Dallas Architecture Blog discusses Modern architecture and Mid Century Modern
Homes, Dallas Neighborhoods, Dallas Real Estate and the Aesthetics of the City.

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.

Daria and Daria Place, the streets that will be gated off from the public, for the George and Laura Bush home, have long been the forgotten streets of the Preston Hollow estate area.  The value of the land on Daria and Daria Place as indicated fairly accurately by the Dallas County Appraisal District is approximately one million dollars an acre.  This is considerably lower than the $2.5 million to $3 million an acre that Preston Hollow lots have recently sold for in Preston Hollow.

Reasons Why Land Prices on President Bush’s Street Have Been So Low

There are several reasons the prices are so much lower on the “Darias” – short dead end streets – than on the other streets of the very desirable neighborhood of Mayflower Estates or in the general Preston Hollow estate area.

Daria Close to Tollway

Daria and Daria Place are right next to the Tollway which historically is a less desirable place to live than next to a meadow, forest or lake or in areas that are not associated with noise and pollution.

Public School at Entrance of Daria

Schools within walking distance of a home can be an asset to a neighborhood, especially if the school is in Highland Park.  However, in the estate area, where a large number of children attend elite Dallas private schools, a public school is mostly associated with the cars, buses, and noise, it contributes to the immediate neighbors.

Daria Place Not Intended for Mansions

The Daria lots were carved out of the back of the adjacent estate property over 50 years ago.  Large lots accommodated substantial houses but this development was never intended for significant estate homes or architect-designed homes that are so often found in the other parts of Mayflower Estates and Preston Hollow. 

Why the President Bush Gates Change the Dynamic, Focus, and Desirability of the Neighborhood

No matter where President and Mrs. Bush might have purchased a home, the value of the homes around it would have gone up.  The President Bush gates on Daria compound the escalation in land prices the Bushes would normally bring to a street.  The Bush gates on Daria change the impression of the street and force people to re-evaluate their previous impressions of Daria and Daria Place.

Why Neighborhood Gates Create So Much Value

Homebuyers like the privacy, security, and exclusivity gated communities provide.  Gated neighborhoods are rare in older established neighborhoods because gated neighborhoods require developers to acquire enough land to create private streets that are owned by the homeowners association.  As a result, there are only a few gated neighborhoods in Preston Hollow.

Los Arboles is Most Prestigious Gated Neighborhood in Preston Hollow

The most prestigious gated neighborhood in Preston Hollow is Los Arboles, shown above, which enjoys magnificent estate homes on one-acre lots, small lakes and winding streets. Glen Lakes is another prestigious gated community with lakes and smaller lots.

 There is little opportunity for new gated neighborhoods because golf courses and all the other low hanging fruit for developers has already been bought up for development.  Now it almost takes a presidential decree to obtain permission to put up gates on a public street.  This limited supply of gated neighborhoods is the reason for the sales success of one-acre lots in the new gated development at the intersection of Royal Lane and Inwood Roads.  This 30 acres of land had originally been assembled at $1,000,000 an acre as an estate property for Kenny Troutt.  He sold it to developers who then gated the neighborhood and sold $3 million one-acre lots to spec builders who are offering homes for sale up to $11,500,000.

Real Estate Community Slow to Recognize Positive Change in Neighborhoods

One reason that the land prices on President Bush’s street and neighborhood will go up so rapidly is that the real estate community is usually behind buyers in recognizing the real value of a neighborhood that has had positive change.  After years of dismissing or ignoring a neighborhood, it is hard for real estate agents to then look at the neighborhood objectively or recommend it to clients.  As a result, it often takes years for the real estate community to change their perception of a neighborhood. 

University Park Neighborhood Close to Central Expressway

This was true on the University Park blocks close to Central Expressway.  These blocks suffered from the perception of Central Expressway noise, pollution and one-story from rent houses.  The prices on these blocks remained low for a long time after Central Expressway had been lowered, a sound wall constructed, small linear parks installed along the wall and many of the rent houses replaced by very nice two-story homes.  Eventually the homes in this new lovely environment gained parity with other University Park locations. 

