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The Architectural Legend of Dallas

The following is an academic research paper written in 1997 by Connie Harkins while a student in the Southern Methodist University Master of Liberal Arts program.

Dallas has a treasure in its midst. In a city of many opulent and large homes, perhaps no other home is quite the gem as 5555 Walnut Hill Lane. The Crespi Estate, as it is known, exudes taste, class, architectural exquisiteness, and refinement of an earlier era. How did this French mansion happen to be built in Dallas, the only design in the state from an architect known for his stunning projects in New York and Palm Beach?

On Walnut Hill Lane only an attractive 4,000 square foot house for the caretaker is visible from the road, but it is the main house behind it that belies one’s expectations of an estate in Dallas, or anywhere.

Pio Crespi and Florence Crespi Retain Architect Maurice Fatio

The history of the home begins with the Crespi family. Pio Crespi, an Italian Count, was a wealthy cotton merchant.¹ He came to the United States to establish cotton trade between Europe and the United States.² He chose Waco since it was the cotton industry’s central location.

It was in Waco where he met his future wife, Florence Patton, the daughter of Judge Nathan Patton.³ When Waco decided it did not want railroads in its city, Pio and Florence Crespi headed to Dallas where the railroad, so crucial to Pio’s business, decided to lay its tracks. Although they lived in comfortable homes, in Dallas Pio Crespi desired a home that would let him maintain the lifestyle he left behind in Milan.⁴ After spending time in Europe, New York and Palm Beach with friends, Count Crespi hired a contemporary, the Swiss architect, Maurice Fatio, to design the Crespi Estate.⁵ The Crespi Estate was modified from its original plans, cutting its size in half. Mrs. Crespi said 10,000 square feet was big enough.⁶ The plan was also influenced by the two houses they rented when they first came to Dallas, one at 4726 Drexel designed by Hal Thomson and the other at 6801 Turtle Creek, the original Owsley estate, designed by John Scudder Adkins.⁷

Building began in the late thirties and was completed in either 1940 or 1941.⁸

Maurice Fatio was Swiss Born Architect Who Studied Under Karl Moser and First Worked with New York’s Harris T. Lindenberg

The architect, Maurice Fatio, was a society architect who had a stellar, but brief career, when he died of cancer in 1943 at the age of 46.⁹ He was born in 1897 in Geneva, Switzerland, to a wealthy banking family. Soon after Fatio studied architecture under the distinguished eclectic architect Karl Moser, and obtained his degree from Zurich Polytechnic, his father encouraged him to go to America.¹⁰ Fatio headed to New York where he earned a position in the offices of Harris T. Lindeberg, a distinguished society architect who designed mostly Norman and English-style villas.¹¹ Mr. Lindeberg advised Fatio to stay in America and launch a career. In July, 1921, Fatio and a senior architect in Lindeberg’s firm, William A. Treanor, formed a partnership.¹²

Fatio and Treanor Had Great Success

The pair’s partnership was a quick success. In 1923 Fatio and Treanor was one of the 10 busiest firms in New York City.¹³ That same year at a society party Fatio was voted “most popular architect in New York”.¹⁴ Equipped with charm and handsome looks, Fatio moved easily in the social circles of the Vanderbilts, Rockefellers and Wideners. Fatio was part of the “International Set,” a sophisticated group of artists, writers and musicians, all well-traveled.¹⁵ It was also in 1923 that Fatio and Treanor’s work took them to Florida where they designed Olympia Beach, a spec resort. Attracted to Palm Beach, Fatio decided to open an office there while Treanor managed the New York office.¹⁶ The Palm Beach office had great success even though the Florida land boom had crumbled.¹⁷ Later, after Fatio married and had two children, he and his family split their time between New York and Palm Beach. Fatio designed for high-profile clients such as E.F. Hutton, Otto Kahn, Harold Vanderbilt, William Vanderbilt, and the Duchess of Marlborough (Harold Vanderbilt’s sister).¹⁸

Maurice Fatio Known for Perfect Proportions

Currently there is a renewed interest and appreciation for the “skilled eclecticism” that was Fatio’s trademark with his Palm Beach designs.¹⁹ No matter the style, Romanesque, Georgian, Florentine, or Modern, the designs of Maurice Fatio are detected by their courtyards which are highly controlled, their facades that are well-proportioned, and the detailing which is exquisite and elegant.²⁰ Even Fatio’s daughter, Alexandra Taylor, who saw the Crespi Estate in person for the first time this year, marveled at the beautiful style and proportion, showcasing her father’s talents.²¹

Maurice Fatio Designed Homes in Chile, Argentina, New York, Palm Beach, Dallas

Fatio seemed to land great design assignments in some of the best neighborhoods in the best cities. In his early career, as Fatio tried to obtain the design assignment for E.W. Brown, Esq., a successful New Yorker, he believed that if he could design the structure and put his name on it, such steps were certain to launch his career, especially since the wealthy New Yorker lived in the chicest neighborhood that also happened to be near Fifth Avenue.²² His designs attracted the wealthy with ease. In the early 1940s Mr. and Mrs. Arturo Cousino of Chile made a trip to Florida and loved the houses designed by Maurice Fatio.²³ Without hesitation the Cousino’s commissioned Fatio to draw up plans for their new house four miles outside of Santiago at their vineyard, Vina Macul, which produces some of the finest wines in Chile.²⁴ In addition to the Chile assignment, Fatio also designed for Count and Countess Van der Straten of Argentina.²⁵ Other than the international assignments, the majority of Fatio’s work can be found in Palm Beach and in New York.

