 Loewenstein maximized the view of the river from the house by pushing the building envelope to the edge of the bluff and, as a result, taking advantage of the elevation change to insert a 20x80’ basement below. [pll] Loewenstein utilizes a dog-trot form with some traditional details on the front of the house while the back reads more from a contemporary lexicon. A screened porch occupies the right side of the scheme to provide protected outdoor space to experience the setting. [wli] The landscaped front court of the residence sits surrounded by a covered loggia around three sides, in the center of which rests the front door. Visitors to the house meander around the plants to access the door, reminding them of the natural environment. [pll] The service wing, comprised of kitchen, laundry, and maid’s quarters, balances the bedroom wing. A 6’-0” wide gallery, made wider by Loewenstein during design development, stitches together the wings with the main block of the house. [wli] A slender deck runs the width of the house, providing outside access to the vista. Two slightly wider decks occupy each end of the scheme for additional space outdoors. [pll] A den now occupies the former screened porch of the original plans with stunning reviews to the ravine and river below. [pll] The flanking wings of the front façade lend an air of formality to this simple house. Vertical board siding grounds the building in the vernacular landscape of North Carolina. [pll] A more Modern façade on the east face of the house suggests the hybrid quality of this structure. [pll] The combination dining room/library contains shelving around its perimeter with the exception of the large expanses of glass to connect the occupant to the outside experience. Mrs. Etheridge specified key articles of furniture to be incorporated in this room. [pll] An example of the deep connection from the house to the deck and view beyond. [pll] As with the Steele Residence, Loewenstein incorporated objects from world travels into this structure: here an inset to one of the dining room/library cabinets. [pll]
| Mark + Willie Snow Etheridge Residence
Moncure (1967)
Enamored by the fireplace in the Loewenstein living room, Mark and Willie Snow Etheridge ordered one exactly like it to avoid blocking the view of the river gorge below. Loewenstein responded with a retirement home for the couple that was, in his conversation with Mrs. Etheridge “neither contemporary or modern,” but rather somewhere in between. Based on a sketch by the client, the house incorporated a living room and gallery at its center, a combination dining room/library and kitchen to the right, and a three-bedroom wing to the left. Organized around an exterior courtyard, itself surrounded by a covered walkway, the closed front of the house surrenders to the spectacular views beyond it. With an exterior comprised of vertical cypress boards, the structure borrowed on the Etheridge’s knowledge of a house near Prospect, Kentucky, that they had much admired. According to firm records, the house nearly crippled productivity in the office due to the demanding clients. In the end, the satisfied clients wrote Loewenstein: "I thought we accomplished wonderful things on the land."
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