Douglas House
From Archiplanet
 | Douglas House |
| Designer | Richard Meier |
| Location | Harbor Springs, Michigan, USA |
| Date | 1971 (construction) to 1973 |
| Building Type | Large House |
| Construction System | steel, concrete, glass |
| Climate | cold temperate |
| Context | Hill or Cliffside |
| Architectural Style | Modern |
| Builder | "a construction company from Grand Rapids (Michigan)" |
| Street Address | |
| Notes | 40-foot piles were used to anchor the building to its steep site. |
| At Great Buildings | http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Douglas_House.html |
Contents |
Douglas House is ambiguous. It could refer to any of the following buildings:
- Douglas House, Florissant, Missouri
- Douglas House, Lovells Township, Michigan
- Douglas House, Sontag, Mississippi
- Douglas House, Vaughn, Arkansas
- Douglas House
[edit] Images
[edit] Discussion
| Building Details | |
| Client | James and Jean Douglas |
| Stories | 4 |
| Awards |
|
"So steep is the slope to the water that the house appears to have been dropped into the site, a machine-crafted object that has landed in a natural world. The dramatic dialogue between the whiteness of the house and the primary blues and greens of the water, trees, and sky allows the house not only to assert its own presence but to enhance, by contrast, the beauty of its natural environment as well." — Richard Meier. Richard Meier, Architect. New York: Oxford University Press, 1976. p87.
The Creator's Words
"An ongoing conversation I have had with my children, Joseph and Ana, over the past year revolves around the question,'What is your favorite color?'...Then both of them turn to me and say, 'Daddy, what is your favorite color?' Every time we play this game, my response is the same: 'White.'
'But Daddy,' Joseph says, 'you can't choose white. White is not a color; white is not in the rainbow; you have to choose a color that is, like red or green or blue or yellow.' And I explain each time that I think white is the most wonderful color of all, because within it one can find every color of the rainbow." — Richard Meier. from Richard Meier. Richard Meier: Architect 1964-1984. p.8.
[edit] 1983 Restoration
| Building Modification (1983-) | |
| Douglas House | |
| Date | 1983 |
| Modification Type | restoration & repair |
| Building Type | Large House |
Restoration work, beginning shortly after the purchase of the house by the Beitlers (the third owners) purportedly addressed multiple issues of neglect and abuse by the second owners, including thermal and water damage, and the installation of various insensitive interior finishes: heavy drapes, carpeting, wall paper. Many of the original modernist furniture pieces were in need of repair and replacement. The owners also commissioned a replica of the original Richard Meier-designed coffee table, which had been lost. The Beitlers also "the hired a specialist who’d worked on Chicago’s Sears Tower and the John Hancock Building" to advise on repairing the extensive glass walls.
| Building Details | |
| Client | J. Paul Beitler & Penny Powers Beitler |
| Awards | |
[edit] Maps
[edit] Other Resources
[edit] References
- Paul Heyer. American Architecture: Ideas and Ideologies in the Late Twentieth Century. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1993. ISBN 0-442-01328-0. LC 92-18415. NA2750.H48. exterior photo showing surrounding context, p91.
- Richard Meier. Richard Meier: Architect 1964-1984. New York: Rizzoli International Publications, 1984. ISBN 0-8478-0496-8. LC 83-42911. NA737.M44A4 1984. p8.
- William S. Saunders. Modern Architecture—Photographs by Ezra Stoller. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Publishers, 1990. ISBN 0-8109-3816-2. exterior photo, p198, interior, p197. — A wonderful & inspiring book of beautiful photographs by a true master of architectural photography.
- Kevin Matthews. The Great Buildings Collection on CD-ROM. Artifice, 2001. ISBN 0-9667098-4-5.
- Drueding, Meghan (Jan-Feb, 2003). "Dress White: Douglas House, Harbor Springs, Mich., 1971-1973". Residential Architect. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0NTE/is_1_7/ai_106914141.
- "Step Into The Douglas House, a Richard Meier Renowned Home in Harbor Springs", by Lissa Edwards, MyNorth.com, 2010.0215.
