The modest-sized guest house which Paul Rudolph designed for the Walker Family—nestled among the lust vegetation of Florida. Photograph by Jenny Acheson
WHEN A CLIENT LOVES A HOUSE
The Walkers must have really loved the house which Paul Rudolph designed for them—after all, how often does an architect get a letter like this from a client:
You’ll notice the top of that letterhead: it’s a perspective drawing of the house: Yes, it’s somewhat diagrammatic, but it conveys the house’s most identifiable feature: the central volume (the living areas) are surrounded by a set of hinged panels (balanced by weights made from old cannon balls) which can be controlled by the owner to swing up-and-down. And swing they do: for privacy, for adjustable shading from the Florida sun, to create an exterior trellis, for ventilation, for protection from storms—and for shutting the house when the owners are out-of-state.
Here are a pair of drawings by Rudolph, which convey open and closed states of the house (though the angles of the individual panels actually have almost infinite adjustability, as you’ll see in the photo below).
So the house, built with standard lumber components, is economical, functional, practical—and endless fun!
A closer-in view of the hinging flaps which surround the house’s living area—and the red counterweights (made from vintage cannon balls) which allow for their easy adjustment. Through the window, at left, Mrs. Walker—the original client—can be seen enjoying the space inside. Photograph by Toni Ferrell
WELL SUITED…
Not just fun—but perfectly fitted for its use as a guest house—and its setting on Florida’s Sanibel Island (in the Fort Myers area, on the states’s south-western coast).
Here’s a spread from the July 1954 issue of McCall’s Magazine, showing the invitingly relaxed (and thoroughly Modern) lifestyle attainable in a house like this:
The floor plan shows the flowing spaces characteristic of that era’s “open planning” approach to residential design. Shaping space that way is still a valid way to plan: the minimizing of interior walls helps the functional areas flow into each other.
The floor plan of the Walker Guest House, showing furniture placement. The combined living-dining area, at the left, uses a full half of the home’s square footage, and also flows into the adjacent kitchen and bedroom areas. Note: what’s not shown in this drawing are the exterior frames which have the movable flap system.
That’s a form of planning particularly useful in vacation homes. Open planning not only makes the overall space feel bigger (an effect sought for in a smaller homes) but it also promotes cross-ventilation, family participation, and reduces cost. The plan shows that in the Walker Guest House, half the house is one big room—and its space also flows readily into the adjacent kitchen and bedroom areas.
An interior view of the Walker Guest house, looking from dining area towards the living room. Photograph by Toni Ferrell
…AND AVAILABLE (SOON!)
The Walkers who commissioned this house are part of a distinguished family who’ve been great patrons of culture—the Walker family founded the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis—and the house has been in their loving hands since it was built for them in the early 1950’s. The owners have taken meticulous care of it, and the strength and intelligence of Paul Rudolph’s design is evidenced by the good condition and structural integrity it has maintained for its many decades of existence.
Now it is time for a new owner, hopefully equally appreciative of its many delightful qualities. The house will be sold, at auction, by Sotheby’s on December 12th. The house itself (but not the land it’s on) is for sale—so it will need a “home”: a new location to which it can be moved. Fortunately, the building is relatively compact in size and components can be “deconstructed” for moving.
“AN AMERICAN ICON”
That’s how it’s been characterized by Sotheby’s, who is auctioning it in their upcoming Important Design sale. It holds pride-of-place among a constellation of works to be sold that day (by numerous masters of modern design, from Guimard and Stickley to Nakashima and Barragán—and you can see the full range in the auction’s on-line catalog (including a significant section on the house). Sotheby’s web page on the house starts out by telling the story of the house, it’s owner, and how the Walkers came to commission Rudolph.
A excerpt from a screen shot of Sotheby’s page for the Walker Guest House, which tells the story of the house, and includes numerous fine images of the house and its environs.
Sotheby’s, as part of their “Expert Voices” series, also commissioned a short film about the house, with commentary on the Walker Guest House’s architectural significance by Paul Goldberger. The video is appropriately titled “Paul Rudolph and the Dynamic Genius of The Walker Guest House,” and the film includes both serene and dynamic views of the house and its lush setting.
A excerpt from a screen shot of Sotheby’s “Expert Voices” page about the Walker Guest House. It features an intriguing video, with an historic assessment of the house’s significance by Paul Goldberger
Even more delightful—if that’s possible—is an article, also on Sotheby’s website, that goes into the family’s warm memories of the house, and which includes photos of several generations interacting with the building.
AND EVEN IF YOU DON’T WANT TO LIVE IN IT, BUY IT ANYWAY!
Even if you don’t need another house to live in, there are other reasons purchase one—and a prime motive is the pure love of great architecture.
A perfect example of this is shown in the fate of one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s designs: the Kalil House in New Hampshire. The house had been in the family for 65 years, but recently became available—and has now been purchased by an anonymous donor and donated to a museum. The recipient, the Currier Museum in Manchester, New Hampshire, has shown a strong commitment to architecture: they already owned another house by Wright—and this donation ensures a strong future for the Kalil house.
Perhaps the Walker Guest house will find such an architecture-loving donor—perhaps even the reader of this post!
Dwell’s article about the happy fate of the Kalil House (designed by Frank Lloyd Wright), as shown in this excerpt from a screen shot of their page devoted to the story.