"Any time we experience a work of art for the first time, the only reason we notice it at all is because it completes a circuit within us and engages our attention." #QotD

"Any time we experience a work of art for the first time, the only reason we notice it at all is because it completes a circuit within us and engages our attention.
    "It’s important to try and refrain from criticising the work; simply respond to it naturally.
    "In order for a work of art to survive the moment of surprise, the work must contain mystery... No matter how much you know it, as in knowing nature or people, the mystery is what keeps our interest."
          ~ architect Bruce Goff, in an interview with Robert Morris

[picture: Bruce Goff's Bavinger House, from above]

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Bruce Goff's Crystal Chapel

 

Bruce Goff’s Crystal Chapel, designed in 1949 - unbuilt, but recently modelled digitally so you too can see the genius …

[Hat tip SOCIETY OF ORGANIC ARCHITECTS]

Bruce Goff, architect

While I was visiting Canberra recently (as my more astute readers spotted), I met up with inspirational practitioner of organic achitecture Laurie Virr — to the delight of both of us.

Bruce Goff has been an architectural hero for us both over many years, but never having heard him speak, I was delighted to find that Laurie had a video of Goff talking about and visiting many of the homes he’d designed: homes as unique as the characters he’d designed them for.

The video quality is poor, but I find every minute thrilling!

Bavinger House, by Bruce Goff [updated]

A stunning animation of Bruce Goff’s masterpiece featured here many times before (click the button to enjoy the vid full-screen):

Bruce Goff: A Creative Mind - Bavinger House 1950 from skyline ink animation studios on Vimeo.

Sadly, it looks like the masterpiece may be in the process of being slowly dismembered by its present owners.

UPDATE: More news about the house’s apparent demise here, here, here here

Crystal Chapel, by Bruce Goff

More beautifully animated architecture by Bruce Goff.  This time his unbuilt project, the Crystal Chapel.

Animation produced by Skyline Ink Animation Studio

Garvey House, by Bruce Goff

I love the architecture of Bruce Goff. Where other architects create boxes borrowed from the past, or assemblages making you fear for the future, Goff was always seeking to create a three-dimensional wonderland packed full of human delight.

Like this, his first design for the Garvey House.

One of a series of beautiful animations done by Skyline Ink Animation Studios for a recent exhibition of Goff’s work in Frank Lloyd Wright’s Price Center.

[Hover over the black hole to see the video controls.]

Ignazio Perez house - Bruce Goff

The only house for South America designed by master of organic architecture, Bruce Goff (1904-1982).

Designed in 1953 around what appears to be a central atrium, and exhibiting a definite tropical influence, it was unfortunately never built.

Architect Bart Prince

New Mexico architect Bart Prince studied under Bruce Goff, and is one of the most original architects working today.  Not for him the airless boxes so beloved of our local magazine architects.

Watch this six-minute interview with him, and I defy you not to become even just a little bit of a fan.  And then check out his website here.

 

Cunningham House – Herb Greene

Designed by Herb Greene, a student of Bruce Goff, and photographed by the late, great Julius Shulman (who died just last week), this 1963 Oklahoma City house  for a golf-playing couple looks over a golf course at one end, and over a rainwater collection pool at the other.  And in between, it’s all excitement! 

Herb Greene’s website describes the house.

     The primary spaces of the Cunningham House, overlooking a golf course, are recessed into a slope providing a sense of security and privacy. At the same time a great roof sweeps out to the view in an expression of shelter and aspiration.
    Free-standing, vine covered ornamental trellises and brick piers facing the golf course allow the interior to be enlivened by flecks and rays from the setting sun, addressing the client's request for indirect sources of warm light.
     The roof extension and orientation of the house protects the vines from most of Oklahoma's ice storms. Vertical rows of dark umber brick headers are placed in a field of common red brick selected by the client. These carry the color of the umber stained roof soffits into the walls and make regular counterpoint with irregular cream-colored flash marks on the brick. The curves of the soffit rhythmically modulate the interiors, which are richly three dimensional. In contrast, street and side facades are neutral in deference to the neighborhood.
    The Cunningham Residence is further described in Herb Greene's Mind and Image.

See more here at Herb Greene’s website, and more photos of the house here at 'Ralph’s Photography.’

Content is copyright PC.BlogSpot.Com © Please contact author for permission to republish: (organon at ihug.co.nz)

Dale and Margo Seymour Residence – Bart Prince

The Dale and Margo Seymour Residence, Los Altos, California 1981-1982, designed by Bart Prince – student of Bruce Goff.  Prince’s site describes the house:

An existing residence had been on this site for nearly 50 years when the Seymours first bought it. After living there for several years they began to notice that with each temblor or minor earthquake, a portion of the house was moving down the hill. When they contacted me they were interested in saving as much of the house as was structurally sound and replace the rest with new living areas, kitchen and master bedroom suite. The site is covered with mature trees which were carefully retained as a part of the final design. The large curving glu-laminated wood beams work in conjunction with the vertical and diagonal steel structure to create a large interior volume within which are suspended the various living area.

