6516 SW Barnes Rd ~ on market $299k

Front Living Space

Front Living Space

I had the opportunity recently to tour this home available in the Sunlight Community. These homes do not go on market very frequently so I jumped at the chance to take a peek.  The AIA award winning home is one of fifteen designed and built in 1979 by architects Bill Church (who still lives here next to this unit)  and John Maslen.  While I was there visiting, I bumped into one of the neighbors who said that her unit was a part of the 2009 Street of Eames tour. I looked up the tour info and in her interview she (Dot Dixon) states that the Sunlight Community concept was put together over conversations during group dinners. The original community group were all interested in passive solar design, shared belongings (such as tools), working together….communal, green, minimalist, modern.

This 1,820 sq ft home  (photographed above) is built going up into the hillside surrounded by trees.  There is a main door  that takes you into an enclosed mud room entry before you enter the main open living space.  There are high ceilings and cutout windows all throughout the home making it unnecessary to turn on any lights during the daytime.  The main living, dining, kitchen space is open and overlooks the sunken solarium that keeps the space bright and warm during the winter and the site placement of the structure keeps it cool during the summer.  The home is broken up into four main levels separated by small (3 stair) flights of stairs. The first interior flight up houses a media room with a loft that has a built in ladder and a door to the enclosed, private yard space.   The bedrooms all have lofts (the 3rd level lofts have windows) also making the otherwise smallish space feel large and much more useful.  The master bedroom has a wall of closets, a bathroom and a large loft with a round window that adds a nice flow to the space. There is a separate laundry room central to all of the bedrooms and a utility room off of the kitchen but other than that there is no basement or garage to house a lot of things…designed by minimalists for minimalists.

On site, there is a community building with a large space for entertaining, exercise room, bike room, guest room and wood shop. The multi acre property has communal Japanese style paths, gardens and natural spaces. There are also parking spaces above the home for 2 cars and guest parking.

solarium keeps it warm in the winter and cool in the summer

sunlight in the upper floor loft

master bedroom loft with round window

Located in the Catlin Crest area:

Catlin Crest area

Memorial Coliseum Mid Century Architecture Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill

This Saturday June, 19th 2010 at the Architectural Heritage Center, there will be a program discussion on identifying significant mid century architecture and ways to protect these structures.

From the Architectural Heritage Centers website:

Buildings and residential enclaves from the mid-twentieth century are reaching and surpassing the 50 year mark, making them widely eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. Yet preservationists still face a number of challenges, even when advocating for buildings that can now be recognized as officially “historic.” Development pressures, the economy, and aging infrastructure—along with widespread misconceptions about the role of modern architecture in the U.S.—put these resources at risk in the Northwest and throughout the country. The recent discussion surrounding Memorial Coliseum brought this to our own backyard. We look at this debate as a new opportunity for our community to discuss Portland’s architectural “recent past” and work to identify the significant buildings and landscapes that make that era—and our region—unique and memorable.

But many Mid-Century Modern buildings are not highly visible icons like the Coliseum; there are office buildings and churches, commercial structures and houses that remain undocumented and unprotected. Local and regional architects, builders, and property owners themselves chose to adapt national trends to shape a Portland and Oregon mid-century “identity” that was and remains distinctly different from preceding styles and trends. There is a critical need to identify, appreciate, document, and preserve many of these buildings before they disappear, or are discarded as “unimportant.” Improving public awareness, addressing policies for preservation, promoting sustainable re-use and restoration and supporting grassroots advocacy will be necessary, if we are to save our own architectural past.

This mega-program will be led by Christine Madrid French, Director of Modernism + Recent Past Program with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and Anthea Hartig, Director of the National Trust’s Western Regional Office, in San Francisco. They will be joined by a cadre of local advocates who continue to call attention to and advocate for the Mid-Century Modern buildings in our community.

The event is from 10am-4pm, costs $20, and lunch is provided. If you would like to attend, you must RSVP here.

Saul Zaik

Part 3 of Rejuvenation’s Conversations with a Modern Architect series is tomorrow night at the Portland showroom.  This time it is legendary architect Saul Zaik in the hot seat being interviewed by Becca Cavell of THA architects.  The event starts at 6pm and there is a recommended donation of $20 to the Street of Eames benefit that funds after school programs for homeless youth.  RSVP here

About Saul Zaik (from the Rejuvenation site):

Saul Zaik began practicing in 1956 with partner Donald Blair and later established Zaik/Miller with Jim Miller. In the early days the firm mostly focused on residential work, but it later expanded its portfolio to include public buildings such as financial and educational institutions. In the 1950s and 1960 Zaik/Miller Architecture firm was well-known for its strongly regional residential designs. Notable restoration projects include: Timberline Lodge, Crater Lake Lodge and Vista House at Crown Point. Saul Zaik is still practicing today.

