 Lush landscaping complements the hybrid house, softening and tying the house to the land. Mature trees, preserved from a wooded lot, further soften the impact of the structure, in contrast to its neighbors. [pll] Terraced planters and the front walk add visual interest to the house and tie it, physically, to the site. [pll] A large window wall includes five vertical panes and three horizontal hopper windows, the latter operable and the former fixed. Roman brick, with dimensions longer than traditional fired brick, comprise the exterior, lending a striking horizontality to the structure. [pll] Floating brick panels, pierced with nearly square openings aligned vertically, sit in a plane along the front façade. Though not realized in the final structure, this Modern treatment suggests the hybrid quality of the house. [wli] The north and south elevations of the Falk Residence suggest a building much more in keeping with contemporary suburban design, complete with low sloped roofs and stock windows. [wli] In contrast to any number of Modern dwellings, Loewenstein flipped the family room/screened porch to the rear of the structure, resulting in the family room sandwiched between living room and screened porch. A series of sliding panels deflect visitors from access to the bedroom hallway. [wli] Decorative art glass, embedded in the three window lights of the front door, speak of collaborator Gregory Ivy’s impact on the structure in the specification of Modern finishes. [pll] Ivy’s handsome copper and glass light fixture glows at the apex of the entry hall wall, bringing visual interest and light to the space. He also designed a coordinating light fixture in the dining room. [pll] The dining room takes advantage of ample light from the banks of windows to the south and west. Windows low to the floor bring the occupant to the outdoors. [pll] The long hallway reaching into the bedroom wing, a hallmark Loewenstein design feature, results in an experience shaped by the closets and vestibules into each bedroom. Lighting underscores the linearity of the space. [pll] Built-in cabinets in the family room house bar goods, books, and other household ephemera. The orderly division of space utilizing these units echoes Loewenstein’s early advances in this arena of design. [pll] The kitchen remains in its original configuration, though the countertops have been replaced. Ample storage for dishes, cookware, and food repeat the same design successes of Loewenstein’s residential commissions. [pll]
| Herbert + Joan Falk Residence
Greensboro (1966)
This single story, side-gabled building contains a central chimney to divide public and private zones – living room, family room, screened porch, and kitchen to the south, a four-bedroom block on the north. Within the decidedly horizontal brickwork, Loewenstein creates a pierced pattern on the brick rowlock surrounding the front garden, bringing this same detail to the pierced brick wall panels in the left garden. Covered on the backside with aluminum mesh, the square openings serve as garden drains on one side while continuing the front façade detail. Loewenstein employs a vast array of traditional and Modern window types on the structure. The asymmetrical front elevation, with its off-center door flanked by slender glass pane sidelights, mirrors compositional work of previous houses, but grounds itself with more typical elements that represent the common suburban idiom of Irving Park. The compact elevation spreads less than earlier designs and thus reveals a hybrid structure, halfway between Modern and suburban vernacular forms. The similar, lively mix of interior appointments also characterizes this house as a hybrid.
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