As observed by Fatio’s nephew, Pierre Zoelly, of Zurich, Switzerland, and a member of the American Institute of Architects, it is amazing that since Fatio was designing for clients for whom money was no object, he could have put on great airs and made his designs grandiose and overdone, instead he produced classical designs with natural elegance.²⁶

Maurice Fatio was Sought Out by Crespis and International Set

When giving his clients a tour of their completed home, Fatio would make sure their favorite cigarettes were in the cigarette cases, their beds were made up, and cards were on the bridge table.²⁷ The kitchen was never on the tour because it was for the servants.²⁸ Fatio built approximately 10 houses a year for 18 years.²⁹ In March, 1998, the Palm Beach Historical Society had a week long celebration honoring the 100th anniversary of Maurice Fatio. To this day, his designs are legendary.

Knowing the profile of most of Fatio’s clients, it is to little amazement that Pio Crespi would choose Fatio to design the Crespi Estate. When the home was completed, Dallas was given a gift, for there is not another home in the city that can compare to it. Craftsmanship, quality, and proportion are the hallmarks of this home, as well as the fact that it has remained in the same family since it was built. To this day, the original paint is on the walls, the furniture is in the same place it was nearly 60 years ago, the original fixtures remain, the pieces of art are in their original spots, and Mr. Orville Pate remains – the same caretaker that was there 50 years ago.³⁰

Artisans and Craftsmen Came From Europe to Work on Crespi Estate

The home was designed for entertaining and has wonderful craftsmanship throughout. The interior is decorated with hand carved moldings crafted by carvers and carpenters Fatio had imported.³¹

This mansion has four fireplaces, all with hand carved mantels of either wood or marble. Inside the front door, a curved staircase that looks as glamorous as something from a movie set is the backdrop to the entry hall. It is made of marble with hand carved wood grillwork.

An Estate Home for International Travelers and Their Guests

The centerpiece of the circular stair hall is a remarkable antique crystal chandelier that came from Graystone, the Samuel Untermeyer estate.³² Rooms on the first floor include a ladies’ room and ladies’ powder room and a men’s room.³³ There is the original elevator still in use. It is one of the first elevators in a residence in Dallas and was originally used for carrying the large steamer trunks the Crespi’s would take with them on their many travels.³⁴ Every year the Crespi’s would leave in the spring for six months to spend time in Southampton, Newport and Europe.³⁵ They also owned a large villa in Milan that was fully staffed year round.³⁶ The kitchen is industrial sized as well as gourmet with its numerous refrigerators, freezers, ovens and sinks. The glass front cupboards show off the many sets of hand painted china and precious crystal.

Except for the kitchen which has square doorways, each room is introduced with high arched doorways that lead to rooms with 14 foot ceilings. In the formal living room there is a rose-violet fireplace, above which hangs a Chinese Chippendale mirror.³⁷ In front of the fireplace are two damask covered divans with a table in between made from an antique Chinese screen.³⁸ The informal dining room has two walls made of French doors through which light is reflected on mirrored pilasters. The walls are a pale green which blend into the draperies all of which compliment the green leaf pattern hand carved in the carpet.³⁹ Above the credenzas in this room are mirror framed rice prints in a Chinese style. The furniture in this room is French.

Knotty Pine Library and Art Deco Bar

The library walls are hand carved knotty pine. In one corner are shelves with rich leather books and opposite this corner is a beautiful fireplace of hand carved wood and marble.

This room also contains the card table of Laubat Regency Old French carved wood where Mrs. Crespi played bridge and gin rummy on a regular basis with her friends and with her winnings successfully played the stock market.⁴⁰

The bar is a real bar, not the kind one finds in new homes built today which usually consist of a walk-in closet where a small refrigerator and glass shelves have been added. This bar has Oriental murals hand painted on its mirrored walls.⁴¹

There is a rounded counter behind which two bartenders have plenty of room to fill the drink requests at the many lavish parties held by the owners. There are sinks, refrigerators and countertops hidden behind the rounded counter. The rest of the room holds twin upholstered high backed benches that are built-in with smaller chairs on the opposite side of each bench, and small square cocktail tables topped with black glass and a gold scrolled pattern are between the benches and chairs. In the formal dining room is a dining table that seats 26. Antique Bow Meissen Derby figurines of porcelain can be found in the two gold vitrines found above two Chinese commodes with marble tops which hold two antique French urns.⁴² Although wonderfully furnished and decorated, it is the two portraits in this room that attract the most attention. Oil portraits of Mr. Crespi and Mrs. Crespi were painted by Ambrogio Alciati of the Academy of Brera in Milan.⁴³

One other painting, this one by Antonio Mancini who was an exhibitor in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, also garners attention.⁴⁴ Off of this room one enters through tall French doors, the patio with marbled floors and white iron furniture with a table topped with marble.

