Design by Aimee Wray

Regulars on the Lawrence Modern house tour scene, architect Dick Peters and his lovely wife, Carol, have for years endured our pleas that they open their own mid-century home for viewing. We are pleased to announce that they have finally relented. Designed by Dick himself in 1968, the Peters Residence is the quintessential suburban rancher, or what Dennis calls “pure blood American… an exceptional Mid Century Modern house, designed by one of Lawrence’s important architects.” In other words, another Lawrence Modern event you don’t want to miss.

Timeline in Marvin Hall celebrating 100 years of architectural education at the University of Kansas.

KU’s School of Architecture celebrated a century of architectural education April 26-27, filling the corridors of Marvin Hall with former students who reconnected with classmates and reminisced with faculty about their experiences attending one of the oldest and most prestigious architecture schools in the country. More than 350 alumni, faculty and friends attended the centennial events, including retired modernist architects Robert Hess, ’49, and Dick Peters, ’54, whose work is featured in this website. A wall-sized graphical timeline of the last century’s major events as they relate to the evolution of architecture, and the milestones of the School, was on display in the main hallway and became the central meeting point. Architectural models, drawings and exhibits of former and current students lined the walls. A birthday cake was served on the lawn outside Marvin Hall, followed by a lively reception and dinner. A number of architecture students interacted with their predecessors, but most were too busy working on their final projects to hang around or even go outside to grab a piece of cake. Such is the demands of pursuing the architecture profession. But fifty years from now, when the University celebrates the next milestone of this influential and far-reaching education program, they’ll surely have their cake and eat it too.

Prof. Kent Spreckelmeyer, Bob Hess, ’49, and Prof. Dennis Domer.

Bob Hess meets with architecture students Kyle Kutz (left) and Cole Giesler (middle) in Marvin Hall.

John Gaunt, dean of the School of Architecture, Design and Planning talks with Duncan Fulton, ’78, FAIA, President/CEO of the Good, Fulton & Farrell architecture firm based in Dallas, Tex.

From left, Neal Angrisano, ’88 and ’96, AIA, Associate, Burns and McDonnell Architecture, Kansas City, Mo. and Adjunct Professor; Sonya Jury, AIA, ’88, Director of Business Development, Henderson Engineers, Lenexa, Kans.; Steve Smith, AIA, ’88, Principal, Kenneth Hahn Architects, Omaha, Neb.; and John Eyler, AIA, ’94, Principal, 360 Architecture, Kansas City, Mo.

An Architecture alumnus sticks a red dot next to his name and year of graduation.

East facade Sprague apartments

Lawrence possesses a large number of modern university apartment and dormitories built large and small across the campus of the University of Kansas during the 1950s and early 1960s. One of the smallest but in some ways most ambitious of this housing type is Sprague Apartments designed by Kansas architect, Charles L. Marshall (1905-1992), and built in 1960. Professor Elizabeth Sprague (1874-1960), Professor and Department Head of Home Economics at the University of Kansas from 1914 to 1941, gave the apartment block to the University in memory of her sister, Amelia.

Charles Marshall was born in Atchison, Kansas, and received his professional architecture degree from Kansas State University in 1931. He was the State Architect from 1945 to 1952, and he had a private practice in Topeka from 1952 to 1986, when he retired. Mr. Marshall was an architect who loved to draw and claimed to draw something every day. His efforts resulted in a large collection of watercolors, paintings, drawings, architectural drawings, linoleum cuts, and letters at the University of Kansas and Kansas State University. Besides the Sprague Apartments, Marshall also designed Smith Hall that houses the University of Kansas Department of Religious Studies.

Sprague apartments north facade

Sprague Apartments is a bold rectangle of concrete and brick with limestone trim that juts out unabashedly from one of the steepest faces of Mt. Oread at 1400 Lilac Lane. The north facade provides consistent rows of red and brown brick ribbons articulated by long horizontal strips of concrete lines that express the floors and line up the fenestration. In contrast to this strict “front side” of the house facing north on 14^th Street, the sunny south façade functions as the “back of the house” and is softened into a relaxed U-shape with three inset rows of continuous balconies that serve the nine apartments for retired faculty.

The front entrance to Sprague Apartments is on the west facade that attaches a balanced complex of vertical and horizontal masses and lines to an arched walkway that bridges to Mt. Oread behind Danforth Chapel. The west end of this building functions not only as an entry and foyer but also provides vertical circulation for a stair and elevator made clear by a white hexagonal concrete block motif.

Sprague Third Floor Entrance

The laid-back look of the south elevation belies nine tightly designed floor plans, six of which are two bedroom apartments and three on the west end that are one bedroom apartments. These apartments give retired faculty less than 1,000 square feet of living space at a very inexpensive price.

South facade

The entrances to these apartments are off the balconies with a door opening into a living and dining room that spans the width of the building.

Living room

Dining area

On one side of the living room is a hall leading to a bathroom and two bedrooms. On the other side the living room fuses with a small dining area connected to a narrow kitchen.

