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Ignorance Is Bliss


domus48

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Another William Floyd lost to the ages: http://memorialbendarchitecture.com/12931but.htm

William Floyd designed house at 12931 Butterfly was quietly demolished by Ambush Demolition a week or so ago. A real pity this one, rarely do you find a house possessing architectural significance as well as occupant provenance – Gil Thweatt/Partner @ Welton Becket Associates and 3DI.

Welton Becket Associates – Los Angles based – was responsible for many significant mid-century commercial buildings including Disney World’s Contemporary Resort and Capitol Tower in Hollywood .

As you will see in the Memorial Bend Site listing, the property also had been published. This sort of documentation and credentials are a gold mine with respect to submitting for a historic designation… unfortunately, it appears the owners/buyers had little compunction with respect to recognizing this properties historic significance. Pity.

And you can pretty much guess correctly what will take it’s place.

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Was this a private sale or did anyone know it was for sale? We never did a mod of the month there did we?

Looking at the plans, it seems like a very cute and efficient (small) Eichler-like house with only one bathroom. The coolest bedroom for me is the one with the sliders out to the patio, but that bedroom is actually smaller so I assume it's not the master. I can't tell if the back bedrooms have any doors to the outside, but it's not likely. Is that photo on the the site the only recent photo?

OK... just read the Memorial Bend site. Someone had already made the patio into another room, which makes it a tough sell to a restorer unless they want to rip it out to get the patio back. The loss of the house is very tough, and I never take that lightly as you know, but it would probably have been quite an ordeal to restore it, don't you think?

Houses like this were so great and people did so much to mess with them over the years! There's a Floyd down the street from me that had a workshop addition put onto the back. I don't know what will happen with that house in the future, but it's very Memorial Bend like.

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"Was this a private sale or did anyone know it was for sale? We never did a mod of the month there did we?"

Believe this was a "private sale" as I walk the neighborhood weekly and never noted this house as for sale -- such would have triggered the MOTM switch in my noggin.

"Looking at the plans, it seems like a very cute and efficient (small) Eichler-like house with only one bathroom."

One bath is a tough sell in any scenario... adding a bath is a tidy sum but the end result is enhanced property value.

"Someone had already made the patio into another room, which makes it a tough sell to a restorer unless they want to rip it out to get the patio back. The loss of the house is very tough, and I never take that lightly as you know, but it would probably have been quite an ordeal to restore it, don't you think?"

Word on the street is that the owners were not sensitive to the homes architectural qualities... regardless any renovation effort would likely have been an expensive proposition. But then, any renovation of a home from this period is.

"Houses like this were so great and people did so much to mess with them over the years! There's a Floyd down the street from me that had a workshop addition put onto the back. I don't know what will happen with that house in the future, but it's very Memorial Bend like."

There's always hope that the right someone will come along and do what is correct -- in the case of the house near you. As for 12931, the best we can hope for is a architectural solution sensitive to the surrounding context... yes, I'm making a joke.

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michael brichford took the photo of 12931 in the very early part of this decade. i don't recall the house changing much from then.

on a more positive note - the new house going up in the bend at the corner of the beltway and boheme will be a mod - and though i think butterfly roofs are a rather foolish solution - the enthusiasm is appreciated.

in memorial plaza on kimberly between britmoore and electra there's a second story addition going up on an existing mod on the south side of the street. at first glance the composition appears awkward, but we'll see. so far judging from the new roof line there's an attempt to respect the architecture. it will at least be an improvement over the two story addition tacked on to the back of 12938 hansel.

that is a disappointment about mods - - that minimal machine aesthetic frequently does not lend itself well to additions.

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"That is a disappointment about mods - - that minimal machine aesthetic frequently does not lend itself well to additions."

I would argue that most homes do not lend themselves well to additions -- especially an addition that does not involve an architect or designer who's attuned to the overall home design. Lot size is a primary driver so the general solution is to go vertical -- this assumes that a reworking of the interior of the house -- for an improved machine -- is not explored first. If the vertical addition is opted for -- as it most often is -- then at least a roof line that mimics that of the original home should be strongly considered.