All of the uncarpeted downstairs rooms have floors made of marble. The marble for the floors and the staircase was imported from Italy.⁴⁵ On the second floor there are four bedrooms including two guest suites and two bedrooms in the master suite. In the master suite there is a sitting room with a marble fireplace. It is here the Crespi’s were served dinner if not entertaining.⁴⁶ In the ladies’ private dressing area, there are many closets, some for clothes, other for shoes. The master bathroom includes stunning pink marble.

From Duke and Duchess of Windsor and Coco Chanel to Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Stewart

Mentioned previously, the Crespi’s traveled half the year. As they traveled, they stayed with friends, some who were royalty, so it was important that they have a home were they could reciprocate the hospitality in a suitable manner. At the Crespi Estate this was not a problem. The two guest suites of the second floor are sizable. Guests who have slept there include the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Coco Chanel and many of Pio Crespi’s friends from Italy who were royalty or nobility.⁴⁷

Staff with Family for 50 Years

On the third floor is the sewing room where a live-in seamstress once sewed tablecloths to be used in the house.⁴⁸ The table cloths were stored on the third floor in the “table cloth closet.” Also on the third floor are five maids’ rooms each one with a dormer window and wash basin, and the staff’s living room. Rivaling in tenure the aforementioned Orville Pate is Maria Schlacter who came to work at the Crespi Estate in the 1960s. She still takes care of household duties and over the years has stored and cared for slides and photographs of the house.⁴⁹ In the basement is mailing room stocked with mail supplies, a boiler room, fuse boxes in abundance, and a wine cellar. Inside the wine cellar are racks for hundreds of bottles, all protected by a steel door resembling those used on bank vaults.⁵⁰

Allée of Magnolia Trees from Mississippi

The outside of the mansion is as stunning as the inside. As one winds down the long driveway one is first impressed by the formal motor court in front of the house.

To get to the motor court one must pass through tall, elegant gates adorned with the Crespi crest. Central to the motor court is the statue that draws admiration from all who see it. At night it has soft spotlights to show it off as well as a fountain that provides a light mist. This statue, like the few dozen other statues that grace the property’s grounds, are from Italy.⁵² The Crespi’s had them transported and they have remained in the gardens and paths of the 21 acre estate. Next to the motor court one notices the allies of Magnolia trees the Crespi’s had brought in from Mississippi.⁵³

As one takes in the mansion and its surroundings, it is the beautifully constructed facade of the home that makes one think of fairy tales and brings out curious thoughts of what it would be like to live there.

Indiana Limestone Brought Directly by Rail to Estate Property

The exterior is made of Indiana limestone that was brought to the site by a train whose tracks at the time were where the Toll Road is today.

The doors carry a Fatio trademark which include intricate carvings with a whimsical tone.

Formal and Informal Motor Courts

The home is perfectly proportioned. According to Fatio’s daughter, Alexandra Taylor, from the outside, Fatio liked the left side of the house to match the right side of the house and both sides to be in proportion to the center of the house.⁵⁴

To the right of the house one notices the four car garage. This too was designed by Fatio. Pierre Zoelly, Fatio’s nephew, says that for Fatio’s clients, cars were not part of the design concept for entrances.⁵⁵ With a few of Fatio’s designs there are small circular front drives, this house has an ample formal motor court, but in general the cars were left to the servants to handle and they were often provided with a hidden service court to do this.⁵⁶ Fatio applied this design philosophy to the Crespi Estate garage where a wall hides a large motor court and the four car garage.

Horticulturist Joe Lambert Works With Forest, Paths and Creeks

Behind the main house, one sees a forest of trees, Italian statues, walking paths, bridges, and a creek. Pio Crespi hired noted horticulturist, Joe Lambert to do the landscaping.⁵⁷

Walking the paths makes one feel like they are in an enchanted forest. To the side of the main house is a beautiful area where for grand parties a dance floor was installed and an orchestra surrounding it would play as guests danced the night away.⁵⁸ In 1969 when Pio Crespi died, social occasions at the house decreased.

The Crespi Estate Has a Transition

Up to the time of his death, at the height of the social seasons, there was at least a party a week at the Crespi Estate.⁵⁹ After his death, Mrs. Crespi flew around the world with her friends.60 Mrs. Crespi met a man who fell in love with her, but he died. Before his death, he introduced her to his friend John Howell. Mrs. Crespi and Mr. Howell eloped. For a brief period, the social life of Dallas’ elite resumed at the Crespi Estate until Mrs. Howell decided to turn over to her granddaughter, Mrs. John Crow, the management of the estate due to her extensive travel schedule.⁶¹ Over the years, guests at parties at the home have ranged from Maria Callas to Jimmy Stewart, to Milton Berle to Louis Jordan to President and Mrs. Ronald Reagan.⁶²

With the exception of a few charity parties in the mid 1980s, events at the home ceased. It was not until this summer that the estate was opened for one more society party and that was the celebration of Dallas, 50 Significant Homes.

AIA 50 Significant Homes Celebration in Honor of 50th Anniversary of Dallas AIA

This was an architectural survey to identify Dallas’ 50 most significant homes. At the request of Bryce Weigand, FAIA, the president of the American Institute of Architects Dallas Chapter, Douglas Newby chaired the Dallas, 50 Significant Homes project. The committee for the project was made up of the leaders and presidents of Dallas’ top art, architectural, and history organizations. Needless to say, the Crespi Estate headed the list of significant homes.

