1959 MCM Kelvin Design Office to See & Save ~ 11-19-2023

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November Mod of the Month Houston Mod invites you to join us Sunday, November 19, 2023 for a Mod of the Month open house event from 1-3 PM. Please help us find a new preservation-minded owner for this vintage modern collaborative design office located near Rice University, about 5 miles southwest of downtown Houston. Thanks to Houston MODern Market for sponsoring this FREE event.   4916 Kelvin Drive Houston, Texas 77005 COMMGATE Link  |  Google Map   Graphic designer Jim Glass developed this office studio complex in 1959 as a collaborative center for designers and artists.  Known as the Kelvin Group, the concept proved popular, so a second floor was added increasing the studio count to 12, plus an apartment. Shared spaces include a conference room, mail desk, kitchen bar, library, darkroom and photography studio.  Most spaces have north-facing windows and high sloping beamed ceilings. The studios open to a large central courtyard still complete with most of the original landscape elements including a koi pond.     David D. Red, AIA (1913-2001) designed the complex. He was an architect and Professor Emeritus of the University of Houston and head of the Department of Architecture when he designed this building. He was a native Houstonian with architecture degrees from Rice Institute.    Robert F. White, FASLA (1912-2003) was the landscape architect. White taught landscape architecture at Texas A&M University and was the founding head of their department of landscape architecture. With partners, he reworked the design of the Rice University campus and designed the NASA campus in Clear Lake. (His Houston house was a previous Mod of the Month).     If you have additional information about this building or other vintage modern designs, please inform Houston Mod so it can be included in our Modern in Houston archive.  News & Upcoming Events Houston Mod Holiday Party and 20th Anniversary Celebration will be held Friday, December 15th, 2023, 6-8 PM.   Houston Mod members are invited to celebrate another successful year of promoting and preserving modern architecture and design in Houston. Please join Master Mods and the Mod Squad for this special event exclusively for Houston Mod Members. Refreshments and lite bites will be served. RSVP by December 2nd to info@houstonmod.org Contact info@houstonmod.org with questions about membership or JOIN/RENEW HERE David Adickes Museum is coming to Reeves Art and Design.  Adickes is one of Houston's most noted and beloved mid-century artists.  His museum is being installed in the second floor gallery at Reeves. Click link HERE.  Thanks to everyone who attended and supported the William F. Cody lecture. A recording of the event exploring Cody's Palm Springs and Houston area designs has been edited and is now available on the Houston Mod YouTube Channel.  Click HERE.    Houston Mod has reactivated and now hosts the valuable Memorial Bend Architecture website on our website. Visit to learn more about Houston's most mod neighborhood. What's next for Astrodome? Please visit our friends at the Astrodome Conservancy to learn more about their soon to be released "vision for the Astrodome" being prepared to promote the building's legacy and development. In 2017, the Texas Historical Commission designated the Astrodome a state antiquities landmark which protects it from being torn down. Mission, Membership and Publications: Houston Mod is dedicated to promoting knowledge and appreciation of modern architecture and design in Houston and Texas and advocates the preservation of this cultural legacy, seeking support from its members and the general public in achieving this goal.  Houston Mod celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2023. Houston Mod is a friend organization of Docomomo US, a national non-profit organization dedicated to the Documentation and Conservation of the Modern Movement. Docomomo US has been dedicated to this mission for nearly 25 years as a chapter of Docomomo International. A single US domestic membership may be added to any Houston Mod membership for the 50% discounted Friend Organization rate of $50.00.  Houston Mod memberships and publications are available at most events.

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This was a great treat.  Thanks for the event!