest (to me) an East Coast influence (House of Seven Gables, via Harvard GSD ?) --
though I'm sure other Midwestern architects were employing these as well at the time. The Chicago common brick (?) looks great. The front door is
breath-taking; the adjacent show window is a unique feature that should be more widely known.

I assume that the dining table originally sat on an island of carpet, set flush with the brick ? Upstairs, I'd guess that the remaining floors were
carpeted -- though plain oak stained to match the parquet would be a fine alternative. (The quarter-round shoe added at the perimeter is typical
where a floating floor system has been retrofitted.)

Thanks for the peek, and let's see more as it happens.

SDR

SDR · Post by **SDR** » Thu Dec 26, 2013 7:35 pm

http://www.google.com/search?q=Chicago+ ... 15&bih=804

Other Chicago common brick sightings:

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/med ... cId=649476

Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio

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