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Joyce ResidenceCunningham ResidenceCook ResidenceSelected Built Work #4Selected Built Work #5Selected Built Work #6Selected Built Work #7Selected Built Work #8Selected Built Work #9
Joyce Residence: Snyder, Oklahoma, 1959-60’s
The clients were a couple who owned a granite company overlooking the plains of Southwestern Oklahoma, and the site is a granite ledge 25 feet above an expanse of farmland, near the quarry. Sweeping views on all sides suggest the omnidirectional plan. Much of the pedestal of the house is granite masonry with the slabs cut and sized in the granite works. Cullets of waste glass are embedded with the granite. Great overhangs protect the glass from summer sun while allowing most of the winter sun to heat the granite floor. A wing for a carport, porch and terrace were originally designed to anchor the house to the rocky slope. Interior structural timbers came from an old school house. Welded black iron pipe forms a structural rigidity and design for the stairwell at the center of the house. A platform of random granite slabs establishes a base for the house, extending beyond the exterior walls on all sides to form a terrace. A sloping apron at the periphery eases transition to the natural rock. Low pyramids of blue-green glass cullets are at the base of the window walls with a taller pyramid of cullets in the central pool.
The house has two floors. The lower floor consists of a kitchen, dining area and living. the second level with bedrooms, bath and study. The octagon plan, the radial stiffening partitions and deflecting shapes give this house uncommon stability on a site exposed to the high winds of Oklahoma. The walls radiating from the center on both floors provide space both for furniture placement on the lower floor and for privacy on the second. Each floor consists of one continuous area that can he closed off or opened up with folding partition walls. Frozen downspouts are avoided by the dramatic rainspill that swoops down and directs rainwater away from the house.
Windows surround the lower floor on the east, south and west. Each upper floor window features its own exterior “hood” which provides shade and reduces glare. The “pyramid” on top houses the furnace and air conditioner. There is no need for curtains or shades in the house as the sun seldom hits the glass in the summer but shines in on it in the winter, making it easy to heat. Though the lower floor is walled with glass, the client reported that their heating bill was the lowest in their area. Despite only about 2,000 square feet, the client reported that as many as 40 people have gathered comfortably in the openness of the lower floor.
A large collection of stained glass windows, porcelains, Victorian and Swedish antique furniture and carved wooden pieces is incorporated into the house. Antique woodwork marks the entrance to a dressing/bathroom and relates to the heavily carved bed. Personal objects help us recover experience associated with the object, and when integrated with architecture, provide needed energy, dissonance and contrast.
(Photograph by Julius Shulman before the granite base, carport extending to the rear of the house with a two story screened porch and storm shelter were to be added)
Cunningham Residence: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 1962
The primary spaces of the Cunningham House, overlooking a golf course, are recessed into a slope providing a sense of security and privacy. At the same time a great roof sweeps out to the view in an expression of shelter and aspiration. Free-standing, vine covered ornamental trellises and brick piers facing the golf course allow the interior to be enlivened by flecks and rays from the setting sun, addressing the client’s request for indirect sources of warm light. The roof extension and orientation of the house protects the vines from most of Oklahoma’s ice storms. Vertical rows of dark umber brick headers are placed in a field of common red brick selected by the client. These carry the color of the umber stained roof soffits into the walls and make regular counterpoint with irregular cream-colored flash marks on the brick. The curves of the soffit rhythmically modulate the interiors, which are richly three dimensional. In contrast, street and side facades are neutral in deference to the neighborhood.
The Cunningham Residence is further described in Herb Greene’s “Mind and Image.”
Cook House: Louisville, Kentucky, 1977 (with Grossman, Martin and Chapman, Architects)
The Cook House has two main and four intermediate levels that follow hillside contours and descends to a south view of a wooded stream. Light wood trusses span 28 feet to permit free flowing space requested by the clients. Visitors enter under a trellis and look through the dining room to a ramp and trees beyond. The ramp connects the living, dining and kitchen level with a ground level terrace. A cantilevered roof over a cantilevered porch projects into the trees and becomes a waterfall during rains. The deep overhangs and horizontal soffits on the south are surfaced in rough-sawn cypress to soften the light. Interior ceiling heights are modulated but kept low to reduce heating and cooling loads.
Clerestories admit light to the gallery below. In the kitchen, overhead members contain lighting and allow for hanging cooking utensils and plants. The porch is seen through sliding windows. The kitchen/ family room has an east-facing greenhouse and adjoins a cantilevered porch conceived as a possible play room for young children. Seating along the south wall of the living room serves double duty as a buffet table. The west wall of the living-lounge area steps back in planes to accommodate the study and master bedroom while echoing wood surfaced forms in the ceiling.