Robert Wigley, an Elegant Man Who Protected the Future of the Property

Presently, the home is occupied by Mrs. Florence Crespi Howell and several house staff, including Mr. Pate and Maria Schlacter, work there. Mrs. Howell had two sons from a marriage before Pio Crespi. One son is deceased and the other son Robert Wigley, a Princeton graduate and former vice chairman of E.F. Hutton, oversees the management of the estate.⁶³ A planned transfer has been arranged where in time the home will go to the hands of another Dallas family with the resources and taste to preserve and maintain the property.⁶⁴ If in the future one ever has the opportunity to be a guest at the estate, one should take advantage of seeing Dallas’ most significant home that is truly an architectural legend.

Headlines, images and captions have been added to illustrate this academic paper for the purpose of the Dallas Architecture Blog post.

1 Marty Primeau, “The Crespi Estate, Still Classic After All These Years,” Dallas Life Magazine, 30 December 1984, 16. 2 Nancy Smith, “Remembrances of an Era Past,” High Society 1 no. 1 (March 1992): 2. 3 Ibid. 4 Derro Evans, “Villa Fiorenzia,” Texas Homes, September 1985, 67. 5 Ibid. 6 Ibid. 7 Interview by Connie Harkins with Douglas Newby, project chairman Dallas, 50 Significant Homes, October 8, 1997. 8 Evans. 70. 9 Alexandra Taylor, eds., Maurice Fatio Architect (Florida: Southwestern Printing, 1992), 8. 10 Ibid., 4. 11 Ibid., 5. 12 Ibid. 13 Ibid. 14 Ibid. 15 Ibid. 16 Ibid. 17 Ibid. 18 Ibid., 7, 86. 19 Ibid., 9. 20 Ibid. 21 Interview by Connie Harkins with Alexandra Taylor, October 8, 1997. 22 Taylor, 17. 23 “Chilean house with Regency flavor,” House & Garden, July 1946, 58. 24 Ibid. 25 Taylor, 277. 26 Ibid., 257. 27 Ibid. 28 Ibid. 29 Ibid., 258. 30 Primeau, 16. 31 Evans, 70. 32 Marjorie Montgomery, “The Woman’s Angle,” The Dallas Morning News, 19 April 1954. 33 Primeau 16. 34 Smith, 1. 35 Ibid. 36 Ibid. 37 Montgomery. 38 Ibid. 39 Ibid. 40 Smith, 2. 41 Primeau, 16. 42 Montgomery. 43 Ibid. 44 Ibid. 45 Evans, 70. 46 Primeau, 16. 47 Smith, 2. 48 Evans, 120. 49 Smith, 1. 50 Ibid., 2. 51 Ibid. (Omitted From Blog Post) 52 Primeau, 16. 53 Newby interview. 54 Taylor interview. 55 Taylor, 258. 56 Ibid. 57 Evans, 70. 58 Interview by Connie Harkins with Orville Pate, October 10, 1997. 59 Ibid. 60 Smith, 2. 61 Evans, 102. 62 Smith, 2. 63 Pate interview. 64 Newby interview.

See Renovated Crespi Estate – The Finest Estate Home in America, The Crespi/Hicks Estate

Most modern architects sneer at eclectic designed European inspired homes. Architecture aficionados also have a general bias towards modern and a disdain for the reputation of generic styles and spaces that are driven by the exterior design. The reaction of the Crespi/Hicks estate is much different. This is a home modern architects, and anyone interested in architecture, love.

 

At Conclusion of 20th Century, AIA Identified Crespi Estate as Architecturally Significant Home

To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the American Institute of Architects, Dallas Chapter, there was a citywide survey of architecturally significant homes by those in the community most involved with art, architecture and design. After a committee of 250 people most knowledgeable about Dallas and architecture nominated significant homes, the selection committee met in the Scott Lyons designed home of Margaret McDermott, the honorary chairman, and reviewed 100 years of Dallas significant homes.

The committee included Deedie Rose representing the Dallas Museum of Art as president of the board of trustees; Nancy Marcus, president of the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture; Bryce Weigand, president of the Dallas Chapter, AIA; James Pratt, FAIA, representing the greater Dallas Planning Council; Rick Brettell representing the Dallas Architecture Forum as its founder; Robert Meckfessel representing Preservation Dallas, Harry Robinson representing the African-American Museum; Bill Booziotis representing the Dallas Architecture Foundation; Emily Summers representing the American Society of Interior Designers, Dallas Chapter; Rita Clements representing the Dallas Historical Society as president, and me as the AIA appointed chairman of the Dallas 50 Significant Homes project.

Surprisingly, the significant homes nominated were very evenly distributed through every decade of the 20th century. All architectural styles were represented with modern homes from every decade receiving much attention. There was one home, however, that everyone was enthralled with and where the reception announcing the significant homes was held – the Crespi/Hicks estate in Preston Hollow.

