Antoni Gaudí's Barcelona - Palau Güell

GAUDÍ'S BARCELONA - A PERSONAL TOUR PART 2 At age 26 Antoni Gaudí met Eusebi Güell i Bacigalupi, a wealthy Catalan industrialist, politician and patron of the arts. That meeting would have an influence on Gaudí's career that extended for many years and commissions from Güell ultimately gave rise to some of Gaudí's most renowned creations including several that bear his name; Palau Güell, Parque Güell and the ...

Antoni Gaudí's Barcelona - Casa Batlló

GAUDÍ'S BARCELONA - A PERSONAL TOUR PART 1 Recently I was fortunate enough to be able to take a long vacation in Europe. A long lazy week in Barcelona before a Mediterranean cruise sailing out of the port there afforded me the opportunity to experience firsthand some of Antoni Gaudí's outstanding and unique work. Camera in hand I was able to visit several Gaudí sites and that has afforded me the opportunity to add a series of ...

Frank O. Gehry Venice Beach House, Venice, CA, USA

In my "spotlight" article on Pritzker Prize winning architect Frank O. Gehry published recently I observed that Gehry "buildings often include the use of flowing curves and metal claddings that add a surreal touch and differentiate them from other, more conventional, designs. Having said that Gehry by no means restricts himself to one theme; take a look at the Venice Beach house ..." Today I return to Gehry to look at the Venice Beach House which is, to use an old cliché, the ...

Biorama aka The Water Tower House

Around 10 years or so ago while cycling Richard Hurding spotted an old run down water tower in the Schorfheide-Chorin Biosphere Reserve, a UNESCO nature reserve outside the town of Joachimsthal some 45 miles or so from the German capital, Berlin. Harding and his wife Sarah Philips, though both British, had worked in and explored many parts of the world and were looking for a new place to live. They had just found it. Both Harding and Philips were industrial designers ...

The Flying Saucer House, TN, USA

About three weeks ago we published an article on the "UFO House" in Royse City, TX. That was one of the late 20th century Futuro homes. Here we bring you another "UFO" style home though this one is be more commonly referred to as the "Flying Saucer House". This home, while just as strange as the Futuro homes, is unique and very definitely "one of a kind". Constructed in 1970 the "Flying Saucer House" is located on Signal Mountain in Tennessee on a switch back along ...

The Kirsch Home, Oak Park, IL, USA

Now this one was a bit of a challenge! Saw this a while ago on a blog somewhere; just a picture with no info of any sort but the picture looked interesting so I decided to try to track it down. It took a little while but I was successful in the end. The "Bunker" as it seems to be referred to was designed by the architect Errol J Kirsch and there is a series of images of the home on his website. Unfortunately there is no additional information on the rationale behind the design or the construction methods; just ...

The Cigar House, Albuquerque, NM, USA

The Mead/Penhall house or the "Cigar House" as we have termed it is located in Albuquerque, NM. Many of the buildings we feature have nicknames that have been around for a long time and we have no idea of their origin; some make sense and some seem a little obscure. We have not previously heard of a nickname being applied to this property so we chose to create one; perhaps it will stick, perhaps not. In any case if you take a look at the close in aerial shot taken from Google Maps...

Dome Of A Home, Gulf Breeze, FL, USA

Valerie and Mark Sigler had had just about enough after their home was severely damaged for the third time by a hurricane. In 1998 following Hurricane Georges they had what remained of their home demolished and started the search for the architect who would build them their new home. After a lengthy search they came upon Jonathan Zimmerman [who passed away 2005], the architect behind the "Dome Of A Home" which was constructed in 2003. The Sigler house is without doubt ...

The Brenton House, Boulder, CO, USA

The Brenton House in Boulder, CO is one of a long list of notable designs by architect Charles Haertling. The home was built for Dr. Stanley Brenton and his family who had selected a home site in the Wonderland Hills subdivision of Boulder for the construction of their new home. The site was idyllic perched above a lake and having superb views of the lake, the mountains and both sunset and sunrise. With a design said to have been inspired by the barnacle [Haertling was ...

Haines "Shoe House", Hellam, PA, USA

Built in 1948 by Mahlon N. Haines or, as he was often known, the "Shoe Wizard of York" the "Shoe House" was an outlandish example of mimetic architecture. Born in Ohio in 1875 Haines moved to York, PA when he was in his twenties and from small beginnings he built a shoe sales chain of more than 40 stores. He died at the of 87 in 1962. Haines was an enthusiastic philanthropist and lived by the mantra "I came into this world with nothing and I'd like to leave the same way." The "Shoe House" is ...