It’s one of those houses where so much of the architecture is in the section.

Emil Gutman House, Gulfport, Mississippi - Bruce Goff, 1958 [update 2]

                             
I freely concede that it's not a great looking house; overly symmetrical; squatting above the ground like some sort of hovering insect; but this really is a beautifully crafted plan -- and it'd just be enormous fun to live there, don't you think? 
Goff's multi-cellular open plan is a tightly-focussed gem.
Just try and project yourself in there, and imagine what it would be like.
This is a severely underrated piece of architecture.


UPDATE 1:  I've scanned in two A4 pages of blueprints so you can see the original floor plan and much more.  If you click on the small pics below, you should see something much bigger.



UPDATE 2:  Now apparently destroyed by fire, but commenting at the Preservation in Mississippi blog Jim Galloway tells us where in Gulfport, Mississippi, the Gutman House used to be located:

"The Bruce Goff House, aka the Gutman House, in Gulfport, also locally known as the Star of David House, was located on the north side of Bayou Circle in Gulfport, which runs along the south shore of Gulfport Lake, all in the Bayou View subdivision. It was originally constructed by a Dr. Gutman, and was sometimes called the “Flying Saucer House”. It was quite a sight when it was built."

Bob & Dorene Barns House - Bruce Goff, 1955

              

[Sketch by Bruce Goff from Art Institute of Chicago Collection]

Russell Collins House - Bruce Goff

Built in 1959 in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. [Photos from 'Ralph's Photography' site.]

'GIANT SOLAR POWER FLOWER: London Urban Oasis' - Laurie Chetwood, Architect.

                             
London readers, listen up.  Bookmark the dates of 21st and 22nd June, because London's Tate Modern Gallery is soon to host a celebration  of one of my favourite architects: Oklahoma's Bruce Goff.   Details of the event here, here and here.

This is great news.  The man was a genius, and seriously underappreciated -- and to add to the festivities, Goff-inspired architect Laurie Chetwood won the Gold Medal at the 2007 Chelsea Flower Show with this ... Goff-inspired creation, above, and this garden which accompanies it.  Says Chetwood,

"The garden represents an imaginary concept for an open space in an urban setting, showcasing the latest environmental technologies and how they can sustain and enhance a garden.

"The focus is the Urban Oasis sculpture which harnesses daylight and windpower to recycle water. The sculpture mimics the design of an emerging flower: its 'petals' are linked to moisture sensors and are triggered to open when the garden is dry. The petals then convert sunlight to electricity for pumping water around the garden.

The things you have to say to sell a concept, eh.  (You can read more about the all-singing all-dancing giant solar power flower here.)

PS: I have no idea whether it's a functioning thing or not, but while I was Googling Chetwood I came across this "wind dam" he's proposing for Lake Lodoga outside St Petersburg. Fantastic!

                                       

'Shin'enKan' - Bruce Goff - 1956, 1966 & 1974 (destroyed by arson 1996)

              

Tower addition & garden of architect Bruce Goff's 'Shin'enKan' house.  Photo by David Alan Milstead.  The house is featured at the 'Bruce Goff in Bartlesville' blog.

                                             

Coal and glass cullet garden wall, photo by David Alan Milstead.

That was the year that was ...

In 2007 here at Not PC I've welcomed just over 200,000 visitors.

There's been just under 360,000 page views.

Of some 1,827 posts.

That's a lot of reading, and (I feel bound to point out) a heck of a lot of writing.   About 900,000 words worth of writing.  I'm gratified all those words have been so well received.

Obviously, some posts are more well received than others.  Ten most popular for the year, based on visitor numbers:

1. Frank Lloyd Wright: Broadacre City, 4007 visits
2. Becky Wants to Knock Her School Down, 2899 visits
3. Evening, Fall of Day - William Rimmer, 2299 visits
4. Wafa Sultan: "Cracks in the Islamic Prison," 2181 visits
5. Beer O'Clock: Heineken Mini-keg, 1933 visits
6. PC &, the 'Great Post-Modern Essay Generator,' 1713 visits
7. Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus - Rubens, 1502 visits
8. Hollywood Hygiene, 1289 visits
9. Bavinger House - Bruce Goff, 1090 visits
10. Political Correctness: A Classic Documentary, 966 visits

Strangely, only two of those posts were from 2007.  Some posts however weren't so well received.  Here's the year's six that were clicked on the fewest number of times.