Modern Architects Laud Crespi/Hicks Estate

Modern architect Bill Booziotis, FAIA, who has designed many modern art galleries and museums, said about the Crespi estate,

Dr. Richard Brettell, who has a Master of Arts in architecture and a Ph.D. in art history from Yale University, and who is the former director of the Dallas Museum of Art and currently the Professor of Aesthetic Studies at the University of Texas at Dallas, said about the Crespi estate,

Texas modern architect Frank Welch, FAIA, was quite taken with the Crespi estate. He said,

James Pratt, FAIA, who has been recognized for his conservation and land planning efforts, along with the modern homes he has designed, said of the Crespi estate,

The bias of the committee was not towards large houses, but for architecture that was compelling, that made a statement, that furthered design and reflected significant homes. While many large houses were quickly dismissed, the Crespi estate enchanted everyone by its proportions, materials, artisanship and its relationship to the site.

The Crespi/Hicks Estate Continues To Embrace Many of the Tenets of Modernism

New York designer Peter Marino, the renovation architect, approached this home in the same way as Maurice Fatio, the Swiss architect who worked primarily in New York and Palm Beach, approached this home. The emphasis remained on proportion, materials, and architecture authentic to its site and style. Peter Marino, who recently designed the Louis Vuitton flagship store in Rome, also approached the project as a modernist, capturing light and creating rooms with real purpose and function.

Rather than expanding the home with a labyrinth of windowless rooms, he took the approach most often seen with modern architects and sited separate structures with specific functions that relate visually to the house, but are not attached to the house.

The pool house, surrounded by manicured lawns and hedgerows with openings for paths to the main house and guest house, relates to all three houses.

The guest house is pushed close to the forested creek, but has a path to the breakfast room and kitchen of the main house. Gardens both separate the structures and tie them together.

Architect David Williams, FAIA, Created the Texas Modern Architectural Style

David Williams is known as the mentor of Texas modern architect O’Neil Ford and for creating the Texas modern style. David Williams goal was to take the modernism of Europe and merge it with the indigenous style, materials and artisanship of the region to create architecture as modern as any project in Europe.

The open floor plans of David Williams’ Texas modern homes are continued with terraces, porches and courtyards. The honesty of the structure and materials used are accentuated by the hand carved detail created on site.

The Crespi Estate Shares Similarities of Approach and Aesthetics With David Williams’ Texas Modern Homes

The Crespi estate was designed just a few years after David Williams, FAIA, originated his breakthrough Texas modern homes. While architect David Williams designed homes rooted in modernism and the indigenous styles of Texas, and Maurice Fatio designed homes rooted in classical European traditions, the two share many similarities in their approach and aesthetics. Both architects emphasized proportion and function. Just as David Williams designed a large magnificent Texas modern home in front of Turtle Creek in University Park, Maurice Fatio selected a site where the Crespi/Hicks estate is placed in front of White Rock creek that runs behind it.

Both architects emphasized terraces, porches, balconies and open courtyards to capture the breezes. David Williams emphasized the honesty of materials and artisanship. He employed Hobbs Ford to carve ornamentation into the structure of the house and make the wrought iron fixtures on site. Maurice Fatio also employed artisans to carve stone and wood on site and had Potter Iron Works come to the site to forge wrought iron for the staircase. While the styles differ, both architects’ work represents uncluttered clean lines.

Crespi/Hicks Estate Preserves Art Deco Underpinning of Era

The great Art Deco and Art Moderne houses were designed around 1936, including one that Maurice Fatio designed in Palm Beach. Maurice Fatio brought elements of Art Moderne to the Crespi Estate. It is fun to see vestiges from that modern period in the main hall chandeliers and the Art Deco bar that the late Lupe Murchison called “the best bar in Dallas.”

The Crespi/Hicks Estate Reflects the Modernity of Its Time in 1939

The Crespi/Hicks estate embraces modern technology. It was the first home in Dallas with central air and heat. It is also a home that is designed with the site and environment in mind. The summer breezes from the southeast sweep down the long hill, across the balconies, loggias and terraces, cooling the home.

Wells have been dug to collect water in ponds to irrigate the lawns, flowering gardens and vegetable gardens. The land, forest and creeks have been protected. Materials that will survive for centuries have been used and renovation preserved the original materials and finishes or they were used in other rooms.

Maurice Fatio Designed a Remarkable Estate Home – Peter Marino Completed the Original Architect’s Intent

The Crespi/Hicks estate emphasizes preservation, advances architectural design in the 21st century, and provides an estate home that embraces the tenets of classicism and modernism.

Huffington Post – The Finest Estate Home in America Found
Architecturally Significant Homes – The Finest Estate Home in America

 

The best modern homes receive attention and awards when they are first designed, continue to influence the architectural landscape, and remain compelling 25 years later. This Preston Hollow modern home designed in 1985 continues to be an example of great architecture in 2010.

Renovation Design of This Contemporary Architectural Achievement

Some architects cannot stand to see any tampering with their original work, but many of the finest and most self-confident architects do enjoy seeing a thoughtful massage of the original design. Materials, technology and client resources change. For example, sometimes an expensive standing seam copper roof has to be cut for budgetary reasons during the original construction, and then a renovation allows it to be reinstated in the design. Modern architecture draws from classic design and explores contemporary thought. Renovation allows the best ideas to survive and the others to be edited.

Gary Cunningham Designs Renovation of His Own Award Winning Architecture

What fun when an architect is invited to revisit one of his or her architectural projects. The renovation stakes are even higher when the original design is iconic, celebrated and lasting. Gary Cunningham not only accepted the invitation to design the renovation of his own work, he accepted the invitation twice from the same client. The first renovation Gary Cunningham designed included the kitchen; the second renovation design Gary Cunningham did on this modern house included the master bathroom.

