Treehouse

Our house is a treehouse, and it especially feels like one now with all the windows removed.

On nice days the carpenters pull down all the masonite and it is open all the way through. It is quite a feeling!

We got our letter today about our bid for the state tax freeze application. At this stage, they do not feel our house qualifies because of the changes we made to the front windows (see this post on structure) and the amount of removal we have done on the interior. We anticipated this, but I am still a little disappointed, mostly from a preservation perspective.

After going through this process, I wish there was a middle ground, where a more moderate tax incentive is offered to homeowners who preserve a period structure on the exterior. The interior preservation is so worthwhile for posterity, but is not always in the homeowner's best interest. For contemporary use, resale value, and to carefully update our home to current code, we elected to make some changes that are significant on the inside. But on the outside, the house is virtually unchanged and will be the same as it has been for fifty years from the perspective of the Village or the neighbors. And I think it is worth providing an incentive to keep the variety of styles, ages, and housing types in our Village and the neighboring cities and communities. Without any incentive to preserve the building, it makes financial sense to raze homes and build anew, so that the structure, insulation, wiring, ducting can be brand new and up to current standards.

Once the project is complete, we may go back to them and show what we have done and ask them to consider our application again. And at the very least I'll write a letter, and renew my membership in the local preservation organizations that are fighting this fight every day.

Gutnayer and FLW, continued.

You'll see in an earlier post that within a year of Gutnayer's arrival in the US he made a pilgrimage to meet Frank Lloyd Wright. I am slowly getting to know FLW's work, and am seeing more and more connections between what the Gute began doing in his residential practice in the 50s and what FLW had established in his practice in the 40s. As is pointed out on Wikipedia about FLW, a lot of the innovations laid out in the Usonian houses and Wright's ideas about suburban homes were picked up by developers and architects in the 1950s. PrairieMod posted a link to this Illinois farmhouse by FLW, and I was struck by the eave:

from prairiemod via dailyherald.com

because of the similarity of the later eave design by the Gute:

on this house in Lincolnwood ( JMG drawing above and my photograph below)

or this house in Highland Park

I had not really realized how much Gutnayer might have been influenced by the Usonian houses. Many of the Usonian houses were laid out on a regular module. Gutnayer has one built project here in Chicago that is designed on a strict grid and built: I am going to go down and take a look and actually knock on the door, which I have not really done yet with his residences.

Interestingly, there is one site plan (in the materials that went to the Art Institute) for a development in Westchester County by Gutnayer and his brother in the early 50s. Gutnayer's brother was also an architect and practiced in New York City. I am interested in researching this a bit because of the proximity to Pleasantville, NY location of the Usonia homes. Not to mention all the significant modern architecture in Westchester County. Oh, if I only knew or cared about any of this while my grandparents were alive and we were in Westchester on a regular basis!

skylights

The house is being tuckpointed and getting new mortar right now. It looks great: like it got a shower and a haircut. The front window got its new sill. You can see the new columns lining up with the concrete supports below. Windows just got ordered, so it will be a few weeks before these openings are filled with new glass.

Inside all the window openings are covered with masonite, so the house is only lit by the skylights. These photos were all taken without a flash.

I remember Reed telling me when he looked at the house there were very few functioning lightbulbs and that it took him awhile to realize that the spaces were all lit naturally from above. The house was designed with seven skylights.

Our kids standing under the skylight in the kitchen. Poor Will is being required to stand for a photo when all he wants to do is get to the porta potty outside. Ella is plugging her nose: with the masons and the carpenters working it is pretty dusty.

There are skylights in the two adjacent bathrooms. We thought we were losing them but re-design recently salvaged them. And now that I see this, I am really, really glad.

Here is the master bathroom with its skylight.

and the master closet with its skylight.

All these photos were taken without a flash, so the only light source is the not-so-big skylights. It was quite beautiful to see how much natural light comes in from just those seven openings in the roof.

now you see it now you don't

We were up in Deerfield, IL (west of Highland Park) for a birthday party dropoff yesterday and so I grabbed my list and camera before we left the house. Sad results mostly: the streets we visited had many new houses intermingled with 50s ranch houses, which is the sign of teardowns. Since Gutnayer only listed the street and not the address in most cases, we can only guess where the houses might have been.
We did find one though, and as usual its a thrill to come around a corner and see one of his signature eaves.

That's Reed on the right, on his first house scouting mission.

This house is currently a rental and had a for sale sign on it. When I jumped out of the car and started taking pictures, a guy walked out of the neighboring house and said he owned it, but it isn't for sale: the sign is for the new construction that will go up in its place.

