A landmark house in Orinda, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is for sale. Frank Lloyd Wright designed this 1948 home in the wooded hills of Orinda for Katherine Z. and Maynard P. Buehler.
The Buehler house is one of the few homes Wright designed in the Bay Area.
It is a showcase of mid-century American modern architecture set in a 2.3-acre private Japanese garden, designed by Henry Matsutani, who also designed the Japanese Gardens in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.
"The Buehler House shows Wright playing with the division of space in creative ways," says the Been Seen travel website. "From the street the home resembles a flat-roofed concrete box, but when seen from the garden, Wright's ingenious architectural flights of fancy are clearly visible."
The steel frame, 3-bedroom, 3.5-bath house with redwood panel cladding is built in what Wright labeled his Usonian style, a style inspired by a New World character of American landscape, "distinct and free from previous architectural conventions." In the Buehler house, this Usonian style translate into a distinct flat roof life, an L-shaped plan and organized around a modular grid.For more information about how to view the agent, go to www.franklloydwrightthebuehlerhouse.com.
4 comments:
I had the good fun of being given a tour of this home a number of years ago by the couple for whom Wright designed the home. They were heirs to the Bushnell rifle scope family. They told hysterical stories about meeting him for the first time, his imperious ways, and designing the dining room with a completely glass ceiling where their guests were nearly broiled by the setting sun! Of course the kitchen was the size of one on a small sailboat, and the workshop was a marvel. the cool old car was there at that time. They were very sweet. My favorite thing was a card table set up by the wide and low front door. It was COVERED with tiny Chanel quilted handbags in every color of the rainbow! The mistress of the house would stop on her way out and move her purse contents into the bag that matched her outfit! It was like a piece of pop-art.
Hello Mr. Dacus,
Thanks for sharing your story. I tried to find out who this couple were. The story about the Chanel handbags is priceless.
They spoke of being newlyweds who wrote and asked Mr. Wright about getting his help for a home. He invited them to San Francisco (an arduous trip from the east bay on a ferry to the city, then transport to the Mark Hopkins where Wright was staying. They had been invited to breakfast! They were kept waiting in chairs by the door. Wright did not disappoint! He swept past them in his cap and hat and walked straight to a couple at a table. He announced, "This is MY table and you must move!" The sheepish couple tiptoed over to meet Wright. He charmed them, and they set about it. They later sent him topographic drawings of the land, and heard nothing for months and months. Then one day the finished plans arrived! He had designed and finished the drawings without so much as a single meeting beyond the initial visit! What a character! Of course the roof leaked like a sieve~ The signature Wright design feature. :)
oops...CAPE and hat~
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