Successful Renovation is the Result of a Great House, Great Architecture and a Great Client

Here on Northaven the renovation was so successful because the design had been tested by time and was very good. The client has exquisite taste, a good eye and was committed to only accentuating the original design of this modern home inspired by Mies van der Rohe’s unbuilt brick country house. The Gary Cunningham-designed renovation further enhanced the natural light and art lighting and preserved Post Modern elements that are now translated as pure modern. Magnificent pieces of stone were installed in the kitchen that was opened up. The clean lines of Carrara marble contributed to the sleek, modern master bathroom.

Sited on a Peninsula Overlooking Water

Architects love finding a great site and designing a home that reflects the beauty of the land and setting. Architect Gary Cunningham designed this home with windows overlooking the green terrain, and rooms cantilevered over the water. Here the architect explored the site and designed a home fully integrated into the natural beauty of this setting. As a real estate broker it gives me great pleasure to be able to offer for sale a home of this aesthetic quality.

The Success of the Northaven Modern Home Was Followed with Dozens of Additional Citation, Merit and Honor Awards Given by Texas Society of Architects and Dallas AIA

Here are architectural projects designed by Gary Cunningham, FAIA, including commercial buildings, sacred spaces, schools and residences that have received well deserved awards.

Texas Society of Architects Design Awards

1984 14840 Landmark Office Building, Dallas, Texas
1985 Benchmark Office Building, Longview, Texas
1989 Exhibit of Cunningham Architects at the University of Texas at Arlington
1989 Powerhouse, Dallas, Texas
1990 Steak and Ale Corporate Headquarters, Dallas, Texas
1992 Addison Conference and Theatre Center, Addison, Texas
1992 Cistercian Abbey Church, Irving, Texas
1994 4401 Travis Street Apartments, Dallas, Texas
1997 Latorre Residence, Dallas, Texas
2001 Texas Utilities Customer Service Center, Waco, Texas
2002 Casa Caja, Dallas, Texas
2005 Casa Angosta, Richardson, Texas
2005 Pump Station, Highland Park, Texas
2006 Addison Arts & Events District Pavilion, Addison, Texas
2009 House in the Garden (Nearburg Residence), Dallas, Texas

Dallas Chapter of the AIA Design Awards

1984 Benchmark Office Building, Longview, Texas, Merit Award
1984 14840 Landmark Office Building, Dallas, Texas, Merit Award
1987 Exhibit of Cunningham Architects at the University of Texas at Arlington
1988 Sesler House, Dallas, Texas, Citation Award
1989 Power House, Dallas, Texas, Honor Award
1990 Now/Then/Again, Exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas, Merit Award
1990 Grace Lutheran Church, Carrollton, Texas, Merit Award
1992 Addison Conference and Theatre Center, Addison, Texas, Honor Award
1992 Temple Shalom, Epstein Chapel, Dallas, Texas, Citation Award
1993 Cistercian Abbey Church, Irving, Texas, Citation Award
1994 4401 Travis Street Apartments, Dallas, Texas, Merit Award
1995 Prince of Peace Catholic Community, Plano, Texas, Honor Award
1996 Latorre Residence, Dallas, Texas, Merit Award
1998 Cole Avenue Apartments, Dallas, Texas, Merit Award
1998 Healy House, Dallas, Texas, Citation Award
2000 TXU Service Center, Waco, Texas, Merit Award
2000 Dallas International School, Dallas, Texas, Honor Award
2001 Haggerty Art Center, Irving, Texas, Merit Award
2002 Casa Caja, Dallas, Texas, Citation Award
2003 7th Floor Gallery, JFK Museum, Dallas, Texas, Merit Award
2004 Casa Angosta, Richardson, Texas, Merit Award
2004 Addison Arts & Events District Pavilion, Addison, Texas, Honor Award
2008 House on Cedar Hill, Texas, Merit Award
2010 Wimberley Residence, Citation Award

Other Awards

1985 Longview Beautification Award for Benchmark Office Building
1986 Dallas Chapter of AIA, Young Architect of the Year Award
1987 Distinguished Architect of the Year Award, The University of Texas at
Arlington School of Architecture
1989 National Glass Association, Honor Award for the Power House
1989 Delta Sigma Tau Silver Metal Award, Texas Tech University
1989 National Curatorial Award for the Now/Then/Again Exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art
1990 International Association of Lighting Designers Award of Excellence for the Power House
1990 Illuminating Engineering Society Honor Award for the Powerhouse
1991 Illuminating Engineering Society Merit Award for Epstein Chapel
1992 Dallas Theatre Award for The Addison Centre Theatre
1994 International Association of Lighting Designers Award of Excellence for the Cistercian
Abbey Church
1994 Emerging Voices, Architectural League of New York
1995 Young Outstanding Texas Ex, The university of Texas at Austin
2003 Illuminating Engineering Society Merit Award for Sacred Space
2005 Illuminating Engineering Society IIDA Legends Award for Addison Arts & Events District
Pavilion
2006 International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD) Merit Award, House in the Garden

O’Neil Ford Influenced the Timeless Architecture of Scott Lyons and Frank Welch

Why are some modern architectural designs (such as the work of O’Neil Ford, FAIA, Scott Lyons, FAIA, and Frank Welch, FAIA) new, progressive and influential while other modern designs seem trendy and tired at the same time?