You can see the redwood pattern on the eave that has been painted over.

This house was on a nice big lot and had big windows on both sides of a sunken living room. I wanted to go in but babies were sleeping so we couldn't see the inside. I am going to contact the developer and see if I can get inside before it gets torn down to take some pictures and hopefully salvage some Gutnayer details.

finishes!

There are a few big drivers in figuring out finishes on our project. One is the fireplace, which is pink, white and grey stone. The second is all the natural light coming in from all directions. A third is the ceiling, which is currently stained off white and will be either given another layer of lighter, brighter white stain or painted, probably not hard core white, but a warm off white or off grey, something light but peaceful. Here's our current flooring material, which is kind of a light jade green:

It is a 12x12 cork tile with a vertical grain to it and a green wash. We were unanimous in our last site meeting that this is THE ONE. We can afford it, it is sustainable, and we can put it everywhere. The brown wood stain swatch is the IKEA cabinets fronts that we are using in the kitchen. And on the ceiling. More on that later!

new structural connections

Our house is a frame box sitting on top of steel beams that land on concrete columns. The architects are reinforcing and strengthening some of those connections with new steel posts in a range of places in the house, but particularly on the wall with the ribbon window.

 The pink spray paint squares on the floor show where the new steel is. You can see the new beams being added as structural support where there were once walls running across. You can also see the new header on the ribbon window and the new columns running down through the floor.

 Here you can see the new columns coming down through the floor and landing on the concrete columns just adjacent to the steel beam. These new columns change the rhythm of the window pattern in the front, which is fine with us but probably does in our potential for historic rehabilitation. We're good with it. Making the house structurally sound for the next phase of its life is our goal. As we get further into the process, it is easier to let go of some of the issues of original intent. To say that raises lots of interesting thoughts. It is true, however and the house is really starting to feel like ours, and I can feel our architect's design intentions coming alive. As we keep saying, we think the Gute would approve.

new steel in the kitchen going right down through the subfloor to the steel beam underneath.

 Here the structural engineers are reinforcing beams that span a long distance
(our two car garage entrance under the kitchen) by adding layers of steel.

 

under construction

This looks so tiny: blogs are so vertical!
ctrl-click on it to see it better in a new window. 

We (the architects, the carpenters, the clients) love the house wide open like this while everything is still studs. Here I am standing in the kitchen, looking south. From left to right the spaces are: dining room with screen porch beyond, master bedroom, hearth, family room, second dining area. The dark posts are new steel and are permanent. Some of the light posts are temporary support and will be removed. That beautiful minimal box houses the piano. I like how it ended up partnered with the void of the circular stair to the right of the fireplace.

Certificate of Rehabilitation

So we are going ahead with an application for a certificate of rehabilitation from the state. Property taxes are pretty steep here, and once the valuation on the house goes up we could be looking at significant savings over the next ten years if we freeze at the lowest valuation (next year). Also, I am interested and curious to have a conversation with the state architects about our project, and to determine how the changes we are making to the house do or do not fall in line with expectations for historical preservation. Our house is just a baby in historical preservation terms and modern and traditional architecture diverge in many ways. Here are the guidelines:

Illinois Standards for Rehabilitation

1. A property shall be used for its historic purpose or be placed in a new use that requires minimal change to the defining characteristics of the building and its site and environment.

Good on this one. It's a house, we are using it as a house.

2. The historic character of a property shall be retained and preserved. The removal of historic materials or alteration of features and spaces that characterize a property shall be avoided.

We are removing elements and altering spaces, and this gave me pause. So far, however, conversations about this with the state are relatively positive. It seems preserving a certain proportion of critical elements in public spaces and the house overall is key.

3. Each property shall be recognized as a physical record of its time, place, and use. Changes that create a false sense of historical development, such as adding conjectural features or architectural elements from other buildings, shall not be undertaken.

I love the purity of this one. Absolutely.

4. Most properties change over time; those changes that have acquired historic significance in their own right shall be retained and preserved.

This is the one I have been thinking about the most. We are the first ones to alter this house after the original owner and builder. If we think 200 years down the line, our architects are the ones who are making changes that will acquire that layer of historical significance. How many Villa Savoye-inspired rocket ranches on pilotis are there in Illinois, anyway? The changes they are making, particularly lining up the structural grid (more on this in the next post) are important. I feel we are making the house more true to its bones.

5. Distinctive features, finishes, and construction techniques or examples of craftsmanship that characterize a property shall be preserved.