Bud Oringdulph - BOORA

Rejuvenations Street of Eames fund raising series of conversations with modern architects kicks off  at the end of this month. The first architect up is Bud Oringdulph, co-founder of the Portland based firm BOORA.

An important, actively practicing member of Portland’s architecture community, Bud Oringdulph graduated from the University of Oregon School of Architecture in 1956. Two years later he co-founded the successful Portland-based firm BOORA Architects- well known locally and internationally for its public buildings, including schools, libraries and art centers. Oringdulph cites Robert Ansen, A. Quincy Jones, and Frederick E. Emmons as influential contemporaries, and he singles out Seattle-based architect Paul Hayden Kirk as a major influence on his local residential work.

The event is on Wednesday April 28th, 2010 starting at 6pm with wine and hors d’oeuvres served. There is a suggested donation of $20 that will benefit the Street of Eames after school programs for homeless youth.

RSVP for the event here (they do sell out).

Info from Rejuvenation site.

Street of Eames Modern Home Tour

Tickets for the 2010 Street of Eames modern homes tour are available for purchase right now.  Special advanced tickets are available for an additional donation price of $250 per pair (includes 2 – $50 tickets and a $150 tax deductible donation to the Street of Eames Fund, which supports after-school programs for homeless elementary school students in Portland Public Schools).  Regular priced tickets ($50) officially go on sale February 22nd, 2010  but the event sells out every year (within minutes) so, if you don’t want to take any chances,  then you should buy tickets now at the Street of Eames website.

back of the double gabled Gresham Rummer *Not For Sale*

A little while ago I stumbled across a very entertaining blog about a family (the Lewis’) from Gresham restoring/remodeling their Rummer home.  They do not make it look fast or easy but it is very entertaining getting to take a peek into their remodeling projects and the outcome is always amazing, they do such a great job! Another thing that I love about the Lewis’ blog is that the entire family is excited about their home projects, they make it feel like the home is a family member and not just a place to live.

So after I had devoured all of the blogs contents, I contacted Steve and Haley and invited myself over to tour and get a first hand look of their restoration project.  When I visited they had zero kitchen, it was gutted to the studs (very brave).  Haley took me on the tour and explained all of the pretty, clean lines they are going to open up throughout the home, to take it back to the way it was intended to look (& then some).

The kitchen design is influenced by case study home #22.  Here is the plan:

kitchen plan, modeled after case study home #22 - (photo by the Lewis')

case study house #22 - photo by Julius Shulman

Update: Since I have visited, the Lewis’ have put the kitchen back together.  Pics here!  It is amazing, thanks for sharing it with us.

P.S. can’t wait to see what they do with that ‘56 Airstream Safari aka Plan B

Gresham Rummer holiday ~ beautiful! (photos by the Lewis')

For a list of all of the Rummer homes for sale in the Portland area visit the Rummer page where I will update listings as they hit market.

More Rummer Related Blog Posts:

• Rummer Mid Century Modern Home – Bonnie Brae
• Rummer Neighborhood – Oak Hills
• About Rummer Homes
• Rummer Page

Belluschi House Built in 1951 - Lake Oswego, Oregon

Historic Lake Oswego House to Find a Home at Marylhurst University

Rare residence built by famed architect Pietro Belluschi will come to campus

LAKE OSWEGO, OR — A small but historically significant home designed by noted Portland architect Pietro Belluschi will be kept in Lake Oswego, now that the Marylhurst University board of trustees has endorsed a plan to give the house a permanent home on the Marylhurst campus.

The agreement comes nearly three years after Tim Mather, owner of MCM Construction, and Tia Ross, a fellow historic homes preservationist, discovered a 911-square-foot home designed in 1951 by Belluschi for Arthur and Lucy Griffith of Lake Oswego was about to be demolished, and began a campaign to save it.

The home was believed to be one of only a few Belluschi-designed residences still standing unaltered, and the only one of its kind in Lake Oswego. The Italian-born Belluschi was involved in the design of an estimated 1,000 buildings over his 50-year career, including the Portland Art Museum, the Julliard School of Music in New York and St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco. He is widely known as the creator of the Northwest style of architecture, and his homes were constructed to take advantage of their natural surroundings and available light.

“The house is a perfect example of the elegant simplicity of Belluschi’s mid-century modernist approach to design,” said Mather. “It’s truly a work of art and, fully restored, will be a lasting reminder of Belluschi’s architectural legacy.”

