| Weston Havens House |
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The most striking features of the house are the three inverted triangular trusses supporting the roof, main and lower floors — a highly original concept that makes the house appear to float above the hillside and, in the interior, projects the beholder into the sweeping view. A three-foot grid, typical of Harris’s work, organizes the house spatially and functionally. The main floor comprises the entry, upper bedroom, bath, kitchen with its original appliances, and living and dining areas. Separating the dining room from the kitchen pass-through is a mural of the world by Patricia Fudger, painted — wisely, as WWII was unfolding — without borders. The lower floor features two additional bedrooms and adjoining bathrooms. The balance expressed in these compact yet open spaces is a continued reflection of a theme that extends throughout the entire house — of intimacy and drama, light and shadow, and rigorous order played against a backdrop of nature.
The surfaces and materials found throughout the house — walls of books and unfinished redwood, Celotex fiberboard closet doors, and Johns-Manville Flexboard ceiling panels — express a rich tactile sensibility and innovative applications. Original furnishings by Alvar Aalto, Bruno Mathsson, and other prominent Scandinavian designers, which Havens discovered during a trip to Scandinavia, are found throughout the house. The Havens House retains its original exterior and interior design integrity, and is one of the few houses in the world that is as modern now as it was in 1941. It reflects the apex of Harwell Hamilton Harris’s design philosophy and is a testament to an ideal, and often rare, synergy between architect and client. Next: The Weston Havens House and the College of Environmental Design: Creating the Future |