Note that it does not state explicitly that they need to remain in place. We have removed the paneling and light fixtures to re-wire and re-insulate. Virtually all the material in good condition will be re-used and much will go back in the same place it came from: sustainability, design and budget practicality all align here. However, some materials have been removed, and some material will be installed in new locations.

6. Deteriorated historic features shall be repaired rather than replaced. Where the severity of deterioration requires replacement of a distinctive feature, the new feature shall match the old in design, color, texture, and other visual qualities and, where possible, materials. Replacement of missing features shall be substantiated by documentary, physical, or pictorial evidence.

Luckily we do have pictorial and drawing evidence for the few removed elements (from our time and the Gutnayer's time), so one could return the house to an earlier state if desired.

7. Chemical or physical treatments, such as sandblasting, that cause damage to historic materials shall not be used. The surface cleaning of structures, if appropriate, shall be undertaken using the gentlest means possible.

Yup.

8. Significant archaeological resources affected by a project shall be protected and preserved. If such resources must be disturbed, mitigation measures shall be undertaken.

I wonder if the vintage Sunfish that is still on the side of the house qualifies as an archeological resource.

Sunfish, anyone?

9. New additions, exterior alterations, or related new construction shall not destroy historic materials that characterize the property. The new work shall be differentiated from the old and shall be compatible with the massing, size, scale, and architectural features to protect the historic integrity of the property and its environment.

I appreciate this idea. So architectural and modern in its essence—what is new should be new—related, compatible, but having its own distinct design.

10.New additions and adjacent or related new construction shall be undertaken in such a manner that if removed in the future, the essential form and integrity of the historic property and its environment would be unimpaired.

Nice and logical. Touch lightly and make future restoration easier to do. Our additions touch lightly in this way.

We still aren't sure if we will get it: we won't know for a few months and the state has asked for more drawings. At this point it is difficult to predict what will happen with taxation rates and property values, so figuring out cost/benefit is a bit...speculative. We maintain the attitude that we will continue to do what is best for the house, preserving as much of its character and material as we can while shoring it up and making it ours.

the archive moves to new homes

I've been on a bit of a hiatus with a spring break trip to Berkeley and tax time duties taking away from blog time. Two weeks ago, the papers finally left. As the date drew closer we scanned some pieces, some wonderful curators came to the house to collect materials, and some I delivered out to the local historical societies on a blustery winter day.

The bulk of the collection is going to the Chicago Art Institute Ryerson and Burnham Libraries. Drawings are also now housed at the Evanston History Center, The Highland Park Historical Society, the Wilmette Historical Museum, the Glenview History Center and the Glencoe Historical Society. A truck came from the Art Institute and two guys loaded up the collection to take to their storage facility south of downtown. Can you imagine having that job, gathering the things that eventually make their way into the Art Institute's collection in any area? When I asked if I could take pictures, Billy said most people do and that he was used to it. He also said he was pretty photogenic.

I'm going to indulge in a little before and after:

 the store room, before (with architect's drawings in tubes above the cubbies)
and after (studio, here I come!)

 the architect's studio before and after.
We will be using this as a 'multipurpose room'
which means we really don't want to put any furniture in it.

Here's the big truck.

The drawings looked awfully fragile strapped into the back of that bad boy. All I could think about was driving one of those trucks in college when I worked catering and how it bobbed and weaved as I drove around the Santa Cruz campus. But it sounds like they got there safe and sound!

edgewater motel

I never leave the house without the camera now, because there is always the chance of zooming right by a Gutnayer project. Sure enough today, we drove right by one of the motels that is in his drawings.

Now there are many of these little motels all over Chicagoland, but how many are in beautiful shape and are right down the street from the leaning tower of Pisa?

Edgewater Motel, Touhy & Nagle, Niles, IL

We were on our way to Elk Grove Village, where we ate lunch in a Japanese restaurant in an industrial park. It was the first time I ate in a Japanese restaurant where most of the patrons were speaking Japanese. On our way back, we stopped briefly to photograph the hotel.

The restrained Gutnayer eave in action.

structural corrections

temporary posts in the area where rot was found

you can see the two new columns inside the windows directly above the concrete columns

and the busted up sill

The sill of the front window was broken and sagging inward when we bought the house, which was attributed possibly to freeze and thaw cycles over time or poor load distribution around the window. When the carpenters got into the wall around the window, there were some odd choices made about how to carry the loads downward, but the real problem were some rotted members below the window on the underside of the second floor. The window had very little holding it up and a lot pressing down on it. The carpenters are now shoring things up inside. The steel header over the window is now being supported by (among other things) two temporary steel posts that run down to the concrete columns on the first floor. The original solution was aluminum columns under the steel header that ran down to wood, which then rotted out.

original aluminum column on right going down to wood
new temp steel going down to concrete column on left.

