Douglas House (Harbor Springs, Michigan)

Last updated
James and Jean Douglas House
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Location3490 S. Lake Shore Dr., Friendship Township, Michigan
Coordinates 45°30′4″N85°5′51″W / 45.50111°N 85.09750°W / 45.50111; -85.09750 Coordinates: 45°30′4″N85°5′51″W / 45.50111°N 85.09750°W / 45.50111; -85.09750
Built1971 (1971)
Architect Richard Meier
Architectural style Modern
NRHP reference # 16000232 [1]
Added to NRHPMay 3, 2016

The James and Jean Douglas House (or just Douglas House) is a residence located at 3490 South Lake Shore Drive on the shore of Lake Michigan in Friendship Township near Harbor Springs, Michigan.

Lake Michigan One of the Great Lakes of North America

Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third-largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that of Lake Huron through the wide Straits of Mackinac, giving it the same surface elevation as its easterly counterpart; the two are technically a single lake.

Friendship Township, Michigan Civil township in Michigan, United States

Friendship Township is a civil township of Emmet County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 844 at the 2000 census.

Harbor Springs, Michigan City in Michigan, United States

Harbor Springs is a city and resort community in Emmet County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,194 at the 2010 census.

Contents

History

In 1965, renowned architect Richard Meier was commissioned to design the Frederick J. Smith House in Darien, Connecticut. The house was completed in 1967 and featured on the cover of a magazine, where it was seen by James and Jean Douglas of Grand Rapids, Michigan. [2] The Douglases contacted Meier and asked him to create a similar design in northern Michigan. Planning for the house began in 1971; the original location chosen was within an upscale gated community. However, the white color of Meier's design was rejected by the community. Rather than compromise on the color, the Douglases found another lot, nearly unbuildable due to its steep slope. [3]

Richard Meier American architect

Richard Meier is an American abstract artist and architect, whose geometric designs make prominent use of the color white. A winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1984, Meier has designed several iconic buildings including the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art, the Getty Center in Los Angeles, and San Jose City Hall.

Frederick J. Smith House

The Smith House is a work of modern architecture designed by Richard Meier, a well-known architect born in 1934 who led the avant-garde modern architecture movement of the 1960s. The Smith House was planned starting in 1965 and completed in 1967 in Darien, Connecticut, and overlooks the Long Island Sound from the Connecticut coast. The 2,800 square-foot home has been featured in numerous books and has won various prestigious awards.

Darien, Connecticut Town in Connecticut, United States

Darien is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States 37 miles northeast of New York City. With a population of 20,732 for the 2010 census and a land area of just under 13 square miles, it is the smallest town on Connecticut's "Gold Coast".. It also has the youngest population of any non-college town in Connecticut and has a high rate of marriage. Darien is one of the wealthiest communities in the U.S.; listed at #2 on CNN Money's list of "top-earning towns" in the United States as of 2010. Bloomberg's 2019 "America's 100 Richest Places" ranking placed Darien in the top 10, with an average household income of $341,090.

With a new location chosen construction began and was completed in 1973 after a three-year construction period. When Meier furnished the house for his clients, Jim and Jean Douglas, he designed some of the furniture himself and also used designs by Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe. [4]

Le Corbusier Swiss-French architect, designer, urbanist, and writer

Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, known as Le Corbusier, was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, writer, and one of the pioneers of what is now called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930. His career spanned five decades, and he designed buildings in Europe, Japan, India, and North and South America.

In 2007, the American Institute of Architects listed the Douglas House as one of the top 150 structures on its "America's Favorite Architecture" list. [5]

American Institute of Architects Professional association for architects

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to support the architecture profession and improve its public image. The AIA also works with other members of the design and construction team to help coordinate the building industry.

"America's Favorite Architecture" is a list of buildings and other structures identified as the most popular works of architecture in the United States.

In 2016, the Douglas House was added to the National Register of Historic Places. [6] The house has remained intact, with no additions or modifications to the physical structure, and no changes to room uses or layouts. [3]

Description

The Douglas House is located on a very steep slope overlooking the lake. It is a four-story, bright white, Modern structure with a flat roof clad with redwood. The overall form of the house is a large rectangle set on end. [3] The rear wall of the house, which faces the lake, makes extensive use of glass to provide maximum views. The house is built of redwood (vertical Tongue and Groove boards) and is almost completely white. [7] The foundation consists of a series of pilings hammered into the earth.

Modern architecture broad type of architecture

Modern architecture, or modernist architecture was based upon new and innovative technologies of construction, particularly the use of glass, steel and reinforced concrete; the idea that form should follow function (→functionalism); an embrace of minimalism; and a rejection of ornament. It emerged in the first half of the 20th century and became dominant after World War II until the 1980s, when it was gradually replaced as the principal style for institutional and corporate buildings by postmodern architecture.

The entrance on the upland side of the house is on the top floor, via a bridge. Stairways were located in the corners of the structure so that they would not block views or sunlight. [4] [7] The fourth floor serves as the home's entry from the bridge, and contains a large exterior deck space; another smaller deck space is above the fourth floor. Below, the third floor contains three bedrooms, a full bath and an open, built-in work desk overlooking the second-floor living room. The second floor contains the living room, a wet bar and the master bedroom. The first floor contains the dining room, kitchen, laundry and another bedroom with a full bath. A sub-level beneath the first floor contains HVAC, water/electrical services and storage. [3]

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References

  1. ↑ National Register of Historic Places Program: Douglas, James and Jean, House, National Park Service
  2. ↑ James and Jean Douglas House, Michigan Modern
  3. 1 2 3 4 Garon Gopigian (April 12, 2015), National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Douglas, James and Jean, House (PDF)
  4. 1 2 Adelyn Perez, AD Classics: Douglas House / Richard Meier, Arch Daily website.
  5. ↑ "America's Favorite Architecture". American Institute of Architects. 2007. Archived from the original on 2011-05-10.
  6. ↑ "The Douglas House Added to National Register of Historic Places" Architect Magazine.
  7. 1 2 Drueding, Meghan (Jan–Feb 2003). "Dress White: Douglas House, Harbor Springs, Mich., 1971-1973". Residential Architect.
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