Jersey01

Strasser Ragni I totally agree with ben on Robertson and Collaborative - they're both good guys...

I'm dying to know as well. I want to own it.

Haha, nope. I'd like to see of it too. The "Mid-Century Freak Out" (as I call it) can be overdone by some, but it would be nice to see at least one of these big Houston mods to be done-up a la Kenaston House which you can see here and here.

My vote is Heath Ceramics. Classic, never out of style.

What do you all know about the Kempner House by Edward Durell Stone that was on Willowick? I've never seen images, plans...anything. This is a spectacular E.D. Stone house in Dallas

These are definitely more alligned with what I'm thinking. Something outrageous. Penguin Arms is another example of what I'm referring to. And the Lieb house - I've always wanted to see inside this place. It definitely shows some Bruce Goff and John Lautner influence. I love it. Houston does have some modernist homes with organic qualities, but less with more daring statements. The Kamrath houses on Tiel Way do exhibit this a bit, but are not really over-the-top. They are quite beautiful. There are qualities of John Zemanek's houses that could be considered organic as well, though also industrial and experimental. I've found it at least mildly interesting that there is no work by anyone like Bart Prince or Wallace Cunningham in this big city, or at least impersonations.

Bruce Goff designed this INCREDIBLE organic home in Dallas. Organic modern is a topic often overlooked in our city with the majority of our modernism being that of the Miesian type. I know of some of the obvious, such as the Bruce Goff Durst House here in Houston and the now demolished Mitchell House by Kamrath, but what do we have left that is as big of a statement as the Dallas home?

For me, some of the most interesting of this time period are Richard Neutra, John Lautner, Hal Levitt, Buff and Hensman, and Alvar Aalto. Locally I love Harwood Taylor and Howard Barnstone. My personal favorite is R.M. Schindler Good taste! Bunshaft especially! The Georgica Pond House (now gone) was incredible. Lever House is my favorite high-rise in the U.S.

I can tell you that 1425 Banks is a real stunner. I was also able to go in 1825 Southmore, it is cool too. 6420 Haskell intrigues me, I can't wait to see this one.

There was discussion of this once great house before, but I thought you all might be interested to see the AFTER I'll save my comments, since they are probably obvious.

Beyonce Knowles has a place in this neighborhood. I didn't know Lance Berkman owned there.

FYI this street has a VERY famous resident. Wow, I sound so gossipy.

Got my issue! My subscription had just ended after the last issue, so I had to go to Issues to get mine. I literally had them take it out of the box since they were unloading a shipment! Great article, and I'm glad to see the exposure and credits. Great photos as well.

I just saw this on lottaliving, had to comment. There is a foreclosure at 7826 Westwind Court, and I'm in love with the idea of what it could be. See it here . I had no idea that this place existed, but I see it as easily looking like a tame version of John Lautner's Harvey House which is one of my favorite houses in Los Angeles. Thought I would share. I would be all over this if I hadn't just gotten a new place.

Cool house, GREAT potential, all it needs is some de-nineties work. It should be noted, though, that this is not originally designed by Lucien Hood. He did a remodel in the 70's.

Other than the photos in the Houston Mod catalog profiling the architect, and the images in Ephemeral City, do any of you have or know of any images of the Cullinan House by Hugo V. Neuhaus, Jr.? I have always been interested in that home, one of the biggest losses in terms of mod demolition for Houston, I feel.

Looks like it could be nice. I slightly see the Owsley house, a little bit. It reminds me of the Esherick house by Louis Kahn http://www.flickr.com/photos/breaux/1578533889/sizes/o/ Too early to tell, but could be really nice.

My assumption has been that it was by Harwood Taylor as well, just by the look. I agree that it is similar to the home you posted as well. While I'm on the topic of R.O. mods, does anyone know who design the brown mod on Troon two houses east of the intersection with Pine Valley?

Do any of you know anything about the mod at 4012 Willowick in River Oaks? I've always wondered about that place...

You bring up an interesting point, but in this case I just don't see the comparison. I think that there is quite a difference in scale between McMansions in a rancher neighborhood versus a modern mansion in River Oaks surrounded by other mansions. If you compare the size of said house with the other homes on Inverness, they are all large homes. McMansions usually double the size of the homes that they replace as well as the neighboring homes. These ranch and bungalow neighborhoods that you mention have mostly the same style of homes, while neighborhoods like River Oaks have so many styles. Tudor, Georgian, Plantation, Spanish, French, etc... why not minimalist modern, too? Another thing that should be noted: this house has small bamboo plants all along the street side... literally hundreds, which will eventually be tall and will shield the home. McMansions are usually 20 feet from the street, and are not shielded.

Update: This house is almost finished. It is a Ragni & Strasser design, and is stunning to say the least!

I think that bachanan beat me to the response, which pretty much sums up what I would have to say as well. Architecture is a matter of opinion. If everyone loved everything, life would be boring. A Zaha Hadid building certainly isn't boring, otherwise this conversation wouldn't exist.

Hadid's buildings are quite unique, in my opinion. At a time where we have developed the idea of a "Starchitect", I think that she is a great fit for the title. We have Libeskind, famous for angular geometry. We have Gehry, famous for outlandish flowing form. Why not Hadid, whose buildings appear to be long, lean, linear boxcars in motion? Architecture doesn't have to be pretty. Her buildings are challenging, thought provoking (good or bad), and sexy. Same thing with her furniture. Here in Houston, you can buy some of her furniture at Kuhl-Linscomb. For me, her work is gorgeous.

Very cool house!

I'm glad you posted this, I wasn't aware of the place. As you mention, Ben, it does have a bit of an Ellwood vibe to it, and also looks like someof the 1970's work of Buff and Hensman in Los Angeles, as well as some of Richard Meier's earlier work in The Hamptons, NY.