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Showing posts with the label United States

The Miller House

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The Miller House Midcentury Modern   Richard Neutra highly influenced the customization of the house owners when designing their houses, so much so that it limits the market of future owners because it might not fit their style of life. The owner of this particular house was Mrs. Grace Lewis Miller, between August 1936 and February 1937 Richard Neutra and Grace Miller exchanged over fifty letters which discussed every step of her daily schedule. All her routines and habits are reflected in the house because Neutra listened to all her requirements and suggestions and followed them religiously. The house was tailor made for Grace Miller and her life. The home was made up of two pieces as it was to fit the roles of a winter home and an exercise studio. The budget for the house was merely five thousand dollars, but her requirements were basic so it wasn't a difficult endeavour. Grace Miller requested for the home to match her style as “Miller was a teacher of the Mensendieck Syste...

Washington Monument (Washington DC, United States)

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Washington Monument Robert Mills originally designed the Washington Monument which was later completed by Thomas Casey and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The project was designed during the Greek Revival period as a memorial in order to honor George Washington in the center of our nation's capital. Robert Mills began the first phase of construction in 1848 and finished in 1854. The first phase of construction by Robert Mills was under private funding, where they had difficulties raising funds. The cornerstone was laid on July 4th 1984. “ Builders commenced work on the blue gneiss foundation, an 80-foot square step pyramid. With the substructure completed, the builders then proceeded to the above-ground marble structure, 55 feet, 1.5 inches square at the base, using a system of pulleys, block and tackle systems, and a mounted derrick to hoist and place the stones, inching the structure skyward. By 1854, the monument had reached a height of 156 feet above ground”. The Archite...

The Futuro House 1968 (Florida, United States): MidCentury Modern

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The Futuro House The Futuro House was designed by the Finnish Architect Matti Suuronen in 1968 as a Ski Chalet. Although the project was originally designed as a Ski Chalet, it was advertised to the public as a prefabricated home that could be both assembled and installed in any area on any topography. The project that resulted in the futuro house needed to be a small chalet that could be moved from its initial site if needed. So it was constructed from plastic with the main loads on the house being supported by a metal ring and four legs that could be changed to up to a twenty degree angle. Making this building easily interchangeable from site to site. The plastic material that the building is constructed of is a fiberglass-reinforced plastic. By using this material, Matti Suuronen significantly reduced the weight of the house and simultaneously acted as a strong insulator. By using this fiberglass-reinforced plastic, Suuronen was easily able to mold the shape into the curved form...