A “historic wall” and storage feature, 50 feet long, divides living spaces from a circulation gallery. Fragments, cornices and molding from a house the owner grew up in are reconstituted to accommodate antiques, pictures and mementos. Horizontal teak strips alternate with oak paneling to match adjoining floors. On the back of the wall are mirrors which reflect the view of the trees.
Cook House: Louisville, Kentucky, 1977 (with Grossman, Martin and Chapman, Architects)
The Cook House has two main and four intermediate levels that follow hillside contours and descends to a south view of a wooded stream. Light wood trusses span 28 feet to permit free flowing space requested by the clients. Visitors enter under a trellis and look through the dining room to a ramp and trees beyond. The ramp connects the living, dining and kitchen level with a ground level terrace. A cantilevered roof over a cantilevered porch projects into the trees and becomes a waterfall during rains. The deep overhangs and horizontal soffits on the south are surfaced in rough-sawn cypress to soften the light. Interior ceiling heights are modulated but kept low to reduce heating and cooling loads.
Clerestories admit light to the gallery below. In the kitchen, overhead members contain lighting and allow for hanging cooking utensils and plants. The porch is seen through sliding windows. The kitchen/ family room has an east-facing greenhouse and adjoins a cantilevered porch conceived as a possible play room for young children. Seating along the south wall of the living room serves double duty as a buffet table. The west wall of the living-lounge area steps back in planes to accommodate the study and master bedroom while echoing wood surfaced forms in the ceiling.
A “historic wall” and storage feature, 50 feet long, divides living spaces from a circulation gallery. Fragments, cornices and molding from a house the owner grew up in are reconstituted to accommodate antiques, pictures and mementos. Horizontal teak strips alternate with oak paneling to match adjoining floors. On the back of the wall are mirrors which reflect the view of the trees.
Cook House: Louisville, Kentucky, 1977 (with Grossman, Martin and Chapman, Architects)
The Cook House has two main and four intermediate levels that follow hillside contours and descends to a south view of a wooded stream. Light wood trusses span 28 feet to permit free flowing space requested by the clients. Visitors enter under a trellis and look through the dining room to a ramp and trees beyond. The ramp connects the living, dining and kitchen level with a ground level terrace. A cantilevered roof over a cantilevered porch projects into the trees and becomes a waterfall during rains. The deep overhangs and horizontal soffits on the south are surfaced in rough-sawn cypress to soften the light. Interior ceiling heights are modulated but kept low to reduce heating and cooling loads.
Clerestories admit light to the gallery below. In the kitchen, overhead members contain lighting and allow for hanging cooking utensils and plants. The porch is seen through sliding windows. The kitchen/ family room has an east-facing greenhouse and adjoins a cantilevered porch conceived as a possible play room for young children. Seating along the south wall of the living room serves double duty as a buffet table. The west wall of the living-lounge area steps back in planes to accommodate the study and master bedroom while echoing wood surfaced forms in the ceiling.
A “historic wall” and storage feature, 50 feet long, divides living spaces from a circulation gallery. Fragments, cornices and molding from a house the owner grew up in are reconstituted to accommodate antiques, pictures and mementos. Horizontal teak strips alternate with oak paneling to match adjoining floors. On the back of the wall are mirrors which reflect the view of the trees.
Cook House: Louisville, Kentucky, 1977 (with Grossman, Martin and Chapman, Architects)
The Cook House has two main and four intermediate levels that follow hillside contours and descends to a south view of a wooded stream. Light wood trusses span 28 feet to permit free flowing space requested by the clients. Visitors enter under a trellis and look through the dining room to a ramp and trees beyond. The ramp connects the living, dining and kitchen level with a ground level terrace. A cantilevered roof over a cantilevered porch projects into the trees and becomes a waterfall during rains. The deep overhangs and horizontal soffits on the south are surfaced in rough-sawn cypress to soften the light. Interior ceiling heights are modulated but kept low to reduce heating and cooling loads.
Clerestories admit light to the gallery below. In the kitchen, overhead members contain lighting and allow for hanging cooking utensils and plants. The porch is seen through sliding windows. The kitchen/ family room has an east-facing greenhouse and adjoins a cantilevered porch conceived as a possible play room for young children. Seating along the south wall of the living room serves double duty as a buffet table. The west wall of the living-lounge area steps back in planes to accommodate the study and master bedroom while echoing wood surfaced forms in the ceiling.
