Gregor S. and Elizabeth B. Affleck House

Last updated
Gregor S. and Elizabeth B. Affleck House
Gregor S and Elizabeth B Affleck House Bloomfield Hills MI.JPG
USA Michigan location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Gregor S. and Elizabeth B. Affleck House
Interactive map
Location Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Coordinates 42°35′17″N83°14′59″W / 42.58806°N 83.24972°W / 42.58806; -83.24972
Built1940
Built byHarold Turner
Architect Frank Lloyd Wright
Architectural style Usonian
NRHP reference No. 85003005 [1]
Added to NRHPOctober 3, 1985

The Gregor S. and Elizabeth B. Affleck House, also known as the Affleck House, is a Frank Lloyd Wright designed Usonian home in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, in Metro Detroit. It is one of only about 25 pre-World War II Usonians to be built. [2] It is owned by Lawrence Technological University. [3] The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 3, 1985. [1]

Contents

History

Gregor S. Affleck was born in Chicago and became a chemical engineer. Affleck was familiar with Frank Lloyd Wright's architectural style, having spent much of his youth near Spring Green, Wisconsin, and Wright's family home. Gregor's wife Elizabeth was particularly fond of Wright's Fallingwater, so when the couple wanted to build their own house in 1940, they commissioned Wright to design this house. The site was a unique lot, densely wooded, with no level ground, which allowed Wright to explore and refine his design for a home on sloping ground. The construction was finished in 1941. [2]

The Afflecks later commissioned Wright to construct a second house on the adjoining lot, known as the Pergola House. In 1978, the Affleck House was donated by the family to Lawrence Technological University. The university committed to restoring and preserving the house, [2] and it is used as a teaching resource for the university's College of Architecture and Design faculty and students. [3]

Description

The Affleck House is a Usonian house constructed of brick and cypress. It is sited in a natural amphitheater on a sloping lot. The main entrance opens into an entry foyer, which is connected to a main skylit loggia. A light well in the floor of the loggia opens onto a stream below. The loggia extends into the living/dining space, which is cantilevered out over the small stream. The living room revolves around a large fireplace and is adjoined by the dining area. A small kitchen is a two-story space, with a small stairway leading downward to the lower level bedroom. The main bedroom wing is raised half a story above the loggia, with a hallway/gallery on one side and three bedrooms and two bathrooms. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosenbaum House</span> Historic house in Alabama, United States

The Rosenbaum House is a single-family house designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright and built for Stanley and Mildred Rosenbaum in Florence, Alabama. A noted example of his Usonian house concept, it is the only Wright building in Alabama, and is one of only 26 pre-World War II Usonian houses. Wright scholar John Sergeant called it "the purest example of the Usonian."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theodore Baird Residence</span> Historic house in Massachusetts, United States

The Theodore Baird Residence, also known as Baird House, is a suburban house designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and located at 38 Shays Street in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the only Wright design in Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pope–Leighey House</span> Historic house in Virginia, United States

The Pope–Leighey House, formerly known as the Loren Pope Residence, is a suburban home in Virginia designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The house, which belongs to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, has been relocated twice and sits on the grounds of Woodlawn Plantation, Alexandria, Virginia. Along with the Andrew B. Cooke House and the Luis Marden House, it is one of the three homes in Virginia designed by Wright.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hanna–Honeycomb House</span> Historic house in California, United States

The Hanna–Honeycomb House, also known as simply the Hanna House, located on the Stanford University campus in Stanford, California, United States, was Frank Lloyd Wright's first work in the Bay Area and his first work with non-rectangular structures. The house was chosen by the American Institute of Architects as one of seventeen buildings by the architect to be retained as an example of his contribution to American culture. It was recognized as a National Historic Landmark on June 29, 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerald B. and Beverley Tonkens House</span> Historic house in Ohio, United States

The Gerald B. and Beverley Tonkens House, also known as the Tonkens House, is a single story private residence designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1954. The house was commissioned by Gerald B. Tonkens and his first wife Rosalie. It is located in Amberley Village, a village in Hamilton County, Ohio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gordon House (Silverton, Oregon)</span> Historic house in Oregon, United States

The Gordon House is a residence designed by influential architect Frank Lloyd Wright, now located within the Oregon Garden, in Silverton, Oregon. It is an example of Wright's Usonian vision for America. It is one of the last of the Usonian series that Wright designed as affordable housing for American working class consumers, which—in 1939—were considered to have an annual income of $5,000–6,000. The house is based on a design for a modern home commissioned by Life magazine in 1938.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herbert and Katherine Jacobs First House</span> House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright

Herbert and Katherine Jacobs First House, commonly referred to as Jacobs I, is a single family home located at 441 Toepfer Avenue in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Designed by noted American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, it was constructed in 1937 and is considered by most to be the first Usonian home. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2003. The house and seven other properties by Wright were inscribed on the World Heritage List under the title "The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright" in July 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank J. Baker House</span> Historic house in Illinois, United States