Perhaps the best approach is to render an addition to a Modern home as separate and distinct with an assertive nod to contemporary modern -- again, a sensitive architect or designer should be engaged to render this viable. The unfortunate aspect of the vertical addition (and two story homes in a predominately single story neighborhood) is the potential loss of privacy to neighbors. Which of course does not matter to the two story home owner.

I share the hope that the addition to the Memorial Bend home on Kimberly will be in keeping with the original architecture... but as a long-time cynic, I suspect it will not. We'll see.

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that part of kimberly is actually in memorial plaza, which was developed shortly after memorial bend. most of the houses are traditional, but there's a scattering of mods. kimberly there is rather unique because of a stretch where all the houses are mods. for now most of those mods have a twin in memorial bend.

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  • 2 weeks later...

that part of kimberly is actually in memorial plaza, which was developed shortly after memorial bend. most of the houses are traditional, but there's a scattering of mods. kimberly there is rather unique because of a stretch where all the houses are mods. for now most of those mods have a twin in memorial bend.

The bulk of the mods designed on Kimerbly were built by Floyd... at one point, he owned the whole block and then sold off other lots to a young upstart developer named Kickerillo.

The house on Butterfly was always poorly maintained... I never saw any evidence of upkeep, be it the house or the lot. The house had a big crack in front and it looked like someone just filled it in with terracotta-colored spackle. A sad story - it was a great house with a pedigree, recognition and a great architectural connection. A sad loss. The best we can hope for is something like what is going up on the corner of Boheme/BW8.

BTW, we walked through the house on the corner - you can see it take shape - very cool house. Who is the architect?

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"The bulk of the mods designed on Kimberly were built by Floyd... at one point, he owned the whole block and then sold off other lots to a young upstart developer named Kickerillo."

There are fine examples of MCM homes on the aforementioned street. And the home now under renovation/addition (second floor) appears at its current stage to be architect designed. This is a "wait and see" situation but so far the second floor addition appears to flow with the original architecture.

"The house on Butterfly was always poorly maintained... A sad story - it was a great house with a pedigree, recognition and a great architectural connection. A sad loss."

Indeed it is.

"BTW, we walked through the house on the corner - you can see it take shape - very cool house. Who is the architect?"

Will investigate for the name of the architect/firm. And yes, this house is potentially precedent setting for MB (West side of Sam Houston) as it embraces many of the tenets of modernism. At the very least, it is properly sited and the roof line congruous with the neighborhood vernacular. This property would benefit from a street-side fence enclosure rendering the property more as a compound -- and thus reducing the exposure to the intersection immediately forward of the south-side of the house.

Meanwhile, on the East side of Memorial Bend (on Memorial) another newly constructed modern potentially sets the stage for others to follow -- it is hoped anyway. It's also worth noting that 12835 Memorial is undergoing extensive renovation which appears to be proper with respect to the homes original design.

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memorial bend house at boheme and beltway (403 w sam houston) - architect is deco design group, inc. - 4669 south freeway, houston 77027 832 656 9597

the mod remodel on kimberly is looking more encouraging - has progressed further with a second floor added over the garage. the front facade now appears as if it will be more balanced. this has been interesting to watch as it's the first recent major mod remodel i can recall that is more than just a room or two addition - and appearing to respect the original architecture. at a glance (emphasizing 'at a glance' - i've not looked closely) the original appears to be a twin to 423 isolde/12902 figaro - but w/ a higher sill at the front windows and a front facing garage. michael likely has more info.

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Meanwhile, on the East side of Memorial Bend (on Memorial) another newly constructed modern potentially sets the stage for others to follow -- it is hoped anyway. It's also worth noting that 12835 Memorial is undergoing extensive renovation which appears to be proper with respect to the homes original design.

Is that the Jenkins designed home? It was in bad shape and the terracotta tile looked so out of place. Glad to see it is getting fixed up.

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