1. Formaldehyde Scam Exposed 
2. Won Again
3. US Presidential Candidates Quiz
4. What a Victory
5. Today's Drinking Meme 

Favourite searches?  No surprise that those posts above are reflected in the top six "Safe for Work" Google searches landing here:

1. not pc/not pc blog/peter cresswell (4374 referrals)
2. Searches for Various commenters (1641)
3. becky wants to knock her school down/beck from dublin (1086)
4. broadacre city (1047)
5. heineken mini keg (411)
6. "nanny state has gone berserk" (267)

And finally, Google, Yahoo, del.ici.ous and Bloglines aside, the top six referrers for the year (thank you):

1. Kiwiblog, 13, 605 referrals
2. Libertarianz, 3733
3. Cactus Kate, 2508
4. SOLO, 2175
5. Whale Oil, 1998
6. NZ Conservative, 1689

"Too dangerous for the neighbourhood"

Here's a charming story about a client's adventures building a house designed by Bruce Goff. My favourite part is when his builders get hauled off to the police station at the behest of a developer who declared our writer's house "too dangerous for the neighbourhood."

The only contractor bold enough to bid on the new house was an old friend, Mike Rothstein, who was building the other two Goff houses. Without Mike, these three houses might never have been built. His carpenters took pride in working on and dreaming about a house they could actually afford...

After work I would go by the house to talk with Mike and Goff about the next day’s work schedule. But something happened one day that finally put a face on who was trying to stop us: a developer I named Ellsworth Toohey after the heavy from The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand’s tribute to Frank Lloyd Wright. I had gone by the site after work as usual, but something was different this time ... where were all the carpenters? I never saw Mike so mad or Goff so perplexed. Mike told me the carpenters were being held at the police station for resisting a court order to stop construction and he left to meet with union officials to get his crew released. Goff just shook his head in disbelief and told me the developer got a court order to halt construction because we didn’t get the developer’s permission on the design.

So, early the next morning...

Read on to see how things worked out.

LINK: Bruce Goff, Frank Lloyd Wright, and a tale of two houses - Paul Searing

RELATED: Architecture, Building

Popular Not PC

Top ten most popular posts here at Not PC. Have you read them all?

Architecture V Architecture: John Soane's House, London
Frank Lloyd Wright: Broadacre City
A new 'Frank Lloyd Wright house' nears completion
Becky wants to knock her school down
Gravity research offers science fiction results
The fatalism of entropy. The dynamism of spontaneous order.
Stadium: What about the architecture?
Frank Lloyd Wright's Massaro house
Delusions and why people have them
Medal for gun dealer, not court

And here's the most popular searches landing here, and no surprise, there's some overlap:

broadacre city
john soane house
john soane's house
libertarians new zealand
label:live bookmarks toolbar
becky from dublin
bruce goff bavinger house first floor plan
pauson wright
alberto baruffi
gravity's secret martin tajmar
frei otto olympic park
peter cresswell
soane's house
gravity's secret gravitomagnetism
christina's world
swedish female soldiers
pictures of boobs
lucy lawless breast exposure
rape of the daughters paintings
knock my school down

RELATED: Blog

Popular posts. Popular searches.

Listed here are popular posts presently here at 'Not PC.' Evenly distributed between art, architecture, politics, humour and sex.

1. Frank Lloyd Wright: Broadacre City
2. Counterfeit Korea?
3. Government changes tack in pledge card defence
4. 'Evening, Fall of Day' - William Rimmer
5. Becky wants to knock her school down
6. UK libertarian Chris Tame passes away
7. Futuna Chapel - John Scott (Karori, Wellington)
8. 'Price Tower,' by Frank Lloyd Wright
9. Female soldiers
10. More "enormous" trade deficits

Popular searches:

broadacre city
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art of female soldiers
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evening, fall of day
frank lloyd wright's environmental concepts
annette presley
the scream found
does budvar contain yeast
peter cresswell
frank lloyd wright broadacre city
price tower architectural
evening fall of day
warning fascism
broadacre wright
exclusive brethren - gadsden
becky from dublin
adam hamilton university of colorado
leighton smith news talk
mark inglis
prduction point in a perfect competitive market
christina's world history
new zealand bill of rights 1688
bruce goff bavinger layout
geoffrey howe savaged lettuce

RELATED: Blog

Bavinger House - Bruce Goff: Section

A section through one of my top five architectural favourites, Bruce Goff's Bavinger House, about which I posted here.

You can see how the bedroom and study 'pods' hover above the lounge below and spiral up and around the spiral core.

LINK: Architecture Top Five: 'Bavinger House,' by Bruce Goff - Not PC

RELATED: Architecture