The Frank J. Baker House is a 4,800-square-foot Prairie School style house located at 507 Lake Avenue in Wilmette, Illinois. The house, which was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, was built in 1909, and features five bedrooms, three and a half bathrooms, and three fireplaces. At this point in his career, Wright was experimenting with two-story construction and the T-shaped floor plan. This building was part of a series of T-shaped floor planned buildings designed by Wright, similar in design to Wright's Isabel Roberts House. This home also perfectly embodies Wright's use of the Prairie Style through the use of strong horizontal orientation, a low hanging roof, and deeply expressed overhangs. The house's two-story living room features a brick fireplace, a sloped ceiling, and leaded glass windows along the north wall; it is one of the few remaining two-story interiors with the T-shaped floor plan designed by Wright.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Palmer Residence</span> United States historic place

The William and Mary Palmer House is a house in Ann Arbor, Michigan, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1952. The home was designed for William Palmer, an economics professor at the University of Michigan, and his wife Mary. It sits on three lots at the end of a quiet, dirt road cul-de-sac. The location is near the Nichols Arboretum, and less than a mile (1.2 km) from the university.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stuart Richardson House</span>

The Stuart Richardson House (affectionately named 'Scherzo' by Frank Lloyd Wright) in Glen Ridge, Essex County, New Jersey, United States, was built in 1951 for Stuart Richardson (an actuary) and his wife Elisabeth. The Richardsons, with their two daughters Margot and Edith, moved in on October 23, 1951, and owned the house until 1970. It is one of Wright's "Usonian" homes, designed to be functional houses for people of average means. The primary building construction materials employed in the design of the house were red brick, old growth tidewater cypress wood, and glass on a Cherokee red radiant heated concrete floor mat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suntop Homes</span> House in Ardmore, Pennsylvania

The Suntop Homes, also known under the early name of The Ardmore Experiment, were quadruple residences located in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, and based largely upon the 1935 conceptual Broadacre City model of the minimum houses. The design was commissioned by Otto Tod Mallery of the Tod Company in 1938 in an attempt to set a new standard for the entry-level housing market in the United States and to increase single-family dwelling density in the suburbs. In cooperation with Frank Lloyd Wright, the Tod Company secured a patent for the unique design, intending to sell development rights for Suntops across the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maynard Buehler House</span> Historic house in California, United States

The Maynard Buehler House in Orinda, California is a 4,000 square feet Usonian home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1948 for Katherine Z. "Katie" and Maynard P. Buehler. Since 2016 the house has been used as a venue for weddings, after being featured in Vogue magazine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles L. Manson House</span> House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright

The Charles L. and Dorothy Manson home is a single-family house located at 1224 Highland Park Boulevard in Wausau, Wisconsin. Designated a National Historic Landmark, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 5, 2016, reference Number, 16000149.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">E. Clarke and Julia Arnold House</span> Historic house in Wisconsin, United States

The E. Clarke and Julia Arnold House is a Frank Lloyd Wright designed Usonian home in Columbus, Wisconsin, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert and Edith Adelman House</span> Historic house in Wisconsin, United States

The Albert and Edith Adelman House is a mid-scale home in Fox Point, Wisconsin designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1948.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Randall Fawcett House</span> House in Los Banos, California

The Randall Fawcett House is a Frank Lloyd Wright–designed Usonian home in Los Banos, California. The home was designed in 1955 and completed in 1961.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duey and Julia Wright House</span> Historic house in Wisconsin, United States

Duey and Julia Wright House is a Frank Lloyd Wright designed Usonian home that was constructed on a bluff above the Wisconsin River in Wausau, Wisconsin in 1958. Viewed from the sky, the house resembles a musical note. The client owned a Wausau music store, and later founded the broadcasting company Midwest Communications through his ownership of WRIG radio. The home also has perforated boards on the clerestories "represent the rhythm of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony Allegro con brio first theme." A photograph showing the perforated panels is in the web page on the National Register application.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goetsch–Winckler House</span> United States historic place

The Goetsch–Winckler House is a building that was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, built in 1940. It is located at 2410 Hulett Road, Okemos, Michigan. The house is an example of Wright's later Usonian architectural style, and it is considered to be one of the most elegant. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995 and is #95001423.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul J. and Ida Trier House</span> Historic house in Iowa, United States

The Paul J. and Ida Trier House is a historic building located in Johnston, Iowa, United States. It is a Frank Lloyd Wright designed Usonian home that was constructed in 1958. It was the last of seven Wright Usonians built in Iowa. While it is now located in a residential area, it was constructed in an area surrounded by rural farmland. The Trier house is a variation on the 1953 Exhibition House at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. The north wing of the house was designed by Taliesin Associates and built in 1967. It was originally the carport, which was enclosed for a playroom. The present carport on the front and an extension of the shop was added at the same time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tracy House</span> Historic house in Washington, United States

The Tracy House also known as the Bill and Elizabeth Tracy House is a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Usonian Automatic home that was constructed in Normandy Park, Washington, a suburb near Seattle, in 1956.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 4 White Gholz, Mary (March 8, 1985), National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form: Gregor S. and Elizabeth B. Affleck House
  3. 1 2 "The Affleck House". Lawrence Technological University.