A “historic wall” and storage feature, 50 feet long, divides living spaces from a circulation gallery. Fragments, cornices and molding from a house the owner grew up in are reconstituted to accommodate antiques, pictures and mementos. Horizontal teak strips alternate with oak paneling to match adjoining floors. On the back of the wall are mirrors which reflect the view of the trees.
Cook House: Louisville, Kentucky, 1977 (with Grossman, Martin and Chapman, Architects)
The Cook House has two main and four intermediate levels that follow hillside contours and descends to a south view of a wooded stream. Light wood trusses span 28 feet to permit free flowing space requested by the clients. Visitors enter under a trellis and look through the dining room to a ramp and trees beyond. The ramp connects the living, dining and kitchen level with a ground level terrace. A cantilevered roof over a cantilevered porch projects into the trees and becomes a waterfall during rains. The deep overhangs and horizontal soffits on the south are surfaced in rough-sawn cypress to soften the light. Interior ceiling heights are modulated but kept low to reduce heating and cooling loads.
Clerestories admit light to the gallery below. In the kitchen, overhead members contain lighting and allow for hanging cooking utensils and plants. The porch is seen through sliding windows. The kitchen/ family room has an east-facing greenhouse and adjoins a cantilevered porch conceived as a possible play room for young children. Seating along the south wall of the living room serves double duty as a buffet table. The west wall of the living-lounge area steps back in planes to accommodate the study and master bedroom while echoing wood surfaced forms in the ceiling.
A “historic wall” and storage feature, 50 feet long, divides living spaces from a circulation gallery. Fragments, cornices and molding from a house the owner grew up in are reconstituted to accommodate antiques, pictures and mementos. Horizontal teak strips alternate with oak paneling to match adjoining floors. On the back of the wall are mirrors which reflect the view of the trees.
Cook House: Louisville, Kentucky, 1977 (with Grossman, Martin and Chapman, Architects)
The Cook House has two main and four intermediate levels that follow hillside contours and descends to a south view of a wooded stream. Light wood trusses span 28 feet to permit free flowing space requested by the clients. Visitors enter under a trellis and look through the dining room to a ramp and trees beyond. The ramp connects the living, dining and kitchen level with a ground level terrace. A cantilevered roof over a cantilevered porch projects into the trees and becomes a waterfall during rains. The deep overhangs and horizontal soffits on the south are surfaced in rough-sawn cypress to soften the light. Interior ceiling heights are modulated but kept low to reduce heating and cooling loads.
Clerestories admit light to the gallery below. In the kitchen, overhead members contain lighting and allow for hanging cooking utensils and plants. The porch is seen through sliding windows. The kitchen/ family room has an east-facing greenhouse and adjoins a cantilevered porch conceived as a possible play room for young children. Seating along the south wall of the living room serves double duty as a buffet table. The west wall of the living-lounge area steps back in planes to accommodate the study and master bedroom while echoing wood surfaced forms in the ceiling.
A “historic wall” and storage feature, 50 feet long, divides living spaces from a circulation gallery. Fragments, cornices and molding from a house the owner grew up in are reconstituted to accommodate antiques, pictures and mementos. Horizontal teak strips alternate with oak paneling to match adjoining floors. On the back of the wall are mirrors which reflect the view of the trees.
Cook House: Louisville, Kentucky, 1977 (with Grossman, Martin and Chapman, Architects)
The Cook House has two main and four intermediate levels that follow hillside contours and descends to a south view of a wooded stream. Light wood trusses span 28 feet to permit free flowing space requested by the clients. Visitors enter under a trellis and look through the dining room to a ramp and trees beyond. The ramp connects the living, dining and kitchen level with a ground level terrace. A cantilevered roof over a cantilevered porch projects into the trees and becomes a waterfall during rains. The deep overhangs and horizontal soffits on the south are surfaced in rough-sawn cypress to soften the light. Interior ceiling heights are modulated but kept low to reduce heating and cooling loads.
Clerestories admit light to the gallery below. In the kitchen, overhead members contain lighting and allow for hanging cooking utensils and plants. The porch is seen through sliding windows. The kitchen/ family room has an east-facing greenhouse and adjoins a cantilevered porch conceived as a possible play room for young children. Seating along the south wall of the living room serves double duty as a buffet table. The west wall of the living-lounge area steps back in planes to accommodate the study and master bedroom while echoing wood surfaced forms in the ceiling.
A “historic wall” and storage feature, 50 feet long, divides living spaces from a circulation gallery. Fragments, cornices and molding from a house the owner grew up in are reconstituted to accommodate antiques, pictures and mementos. Horizontal teak strips alternate with oak paneling to match adjoining floors. On the back of the wall are mirrors which reflect the view of the trees.