Issue 327 October 12th 2022

The Headlines

Wright's Zaferious House in Blauvelt, NY Listed At $1.5M

The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Socrates Zaferious House at 48 Clausland Mountain Road in Blauvelt, NY has hit the market for $1.5 million. The house was designed for the banquet manager of New York’s Plaza Hotel who commissioned the property. Wright designed the Usonian-style home in the mid-1950s but passed away before it was completed in 1963. See more photos and get info here.

An Evening Dedicated To Anderson Japanese Gardens

Anderson Japanese Gardens – An Insight into the History and Construction of the Gardens, Patterns in Nature that Inform Design & Maintenance, and the Reason Behind it All

Join Taliesin Preservation and Tim Gruner, Rockford, IL's Anderson Japanese Gardens curator, for an evening dedicated to Japanese Garden design. Gruner explores the history, patterns, and rhythms of nature that inspire Japanese garden design and the reason so much energy and resources are expended in the Anderson Japanese Gardens‘ ongoing evolution.

Driven by a lifelong love of nature to a career in horticulture, Tim graduated from the Kishwaukee College (Illinois) Horticulture Program in 1987, followed by a one-year horticulture internship at Chicago Botanic Garden. Since 1989, Tim has worked and studied at Anderson Japanese Gardens under the direction of Mr. Hoichi Kurisu of Kurisu International, where he is currently Garden Curator.

The event is $10 per person and will take place on Friday, October 21, at the Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor Center at 5607 County Rd. C in Spring Green, Wisconsin. The evening will start at 5:00pm and end at 7:00pm. Wine, beer, and snacks will be available for purchase. More here.

Sim Bruce Richards-Designed House For Sale In San Diego

About 35 miles northeast of San Diego, in the Santa Maria Valley, sits the unincorporated rural enclave known as Ramona. Along with a fair number of wineries and a town center that dates back to the 1880s, the out-of-the-way community also boasts a few interesting examples of late-midcentury-modernist architecture — probably none more interesting than this singular home designed by architect Sim Bruce Richards in 1980 according to Dirt magazine.

Born in Talequah, Oklahoma, in 1908, Richards started his formal architectural training at U.C. Berkeley’s School of Architecture, but lasted only a few weeks before switching his focus to fine art and textiles. With his roommate and another friend, Richards began making rugs out of scraps of cloth salvaged from such items as old corduroy bathrobes purchased at Goodwill. These humble scraps of fabric would prove to be instrumental to Richards’ architectural career: several rugs they were woven into wound up being purchased by a high-end San Francisco interior designer, who hosted a tea for Frank Lloyd Wright when he came to San Francisco to deliver a lecture. Upon seeing the rugs, Wright asked to meet the artists behind them. The meeting ultimately led to an invitation to Wright’s revered Taliesin communes, and a two-year apprenticeship.

Following his Taliesin experience, Richards moved to San Diego, where he operated a solo architectural practice for four decades, building more than 300 single-family residences, mostly composed of wood. Many of these projects were designed in collaboration with noted San Diego sculptor James Hubbell and celebrated ceramist Rhoda LeBlanc Lopez, including this Ramona residence.

The house was commissioned by Lewis Weinberg, a Chicago-born art collector and businessman, and like the rugs that caught Frank Lloyd Wright’s eye, the Weinberg residence is a bespoke tapestry of materials and influences, masterfully interwoven to create something unique. Sited atop a ridge, it features a roofline that echoes the ridgetop’s peaks and valleys. An artsy vibe reminiscent of Big Sur is established at the elaborately carved front gates, continuing with the elaborately carved front door with dramatic sculptural handle, and further reinforced by the colorful mosaic tile and stained-glass panels and light fixtures scattered throughout the 3,257-square-foot home.

Among the four-bedroom, three-bath home’s exterior amenities are a swimming pool with spa, a sculpture garden designed by acclaimed landscape architect Frank Koge featuring a multitude of Japanese black pines, and a stocked koi pond. Per online marketing material, the 1.52-acre property has a natural spring that supplies both drinking water and irrigation, rooftop solar panels, and on-site propane.

The property is listed with an asking price of $1.95 million, plus HOA dues of $390 per month. Keith York of Agents of Architecture holds the listing. See the photos here.

Schindler House Closes For Two Months

The Schindler House will be closed for roof restoration from October to December.

The renovation effort is led by the Friends of Schindler House, the nonprofit organization whose mission is to preserve and maintain Schindler’s Kings Road House, with support from the Museum der Angewandte Kunst in Vienna.

The Schindler House, designed by modernist architect and Viennese émigré Rudolph M. Schindler as his house and studio in 1922, is owned and maintained by the Friends of the Schindler House. Since 1994 the Schindler House has been operated by the MAK Center for Art and Architecture, running a multidisciplinary contemporary and experimental program in the spirit of R.M. Schindler.

Restoration for the Schindler House has been ongoing since 1980 with funding from the city of West Hollywood, the State of California, the Republic of Austria and private donations. The intent is to return the house to its appearance on the date of completion, June 6, 1922. For information about the restoration efforts by FoSH and their partners, visit schindlerhouse.org.

Special OA+D Study Center Open House Event

The OA+D Archives will be hosting a special open house fundraiser at their Chandler, AZ Study Center on November 11, 2022.

Held as an event in conjunction with the Taliesin Fellows 90th Reunion happening that weekend, the OA+D Open House is a chance to see the exciting work happening there, organizing and cataloging the Taliesin Architects archival material. In addition to snacks and drinks on OA+D's patio area, there will be tours of the Study Center and select Taliesin Architects Collection materials, new OA+D publications launched, a special limited edition holiday ornament available, a silent auction fundraiser, and more.

It's sure to be an enjoyable evening to help support OA+D's ongoing efforts of preservation and education on the legacy of organic architecture and design!

If you're going to be in the Chandler area on November 11th and would like to attend, then send an RSVP in advance to info@oadarchives.org and they'll be sure to add you to the festivities participant list!

Marin Civic Center Celebrates 60th Anniversary

When Frank Lloyd Wright was commissioned to create the Marin Civic Center in San Rafael in the 1950s, county officials said they would level the site, but he wanted to use the natural topography.

“The result was a series of graceful arches and buildings upon those arches, a vision he had within 15 minutes of being at the site,” said Bill Schwarz, who serves as the architectural adviser for the Civic Center. Schwarz said Wright was “an impassioned American patriot,” who wanted to create a governmental building that was inviting to the community and was aesthetically pleasing. “Now, can you imagine those hills without those marvelous buildings on them? This building couldn’t be built anywhere else. It’s poetic — a work of genius.”

That vision lives on and is celebrated this month as the landmark Civic Center turns 60. County officials have planned a daylong celebration on Oct. 13 to mark the anniversary on the day it opened in 1962. The occasion will include free docent-led tours, a cake cutting, a panel discussion and other activities. The events start at 10 a.m.

“We wanted to create a day for the community that would celebrate the building itself, but allow people to experience the building in different ways,” said Libby Garrison, spokesperson for the Department of Cultural Services. More here.

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