the project

   
   
  • Clerestory windows opening into the kitchen and dining room peek above the flat roof of the bedroom wing at the approach to the house. An integrated carport completes the vista, accommodating the automobile within the scheme. [pll]
  • At the rear of the garage, a vine-covered pergola provides shelter for the front entry of the house. This transitional zone shares similarities with the Hyman Residence (1959). [pll]
  • Horizontal elements extend from the garage wall (to the left) and the main structure, framing a garden space at the entry for the residence. Lush foundation plantings ground the house to its site. [pll]
  • Expanses of large sheets of glass contrast with brick elements and areas of vertical-board siding on both the west and south elevations. The windows offer the opportunity for connections from interior to exterior. [wli]
  • The bedroom wing (seen on the east elevation drawing) contains a uniform division of standard window units for two of the bedrooms. By contrast, a large window wall dominates the north elevation. [wli]
  • The living room, placed perpindicular to the mass of the house, helps to capture an exterior space. Though the Carter Residence (1950-1951) shares a similar configuration, Loewenstein takes advantage of the sloping site to elevate a deck, rather than a patio directly on the surface of the ground. [wli]
  • The two-level deck supplies ample living space adjacent to dining room and living room, as well as occupiable space outside the den. Deep overhanging eaves throw strong shadow patterns on this and other façades. [pll]
  • Two half-height walls define the two deck levels and provide a means of access for the stairway to the yard. The central chimney mass, at view in the right side of the photograph, reminds all ascending the steps where to find the center of the home. [pll]
  • The view from the back deck of the structure reveals the terrace for the swimming pool and site beyond. The neatly wooded site closes around the structure, locking building and landscape into a mutually supportive relationship. [pll]
  • Looking from the living room into the main portion of the structure, one sees hallmark Loewenstein features, including the ceiling beams, the wash of light from more than one direction, and the continuous use of exterior materials on the interior in the vertical siding. [pll]
  • In the kitchen, all of the original cabinets and fixtures still serve the house’s residents. The clerestory windows, in both kitchen and adjoining dining room, contribute to the open nature and sense of light in the space. [pll]
  • The east wall elevation of the family room reveals the sensitive interior treatment and detailing in this home. The integration of such built-in elements lends great cohesion to the structure. [wli]

Wayne + Joanne Davis Residence
Pleasant Garden (1959-61)

The Davis Residence combines the lessons of several earlier commissions in layout, organizational principles, and siting: the Carter Residence (1950-1951), the Loewenstein Residence (1954), and the Bertling Residence (1954). At the center of the composition, the fireplace, adjoining storage compartments, and basement steps separate the private bedroom wing from the public rooms, as in the ample use of built-ins to divide space in the Loewenstein house. The carport links directly to a service entrance (and into the kitchen) as well as the main entrance to the residence for visitors, echoing the Carter design. The perpindicular arrangement of the living room ell and main mass of the building opens the possibility for a deck at the rear. Excellent landscape views from this deck and from the rooms facing it on two sides bring the outside and inside into a more fluid relationship. The open nature of the rear of the house contrasts to the solid walls at the front of the composition, underscored by the placement of the carport which screens the front entrance from view and exposure directly to the street, recalling the Bertling commission.

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modernism in greensboro
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