The architects asked the carpenters to try to use the temporary columns to lift the weight off the window and sure enough, they got an inch of vertical space back for the facade. They said that the first 3/4 inch was actually pretty easy, and you could hear the house sighing with relief when the weight was lifted off the window and the wall.

peeling away

The carpet has come off the circular stair to reveal these worn treads on the original wood.

 The circular stair with its plywood veneer siding removed.

In the rear you can see the space where the bookshelf was removed  and a temporary column to take weight off the window wall, which had an 'experimental' construction method that needs shoring up and re-thinking before the new windows can go in.

The Master Bedroom with the funky stair in front removed.

The current plan is for this room to have translucent sliding doors along the whole opening.to allow light to enter the living room and to keep some of this openness while giving the bedroom some privacy.

glencoe

So, yesterday I was up in Highland Park, not Glencoe. I have a couple more to visit up there, but the more high rent the neighborhood, the less likely the Gutnayer houses are to have survived. In Glencoe I found two of six today, which is not so great. The two I found today are just a few blocks apart from each other.

 

  

Funny how that evergreen is pruned right to the edge of the eave.

 

  

This house is built with the same brick as our house. All perhaps from one lot? 

highland park

There has been beautiful sun the last couple days, so with a half hour to spare today I sped up to Highland Park to try to track down some of Gutnayer's built projects. Most of his projects in the suburbs are labeled with the client and street name only, so I have to go out and drive around to find them. One address was a maybe: it looked like a well designed ranch house with one pronounced eave, but it was hard to call. One was probably lost (replaced with a new/old french country house) and the other was, well, this.

 

  

  

This eave is redwood. It looks to be in pretty remarkable shape. This house is on a corner site, as are most of his houses. I really appreciate the way the house looks so different from each angle. Also—and I don't know whether this is brilliant or strange—the balance of the house from the outside appears to be a fairly standard ranch.

I have not seen one of these strong patterned eaves in person until today. They appear in a number of his projects, including the original drawings for our house.

 

In the design for our house, the redwood eave was to hold a clerestory window that would let light into the main floor. There were to be two of them, one facing south, the other north (you can see it in this elevation peeking out behind the front clerestory). He instead used seven skylights to light the main floor (or 'sky domes' as he called them out in the drawings: perhaps that was the term at the time). While I have been doubtful that these would look good on our house, I love it on the house above. And think it is well paired with the unique brick pattern. Gutnayer was not shy about detail. I really, really would like to get inside some of these and see how they feel from within.

Plans

So for those of you for whom plans are hard to read, I apologize in advance. These are really hard to read, being photocopies of original plans that are now tiny and pixelated. But, in the interest of explaining my demolition photographs, I think I better give a brief sense of the layout of the house. Since we are fortunate to have both Gutnayer's original design drawings and a quick set of as built drawings, I will show both.

 

original design, main floor J. M. Gutnayer, 1957

To orient you briefly: the bottom of the drawing is the front of the house: the little dots and dashes along the horizontal line represent the window mullions of the ribbon window. The circular stair is how you enter the house from the ground floor. The beds and baths are on the right side of the drawing, with the kitchen/living and dining on the left side. The elements highlighted in blue are the things that changed when the house was built. The only major change was the orientation and scale of the fireplace. His design oriented the fireplace towards the dining room and had a smaller footprint than what was built. Also, he designed a 'skydome' over the circular stair that was not installed.

 

as built plan, main floor, J.M. Gutnayer, 1958

Here you can see the different shape of the fireplace, and also the different orientation of the exterior stair. It was originally drawn to head back to the rear of the house, but was built to move to the front by the garage.  The elements in red are the elements we are removing from the house, the elements in blue are being added. We are removing the stair on the north side of the house (the left side of this drawing) and replacing it with a stair down to the backyard from the lanai. The bookshelf and maid's room walls that interrupted the continuous ribbon window from the inside are being removed to create a very open main room. 

 

from inside maid's room.

 

from the family room, seeing the continuous window.

What will go in the space in front the window? We expect it will be very sparsely furnished, if at all. This floor area is designated un-programmed, lying in the sun, reading the paper, doing a project space.