The home is essentially one large room, featuring cork floors, hemlock paneling and beamed ceilings. Never remodeled, it had fallen into disrepair, needing a new roof and heating and electrical systems. The home was purchased by developer George Hale, who recognized the house’s intrinsic value but couldn’t find a suitable reuse for the structure until Mather and Ross interceded. Hale donated the home, and Mather paid for it to be meticulously deconstructed and stored. The house – now in 2,000 pieces, all numbered and measured – sits in a 48-foot storage container awaiting reconstruction and restoration.

“I am so pleased that Marylhurst will become the home of this noted piece of 20th-century architecture,” said Judi Johansen, Marylhurst University president. “The educational opportunities the Griffith house at our new Belluschi Pavilion will provide for our students and for the broader community are countless, and I look forward to working with Tim and his colleagues on all the next steps of restoring this home to its full beauty on our campus.”

Fundraising efforts are now underway to pay for the costs of siting, permitting, reconstructing and restoring the Belluschi house. Contact David Miller - Friends of Belluschi 503-699-9600 dave@mcmbuild.com to donate to the preservation effort.

About Friends of Belluschi

Friends of Belluschi was founded in 2006 by Tim Mather, Tia Ross and other home preservationists to save and restore the Griffith residence designed by Pietro Belluschi in Lake Oswego in 1951.

About Marylhurst University
Marylhurst University, a private liberal arts university located one mile south of downtown Lake Oswego on Highway 43, is regionally accredited and nationally recognized for innovation and academic excellence. Marylhurst’s small, seminar-style classes – offered weekdays, evenings, weekends and online – provide convenience and flexibility for students with busy lives seeking professional certificates and undergraduate and graduate degrees

Belluschi

Belluschi House Oregon

More Preservation Stories:

• Frank Lloyd Wright – Gordon House
• Robert Oshatz – Organic Architect

This documentary about the work of Julius Shulman, famed modernist photographer best know for his photos of the Case Study homes in California, is playing this week at the Living Room Theater in Portland, Oregon. I highly recommend seeing it before it is gone. I am on my way right now.

Summary:

Narrated by Dustin Hoffman, Visual Acoustics, celebrates the life and career of Julius Shulman, the world’s greatest architectural photographer, whose images brought modern architecture to the American mainstream. Shulman, who passed away this year, captured the work of nearly every modern and progressive architect since the 1930s including Frank Lloyd Wright, Richard Neutra, John Lautner and Frank Gehry. His images epitomized the singular beauty of Southern California’s modernist movement and brought its iconic structures to the attention of the general public. This unique film is both a testament to the evolution of modern architecture and a joyful portrait of the magnetic, whip-smart gentleman who chronicled it with his unforgettable images.

LEED Gold Home in Estacada - McCune Designinterior LEED Gold Estacada House

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to meet up with one of the designers at Green Hammer Construction, Jesse Schwartzberg, who was also kind enough to take me on a tour of their office/warehouse and tell me about some of their current projects.  Green Hammer’s office is located close-in industrial SE Portland, where they have a bright open industrial space, with high ceilings and a loft work space.  The offices are connected to a warehouse that houses beautifully handcrafted furniture and cabinets that they are custom building for clients. The back half of the warehouse is also home to the Urban Timberworks Project.  The Urban Timberworks project takes trees that have been removed in the city of Portland and salvages the wood for building purposes, cabinets and furniture.  There was quite an amazing assortment of pieces of wood that are waiting to be made into beautiful tables, handrails, door frames, counter tops …you get the picture.

Green Hammer utilizes cutting edge energy efficiency practices while maintaining an intelligent design sensibility in their projects.  In their building philosophy they incorporate waste reduction, ecological materials, energy efficiency, water conservation, healthy air, diversity of design, longevity, and the economic support of all things local.

Another service that Green Hammer offer is home performance testing aka home energy performance diagnostic.  The process tests your home systems to see how energy efficient your house is.  The results are measured by a an overall score and they will show you where you can make improvements to your home to make it more energy efficient.

More examples of their work on their website here.  And one of their projects for sale here.

Rummer Home

Rejuvenation is hosting a benefit in conjunction with the Street of Eames – Portland’s Modern Home Tour on November 4th at 6pm.  The special guest speaker is  going to be local legend mid century modern builder Robert Rummer!  Becca Cavell of THA Architecture Inc. will also speak, introduce and interview Mr. Rummer at the event.

Important Info:

You need to RSVP for this event and I was just notified that they will be at maximum capacity by this weekend.  This means you need to sign up right now….here!

There is a suggested donation of $20 at the door that will benefit the Street of Eames after school programs for homeless youth.

There will be light refreshments served.

For a list of all of the Rummer homes for sale in the Portland area visit the Rummer page where I will update listings as they hit market.

Located at:

1100 SE Grand

Portland, OR