Sprague Apartments hallway to bedrooms and breakfast nook

Under the lowest balcony runs a long basement that houses the HVAC systems as well as a tenth apartment that is rented to a student for maintenance work in the apartments. One of these systems sends hot water to wall heaters that line the apartment. They still work very well after more than 50 years of use. Wall air conditioners, along with window air conditioners that residents add to their bedrooms cool the apartments during the summer.

The structural and wall systems are solid as a rock because the beautiful doors click shut with the precision of a new BMW. Two original special folding wall systems in the bedrooms are also in excellent working condition.

Door detail

There is a long list of retired faculty who would like to live in one of the Sprague Apartments, which have been very well maintained by the KU Endowment Association over the past 52 years.

One might criticize this mid-century modern building because, with its concrete grid structural frame, its concrete floor system and its fine brick walls, has not been easy to adapt to new technologies, such as cable wiring systems or central air conditioning. Also, perhaps if Marshall had known about George Beal’s heliodon, which we reported on in an earlier post, he might have designed the south façade with balcony overhangs that would have shaded the apartments during the summer and allowed full sun penetration during the winter. Beal’s heliodon was famous by 1960, and Beal and Marshall certainly knew each other in the small world of Kansas architects. But many modern architects at that time still thought that unprotected glass and window walls on the south side of a large structure did not constitute a problem, such as in the south façade of Summerfield Hall, designed by John Brink in 1960, that eventually had to be re-designed in the 1980s, sans the south windows that overheated the building winter, summer, fall, and spring. The problem re-occurred at new Green Hall with its window wall facing southeast, which was designed by Lawrence R. Good and completed in 1977. Mr. Good knew all about Beal’s heliodon, which suggests how fascinated very good modern architects were with glass facades and how much faith they had in modern HVAC systems to compensate for their glassy fantasies, no matter what problems those built forms might create. It was the light that made them glaze over these facades at KU and who could blame them. Architects had been doing this very thing at least since the 1851 World’s Fair in London when the Crystal Place blew people away.

-Dennis

Lawrence-based Architect Dan Sabatini discusses his design work on the Bowersock Powerhouse Saturday, January 26.

We estimated about 150 people attended the event.

The Powerhouse is well-illuminated by natural light.

Thanks to all who attended Saturday’s Bowersock Powerhouse tour. Our most successful event ever! Special thanks to owner/operator Sarah Hill-Nelson and architect Dan Sabatini for adding one more reason why Lawrence is a special place to live. Now, if it would only start to rain …

Lawrence Modern’s own Dennis Domer examines architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s revolutionary and wholly integrated approach to interior design. Thanks to the Kansas City Public Library for their excellent work capturing this fascinating, dynamic lecture.

Lawrence has many interesting midcentury modern homes, each with their own story to tell, but 2145 Owens Lane, where we will gather for our next event, is one of the most intriguing.

Originally designed in 1951 by revered Kansas City architect David Runnells for KU chemistry professor Cal Vander Werff, the house was demolished in the early 1970s and reborn in the shape of three equilateral pyramids. Design and construction took more than two years, cost $1.5 million in today’s dollars, and involved the firing of Dana Dowd, one of the most talented design-build modern architects operating in Lawrence.

We are grateful that the current owners, Rich & Sue Givens, are opening their fabulous and unusual home for us to experience and share stories about. Please bring a treat to share with your modern (and postmodern) friends on this Veterans Day.

Cabin in the woods, in Maine

My grandfather Paul and his next-door neighbor Pearly built this hunter’s cabin deep in the Maine woods in 1965, and there are few things in our family that are more treasured. And though I’ve stayed there countless times since I was a kid, I never fully appreciated the simple beauty of my grandfather’s plan until this summer, when my wife and I enjoyed three blissfully quiet and unencumbered nights there. It suddenly occurred to me that this rustic little shack made of pine is a quintessential example of modern architecture.

Interior with Atlantic #124 log burner stove in foreground.

The cabin has clean lines, structural honesty, an open plan, copious natural light, clever built-ins, and a near monastic rapport with nature. Of course it lacks, shall we say, some of the modern amenties we’ve come to expect. It has no electricity, no indoor plumbing (an outhouse “privy” sits hunched nearby when nature calls), no telephone or Internet, and forget about wireless connectivity. Which is the whole point, right?

Interior at night, illuminated by kerosene lamp

Thoreau said simplify, simplify, simplify. Modernism, at its essence, is also about stripping away the unnecessary. I don’t think my grandfather was a modernist, or thought much about architectural style — and maybe that’s the key. He built only what was essential and functional, and by doing so created a classic Mid-Maine mod cabin in the woods. Hmmm, I can smell the pine. Makes me want to go back theyah again real soon.

                                                 Bill

Sure to be the coolest Lawrence Modern event this summer, our next gathering will be at a leafy modernist retreat west of campus owned by John and Muff Kelly. Architect Keith Herrin, a former KU Architecture grad, will be on hand to talk about the design of the house, which was originally built in 1965 for Lawrence philanthropists Raymond and Ethel Rice. Parking is not allowed on Crescent Road, so please park in the Saint Lawrence Catholic Center parking lot on the corner of Crescent and Engel Road. Also, please do not bring any food or drinks to this gathering. See you July 29th!