The Best Architecture for a Site Creates Timeless Design

Timeless modern architecture is inspired by the site, crafted by the finest artisans, and built using the best technology and materials of the time — those that are familiar as well as technologies and materials that have recently become available. Every era has its achievements from which we build, reinterpret and admire. Great design of any period remains great design.

The Haggerty/Hanley House Designed by O’Neil Ford Draws From Past and Influences Future

The Haggerty/Hanley house that architect O’Neil Ford designed in 1957 is a great example of timeless design. This midcentury Texas modern home draws from Ford’s earlier 1930s Texas modern work as well as that of David Williams, FAIA, which combined elements of European modernism and pioneer houses. This home is artfully situated to emphasize the site and orientation of the home in relationship to the sun much like the first Texas modern home David Williams designed in 1933 on McFarlin Boulevard with views of Turtle Creek. The Haggerty/Hanley home is also considered the best combination of Texas modern architecture and Texas modern art.

O’Neil Ford Designed the Haggerty/Hanley Home Almost As If It Were a Village

Architect O’Neil Ford designed the Haggerty/Hanley home in a much larger scale, one that is common today but rare in Dallas at the time. Taking advantage of the beautiful acreage bordered by a creek, O’Neil Ford designed the home almost as if it were a village, much like the early homes of Texas. It is set down from the street, wrapping around the topography with walls of windows in the living areas closest to the creek.

Even when designing in this larger scale, O’Neil Ford drew from his memory of sketching earlier pioneer homes. O’Neil Ford also still relied on the same artisans like his brother Lynn Ford (who did the metal work and wood carvings on O’Neil Ford’s first modern home) for the architectural details on the Haggerty/Hanley home.

O’Neil Ford’s Haggerty/Hanley 1957 Home Directly Influences Architect Scott Lyons’ 1983 Designed Home and Architect Frank Welch’s 2004 Designed Home

O’Neill Ford

Scott Lyons

Frank Welch

The Haggerty/Hanley home reiterates detail and handcrafted artisanship while creating new volumes and uses of materials that influenced great architects like Scott Lyons and Frank Welch who worked with O’Neil Ford and whose later work reflected Ford’s influence.

These three Texas modern homes by O’Neil Ford, Scott Lyons, and Frank Welch were built over a span of 50 years and yet all remain architecturally current and influential. The beautiful estate area acreage and topography drove the design of each of these homes. All three are approximately 10,000 sf, built with steel frame construction, and designed as a series of attached structures with a significant secondary structure.

The O’Neil Ford Designed Haggerty/Hanley Living Room Has Influenced Architects for Over 50 Years

Architects locally and around the country come to see this midcentury modern Texas home and the living room O’Neil Ford designed. Architects admire and absorb the hand carved open wood screen, the continuous walls of soft Mexican brick, the walls of windows overlooking the lawn and sculpture garden as it descends to the creek, the pitched ceiling that gives balance to the spacious dimensions of the space, and the stick ceiling that acoustically softens the room and brings warmth. The floating wall gives separation without impeding the immense openness of the room.

Architect Scott Lyons Reinterprets and Further Modernizes Design Inspired by O’Neil Ford

In 1983 Scott Lyons was selected to design a home on possibly the most beautiful land in Preston Hollow. Like O’Neil Ford, he submitted the design of this modern home to the landscape. Scott Lyons set the house down from the street with the main living room closest to the deep ravine and spring fed creek. The home expands and cleans up the horizontal axis while still retaining the indigenous qualities of the materials and details. An open wood screen shields and announces the living room from the front door. A stick ceiling is not used as a finish, but an exposed ceiling joint on the pitched ceiling dramatizes the precision in which the house was built. The oversized soft Mexican brick complements the warmth of the cross-cut white oak. The wall of floor-to-ceiling windows wraps around the room, providing views of the creek and small lake beyond the garden. While the house almost disappears when viewed from the street, from inside it affords a spectacular view of the beautiful land on which it is set.

Frank Welch Identifies O’Neil Ford Designed Living Room as Room That Inspires Him

Approximately 50 years after O’Neil Ford designed the living room in the Haggerty/Hanley home, Frank Welch designed the living room for this home in the estate area of Bluffview. A wall of windows looking over the garden, a pitched ceiling with a tight pattern of parallel sticks, a floating wall, and cross-cut white oak finishes add depth and polished texture to the room.

Frank Welch does not mimic the past. Frank Welch designs homes that reflect ideas of the past that he advances with new technology, greater precision, proportions that are perfect, and a design that is fresh, exciting, and will influence generations in the future.

Great architects like O’Neil Ford, Scott Lyons, and Frank Welch have designed modern homes that are perfect for the site, beautifully crafted and articulated, and offering a new vision for future generations.

See more information and photographs on this Scott Lyons architect designed home offered for sale.

Austin stone house becomes available in the same 125-home neighborhood of Mayflower Estates

A spectacular home designed by Highland Park and Preston Hollow architect Hal Yoakum just came on the market, only one estate home away from the Bushes. 

While President Bush bought a good home, if only he could have waited.  This Austin stone home has a similar configuration but with more square footage, and is better sited on more land and is offered at a much lower price than where the Bush home traded.