Turtle Creek Park

Another example of the real estate community hanging on to old impressions is the Turtle Creek Park neighborhood.  The prices of this Turtle Creek neighborhood were low because the real estate community associated the neighborhood with trains running along the Katy Trail instead of joggers on the Katy Trail that replaced the railroad tracks.

Cochran Chapel

Estate homes and estate lots that were also discounted on Cochran Chapel because this street was on the west side of Midway even thought it was just as convenient to downtown, the private schools and as beautiful as Bluffview found on the east side of Midway.

Highland Park Acreage Addition

Even the prices of the Acreage Addition in Highland Park lagged behind the rest of Highland Park because it was on the northern boundary of Dallas.  Eventually these beautiful homes on elevated lots commanded as much or more than the rest of Highland Park as buyers recognized the beauty of the land, and became more aware of the spectacular homes and neighborhoods in Dallas that had become so popular adjacent to the Acreage Addition.  A whole new perception of Dallas benefitted all of Highland Park, especially the Acreage Addition. 

President Bush Gates Will Accelerate Change in Perception of Daria Place

For years the real estate community has dismissed Daria Place as being too far north, not in Preston Hollow, too close to the Tollway, having out of date houses, too close to a public school and difficult to find.  All of these perceptions will change as people will take a fresh look at the gated neighborhood for the home of President and Mrs. Bush.

President Bush Gates Will Change Perception of Tollway

While the homes on Daria and Daria Place will still be close to the Tollway, once the gates are installed the neighborhood will be seen in a new and more favorable light.  All of a sudden it will occur to people that large Tollway sound walls have been installed, reflecting noise away from the homes on Daria.  Current emission standards have eliminated much of the previous haze that hung over the street and nearby homes.  Neighborhood gates also have a way of making people forget about traffic.  The gated development, The Creeks of Preston Hollow,  at Inwood and Royal is a good example.  The traffic at this busy intersection of Royal and Inwood is still just as close, but somehow a gated neighborhood makes a person feel removed from any unpleasantness of the world around them and are willing to buy a $10, 000,000 home.

Modest Houses on Daria Will Help Accelerate Increase of Land Prices on President Bush’s Street

Land prices go up more rapidly in neighborhoods where there are low contributing values to the existing structures.  This allows for the rapid turnover of the modest houses that are replaced by expensive estate homes.  Homeowners much prefer building or buying an estate home in a neighborhood that already has estate homes or where there is an expectation that the original modest neighborhood homes will soon be replaced with expensive estate homes.

President and Mrs. Bush Moving to Daria Place Will Accelerate Objective Look At Real Land Values on this Gated Street in Preston Hollow

An objective look reveals Daria and Daria Place are located in Mayflower Estates, the most prestigious neighborhood in Preston Hollow; the one-acre lots on these short streets are adjacent to the 15 acre Phillips estate and the 25 acre Hicks estate, the most expensive and important estate home in Dallas; the existing Daria houses valued at $1 million are way under the current price of $2.5 million – $3 million that the  Preston Hollow one-acre estate lots are currently selling for, making it relatively easy to purchase and tear them down for new estate homes; and the neighborhood benefits from President George Bush and Laura Bush being a Daria Place neighbor.  Sure, there are some people who have an aversion to Republicans, but there are still several million people in the Dallas area who would enjoy being neighbors of George and Laura Bush.

With the Gates, Lots on President Bush’s Gated Street Will be Worth $2,500,000 to $3,000,000

In the last month, estate lots in Preston Hollow have sold for $2.5 million to $3 million.  The location, exclusivity and prestige associated with Mayflower Estates and President Bush will bring lot values up to at least the lot values found in the other prime Preston Hollow neighborhoods.