Nicol House, Kansas City, Mo.

The precious few times I’ve had the privilege to visit Bruce Goff-designed houses I’ve always left feeling enthralled by the experience, and reminded that the world is far more mysterious and wonderful than I had imagined.

So it is with great delight to relay the news that our friends at KCModern have organized an ambitious, multi-event Goff extravaganza June 8-10. (See details below.) This is a rare opportunity that shouldn’t be passed up. While not as well known as Frank Lloyd Wright, Bruce Goff’s organic architecture is no less celebrated among architecture enthusiasts, who sometimes travel great distances and scheme to great lengths just to get a glimpse inside his eccentric buildings. We in Lawrence are extremely fortunate that these houses are so nearby and accessible.

Goff designed three houses in Kansas City — each will be on display during the KCModern tour — and to visit any one of them is embark on a rich and revealing architectural journey.

Tom, Dennis and I had the privilege to do just that a couple of years ago when Rod Parks, owner of the Retro Inferno furniture store in downtown Kansas City, kindly invited us into the Nicol House, which he purchased in 2010. We haven’t seen the other two Goff houses scheduled on the tour, but the Nicol House alone offers enough satisfaction. It is food for the eyes of anyone who appreciates great architectural design, art, and furniture.

Nicol House interior at night (Photo: Bill Steele)

Like nearly all of Goff’s residential works, the Nicol House is a reflection of the client as much as it is about the architect. James Nicol was a successful banker who along with his wife, Betty, enjoyed entertaining, and the house’s extravagant teepee shape and totem-like entry doors (one door leads to the backyard pool) suggests that a family of high socioeconomic status resides there. Joe Price, who hired Goff to design houses and buildings for him, once told me that Bruce tried to place himself in the shoes of his client and design his house as if he were the client. This helps explain the fierce individuality of his houses, and why they are so endlessly fascinating to contemplate.

The Nicol House, which was completed in 1968, is geometrically shaped and features an octagonal floor plan that in the drawings looks like a honeycomb. (This motif is repeated throughout the design.) Once inside, you climb a few steps and enter a cavernous space where you are immediately drawn to a sunken conversation pit at the center. It is one of the most magical entries in modern architecture. There you can enjoy total freedom to view the house and all of its fantastic qualities without ever having to move.

Looking north through the Nicol House’s colorful rooms (Photo: Scott Spychalski)

Yet, there is something wild about the house that compels you to explore it with childish abandon. Perhaps it’s the bold ’60s colors of the rooms? The triangular windows? The massive rear doors with octagonal windows that swivel 180 degrees? The areas of attraction and interest are endless. I can only imagine how much fun the Nicol kids had growing up in this house.

Nicol House interior in early morning light (Photo: Bill Steele)

One of the reasons why the Nicol House resonates so strongly is because it taps into our primal knowledge about nature: earth, water, fire, stone and sky are in one form or another represented here. The indigenous character of the house would seem to reinforce this. But no matter how you interpret or deconstruct this work of art, at some point critical faculty is suspended in the presence of such creativity and intelligence, such fervent imagination — all the more poignant in the play-it-safe times we live in. Nearly 50 years after it was built, the Nicol House remains a fresh and vital example of Bruce Goff’s visionary architecture.

Bill

GOFF WEEKEND
KANSAS CITY
JUNE 8|9|10  2012
http://www.kcmodern.com/

THE MAGIC OF GOFF LIGHT
Friday, June 8th, 7:30 to 10:00
An intimate reception featuring the signature Goff weekend cocktail and hors d’oevres. Watch the ever-changing light in the premiere Goff home of Rod Parks’ The Nicol House – 5305 Cherry – Kansas City – Missouri
$50.00 per person

CREATIVITY IN KANSAS CITY
Saturday, June 9th, 10:00 – Noon
A Conversation of Bruce Goff
A discussion and exhibition of Goff’s work in Kansas City, featuring original owners, colleagues and drawings
Katz Hall at UMKC
5005 Rockhill Road – Kansas City – Missouri

PAUL SEARING TRIBUTE TOUR
Saturday, June 9th, 1:00 – 4:00
Tour the 3 Goff houses
The Nicol House at 5305 Cherry – Kansas City, MO
The Hyde House at 5020 W. 67th Street – Prairie Village, KS
The Searing House – 7821 Fontana – Prairie Village, KS
$20.00 per person for the 3 houses
BUY ONLINE NOW OR AT SYMPOSIUM
NO TICKET SALES AT THE HOUSES

BEHIND THE SCENES TOUR
Sunday, June 10, 1:30
INVENTING THE MODERN WORLD
DECORATIVE ARTS AT THE WORLD’S FAIR 1851-1939
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
4525 Oak Street – Kansas City, MO
Enjoy Brunch at Rozzelle Court (reservations recommended)
Meet at the information desk at the Nelson at 1:30