Welcome to the Archives of The Paul Rudolph Institute for Modern Architecture. The purpose of this online collection is to function as a tool for scholars, students, architects, preservationists, journalists and other interested parties. The archive consists of photographs, slides, articles and publications from Rudolph’s lifetime; physical drawings and models; personal photos and memorabilia; and contemporary photographs and articles.

Some of the materials are in the public domain, some are offered under Creative Commons, and some are owned by others, including the Paul Rudolph Estate. Please speak with a representative of The Paul Rudolph Institute for Modern Architecture before using any drawings or photos in the Archives. In all cases, the researcher shall determine how to appropriately publish or otherwise distribute the materials found in this collection, while maintaining appropriate protection of the applicable intellectual property rights.

In his will, Paul Rudolph gave his Architectural Archives (including drawings, plans, renderings, blueprints, models and other materials prepared in connection with his professional practice of architecture) to the Library of Congress Trust Fund following his death in 1997. A Stipulation of Settlement, signed on June 6, 2001 between the Paul Rudolph Estate and the Library of Congress Trust Fund, resulted in the transfer of those items to the Library of Congress among the Architectural Archives, that the Library of Congress determined suitable for its collections. The intellectual property rights of items transferred to the Library of Congress are in the public domain. The usage of the Paul M. Rudolph Archive at the Library of Congress and any intellectual property rights are governed by the Library of Congress Rights and Permissions.

However, the Library of Congress has not received the entirety of the Paul Rudolph architectural works, and therefore ownership and intellectual property rights of any materials that were not selected by the Library of Congress may not be in the public domain and may belong to the Paul Rudolph Estate.

LOCATION
Address: 35 Wequobsque Road
City: Chilmark, Martha's Vineyard
State: Massachusetts
Zip Code: 02535
Nation: United States

STATUS
Type: Residence
Status: Built; Altered (partially)

TECHNICAL DATA
Date(s): 1947-1951
Site Area: 174,240 ft² (16187.42 m²)
Floor Area:
Height:
Floors (Above Ground):
Building Cost:

PROFESSIONAL TEAM
Client: Lucienne Twitchell Neilson
Architect: Ralph S. Twitchell
Associate Architect: Paul M. Rudolph
Landscape:
Structural:
MEP:
QS/PM:

SUPPLIERS
Contractor:
Subcontractor(s):

Lucienne Twitchell Residence

The project is to design a residence for Ralph Spencer Twitchell’s former wife Lucienne (nee Glorieux) Twitchell (1901-1972).
Ralph Twitchell (1890-1978) and Lucienne had married in 1922 and had three children: Sylva Marie Twitchell (1925-2013), Tollyn Jules Twitchell (1928-2019) and Terry G. Twitchell (1930-). The couple divorced in 1943.
The residence is designed in 1947, but not built until 1951. By that time, Ralph Twitchell had married Roberta Healy Finney (1915-1966) in 1950. Lucienne later marries McKarl M. Nielsen (1902-1969) - the minister of the Unitarian Church of Sarasota - in 1953.
Construction was carried out by her sons Tollyn Jules Twitchell (1928-2020) and Terry G. Twitchell (1931-) with remote assistance from Florida by Ralph Twitchell and Jack West - a draftsman who worked for Rudolph and Twitchell. Tollyn would later join his father’s architectural practice in 1956.
Ralph Twitchell also designs a one-story home located at 3730 Sandspur Lane on Casey Key in Nokomis, Florida for Lucienne Nielsen and McKarl Nielsen in 1956. That residence is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.
Lucienne Nielsen passes away in October 1972.
The residence suffers a fire in 1986 that destroys the main house but the guest house and ancillary structures are saved.
In 2000, Terry G. Twitchell and his wife Nancy Ai-Tseng Miao Twitchell (1928-2020) design and build a new two-story structure on the site of the main house. The surviving original stone fireplace that was in the living room is incorporated into the main bedroom of the new design. Due to restrictions imposed by local ordinance, the new design is required to have a pitched roof. The new structure incorporates overhangs that allow it to maintain the appearance of a flat roof to resemble the original design.
The guest house is listed for rent on Airbnb by Daryl M. Twitchell, Terry Twitchell’s son, and his wife Peggy Twitchell.