The home has an informal and rugged feel, with stone or wide plank wood floors.  The 750-square foot informal living room with pecked cypress wood walls and a fireplace as tall as a person, expresses warmth and distinction.

Despite its informality, the home’s proportions and quality of finishes are stately. The 27-foot long dining room can seat 50 for a formal dinner. A master bedroom suite boasts a presidential sized office and equally lavish executive bathroom. The master bathroom has been recently renovated. A wall of windows and door look out to a totally private courtyard framed in green.   

On the second floor are two guest bedrooms and an enormous informal living area, a perfect recreation area.  Like the President’s house, this home has a minimally attached two-story guesthouse.  This one, however, looks over the large swimming pool with a diving rock and extensive gardens.  

This Preston Hollow Home is Larger and on More Land Than President Bush’s Home

The home is somewhat larger than the Bush home, and sits on a considerably larger lot – 1.288 acres – with phenomenal views of the ascending 50 acres of treetops of the two adjacent estates. Offered at $2,695,000, it’s remarkably less expensive than the home the President purchased a few months ago.

One of Original Grand Preston Hollow Houses Designed by Highland Park Architect Hal Yoakum

This Austin stone home designed by Highland Park architect Hal Yoakum is one of the one of the early grand houses built in the Preston Hollow estate area, located right in the heart of Mayflower Estates.  The home’s style and elegance complements the country lane feel of this neighborhood. 

Home Surrounded by Neighboring Lakes, Greenbelts, and Estate Properties

Estate Property buffers view of nearby homes.  Only over a rear garden wall will you see a glimpse of a roof top of a nearby home nested down on a lower perch above the creek and a three acre private greenbelt accessed by a foot bridge. 

 

Across Hollow Way, there’s a stunning view of a small private lake, with swans and ducks, surrounded by expansive lawns and extensive acreage filled with private gardens.  On the other side of the home is one of architect Cole Smith’s favorite homes that he designed. Within this small neighborhood, you have some of the most prominent Dallas families in both large and very subtle homes.

Mayflower Estates Home Exudes Value

This home represents such an excellent example of Mayflower Estates. The place is large, graceful and subtle, with glass windows and doors looking out over what seems like endless pathways, courtyards and small gardens.  For more information on this early estate home with real value go to Featured Listings.

While it has always been counterintuitive, when the economy is down, the best residential real estate projects get better. Homeowners and homebuyers turn from quick, speculative investments to properties with solid, long-term aesthetic and architectural value. Historically the finest architect-designed homes are often built or renovated when the real estate market is depressed. The finest architects, designers, builders, artisans, and materials are available.  Bids are now coming in as much as 20 percent less than last year on architect designed homes. Also, as the demand from speculative builders evaporates, land becomes more available for architect designed homes, and architecturally significant period homes become attractive to renovate, not tear down.

Great houses coming out of the last downturn

 

We saw this in the mid 1990s.  Nationally recognized residences were built including the Antoine Predock designed home in Highland Park on Willowood, the Steven Holl designed home in Preston Hollow on Rockbrook Drive, and the Richard Meier designed home on Preston Road.  Architecturally Significant homes of national importance were also renovated during this period: the former Owsley estate, now the Marcus estate, on Turtle Creek Boulevard in Volk Estates, originally designed by architect John Scudder Adkins, with Bill Booziotis and Peter Marino as the renovation architects; and the former Crespi estate, now the Hicks estate, on Hollow Way in Mayflower Estates, designed by architect Maurice Fatio and with Peter Marino serving as the renovation architect.

Great houses available now

Now, many architecturally significant homes are available at the price of the land. Currently, the best example of this is one of Dallas’ most important modern homes, on Gaywood Road in Mayflower Estates, designed by Scott Lyons on 2.63 acres. Exquisitely built, incorporating the finest materials and craftsmanship, it reflects a Texas modern style with many walls of glass and balconies overlooking the garden, small lake and the private park land of the 15 acre estate property seen across the creek. Reflecting the market, this 9,900 square foot home and 3,800 square foot guesthouse is being offered for sale at approximately the value of the land in this Preston Hollow neighborhood.

Preston Hollow Midcentury Modern

The best and last remaining original owner midcentury modern home on Colhurst in Preston Hollow is another example of a home that can easily be renovated and is being offered at the price of the lot.  This house has an extraordinary pedigree, with Louise Kahn as the interior designer, Richard Benson as the architect and Richard Myrick as the landscape designer.

University Park Midcentury Modern Home

On Wentwood in University Park, we find the home that midcentury modern architect Max Sandfield designed for his own family and will be available at lot value. 

The finest period homes have always been in the greatest jeopardy because of the demands from speculative homebuilders.  Homeowners, in the past, often never had a chance to purchase these architecturally significant homes they loved because homebuilders only needed to know the lot size to quickly buy a home to tear down.

Architecturally Significant Homes Coming on Markets

Housing prices have plummeted – as much as 40% in some U.S. cities – but low tax rates in Texas and strong employment rates are keeping Dallas’ property values surprising strong.  While the Dallas real estate market was shut down for a few months this fall, much like it was for a few months after September 11, 2001, the real estate market started to come back in December with several good properties selling and many exceptional properties coming on the market.