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Contemporary --You know them by their odd-sized and often tall windows, their lack of ornamentation, and their unusual mixtures of wall materials--stone, brick, and wood, for instance. Architects designed Contemporary-style homes (in the Modern family) between 1950 and 1970, and created two versions: the flat-roof and gabled types. The latter is often characterized by exposed beams. Both breeds tend to be one-story tall and were designed to incorporate the surrounding landscape into their overall look. "Reprinted from REALTOR® Magazine January, 2004  ( http://www.realtor.org/realtormag ) with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Copyright 2004. All rights reserved." Featured below are two of the most famous contemporary homes in the United States.   1965 - Present: Contemporary - Contemporary homes are designed for today's lifestyles with huge windows and large, open spaces. Contemporary homes are known for their large windows and unusual shapes.     Fallingwater by Frank Lloyd Wright Fallingwater, also known as the Edgar J. Kaufmann, Sr. Residence, is a house designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935 in rural southwestern Pennsylvania, 50 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, and is part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The house was built partly over a waterfall in Bear Run at Rural Route 1 in the Mill Run section of Stewart Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, in the Laurel Highlands of the Allegheny Mountains. Hailed by TIME magazine shortly after its completion as Wright's "most beautiful job," the home inspired Ayn Rand's novel The Fountainhead, and is listed among Smithsonian magazine's Life List of 28 places "to visit before ...it's too late."Fallingwater was featured in Bob Vila's A&E Network production, Guide to Historic Homes of America. About Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, interior designer, writer, educator, and philosopher from Oak Park, Illinois, who designed more than 1,000 projects, of which more than 500 resulted in completed works. He was noted for promoting organic architecture (typified by Fallingwater), originating the Prairie School of architecture (typified by the Robie House), and developing the concept of the Usonian home (typified by the Rosenbaum House). In addition to numerous other office buildings (such as the Larkin Administration Building), churches (such as Unity Temple), schools (such as Taliesin West), hotels (such as the Imperial Hotel, Tokyo, and museums (such as the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum) he designed, Wright is also noted for often designing many of the interior elements such as furniture and stained glass accents in his buildings. Wright was recognized in 1991 by the American Institute of Architects as "the greatest American architect of all time"[1]. He was also well known in his lifetime. Wright authored twenty books and numerous articles and was a popular lecturer in the United States and in Europe. His colorful personal life frequently made headlines, most notably for the failure of his first two marriages and for the 1914 fire and murders at his Taliesin studio. Sitting are in the Fallingwater house Structural problems Fallingwater's structural system includes a series of bold reinforced concrete cantilevered balconies. However, the house had problems from the beginning. Pronounced sags were noticed immediately with both of the prominent balconies - the living room and the second floor. The strong horizontal and vertical lines are a distinctive feature of Fallingwater.The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy conducted an intensive program to preserve and restore Fallingwater. The structural work was completed in 2002. This involved a detailed study of the original design documents, observing and modeling the structure's behavior, then developing and implementing a repair plan. While Wright had been pondering the architectural design for months, results of the study indicated that the original structural design and plan preparation had been rushed and the cantilevers had significantly inadequate reinforcement. As originally designed the cantilevers would not have held their own weight. The contractor, Walter Hall, who was also an engineer, produced independent computations and argued for increasing the reinforcement. Wright rebuffed the contractor and Kaufmann took Wright's advice. Wright's team did not update their design. Nevertheless, the contractor quietly doubled the amount of reinforcement in these.  Even this was not enough, but likely prevented the structure's collapse. The 2002 repair scheme involved temporarily supporting the structure; careful, selective, removal of the floor; post-tensioning the cantilevers underneath the floor; then restoring the finished floor. Given the humid environment directly over running water, the house also had mold problems. The senior Mr. Kaufmann called Fallingwater "a seven-bucket building" for its leaks, and nicknamed it "Rising Mildew" (Brand 1995). Philip Johnson Glass House   The serene Glass House, a 56-foot by 32-foot rectangle, is generally considered one of the 20th century's greatest residential structures.       Interrelation of interior and exterior space. Harmony of landscape, architecture, and interior design: exterior and interior of the Glass House, New Canaan, Connecticut, designed by Philip Johnson, 1949.  Russ Kinne—Photo Researchers   Philip Johnson's life and designs Mr. Johnson with his Glass House in July, 1949 in New Canaan, Conn. Philip Johnson outside the Glass House in 1998. He passed away January 25, 2005 at the age of 98.  Until his death, Mr. Johnson lived in the glass house since he built it in 1949.  Philip Johnson, Elder Statesman of U.S. Architecture - Audio Slide Show By Paul Goldberger     For information on buying or selling east bay homes, please contact me at 510-429-4800 or send me a note on the Contact Joanne form. Thank you, Joanne P.S.  Be sure to add us to your favorite places. ~ Joanne L. Gardiner, Broker, e-PRO Realtor Advantage Realty 3205 Whipple Road - Union City, California 94587 (510) 429-4800 San Francisco Bay Area  ~ San Francisco East Bay Real Estate web site: http://www.joannegardiner.com

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