The Mid-Century/Danish thread

Along the theme, an interesting read:
Florence Knoll Bassett 1917-2019 - In memoriam

Florence Knoll Bassett, the female pioneer of midcentury modern American design, died aged 101. She passed away on 25 January in Coral Gables, Florida.

The creative force behind one of the most influential design brands of the 20th century was born in 1917 and grew up in Michigan as an orphan from the age of 12. It was an early friendship with Finnish architects, Eliel and Eero Saarinen and a firm interest in architecture from a young age that led her to enrol at Cranbrook Academy of Art where her most important design education – from the likes of Harry Bertoia took place.

https://www.wallpaper.com/design/florence-knoll-obituary?

Florence Knoll Bassett contributed immensely to MCM furniture design and manufacture. Here is my Knoll Pollock Executive office chair. The Executive was copied and sometimes improved upon by Harpers and Steelcase and likely others but never matched for style. In addition to my single Knoll Pollock, I have a set of four 1976 Harpers knockoffs in top grain black leather which are frankly, better built. (The control is better and does not squeak.) I spend hours on mine. I've tried many ergo chairs with trick controls and adjustments but always go back to the "eggshell".

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Along the theme, an interesting read:
Florence Knoll Bassett 1917-2019 - In memoriam

Florence Knoll Bassett, the female pioneer of midcentury modern American design, died aged 101. She passed away on 25 January in Coral Gables, Florida.

The creative force behind one of the most influential design brands of the 20th century was born in 1917 and grew up in Michigan as an orphan from the age of 12. It was an early friendship with Finnish architects, Eliel and Eero Saarinen and a firm interest in architecture from a young age that led her to enrol at Cranbrook Academy of Art where her most important design education – from the likes of Harry Bertoia took place.

https://www.wallpaper.com/design/florence-knoll-obituary?
Thanks for posting this.
 
First piece of MCM furniture I've purchased - Hooker Mainline, around 1959 from what I can tell.

Also picked up a little Heywood Wakefield bookcase, and a couple little HW tables that will be used for the audio gear.

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Oh hell yes that post belongs in this thread. That’s a gorgeous house
Awesome then I will share a few more photos of the post and beam construction and other design features such as the original EJS lighting fixtures.
(Note the gloss on the left hand wall in photo looking down the hallway genuine venation plaster not a gloss finish paint.)
Cheers
PQ
 
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Post and beam is classic MCM. Does your T&G leak? Mine leaks like a sieve. I think it needs plywood sheathing to keep the T&G from flexing.
I met a guy who owns a couple of MCM Eichler homes in the Balboa Highlands and both are problematic leakers.
Both houses are stuffed floor to ceiling with very collectable thrift store finds from back in the day and I worry about his Paragons:eek:
I've hiked back in the hills behind the Eichlers and have always admired them, way before they were $rediscovered$.
 
Post and beam is classic MCM. Does your T&G leak? Mine leaks like a sieve. I think it needs plywood sheathing to keep the T&G from flexing.

My T&G is interlocking 2 X 4's no flex at all in fact it is part of the structural integrity.
No leaks anymore after $28K LOL
We had new roof put on they pulled up all of the bad decking and insulation and replaced it with new insulation and new wafer board decking then put the modern equivalent of tar paper as a vapor barrier and installed Owens Corning 50 year architectural shingles.
The original blue prints called for built up tar and gravel roof :thumbsdown:
Photos of before and after on the roofing.

Cheers
PQ
 

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I met a guy who owns a couple of MCM Eichler homes in the Balboa Highlands and both are problematic leakers.
Both houses are stuffed floor to ceiling with very collectable thrift store finds from back in the day and I worry about his Paragons:eek:
I've hiked back in the hills behind the Eichlers and have always admired them, way before they were $rediscovered$.

My understanding is that most Eichler homes were tract homes of mediocre quality and suffer many issues including leaking issues..
Those homes would have rotted to the ground where I live in Oregon where we get 8 months of rain.
Luckily our house was a custom build and quality materials and workmanship were required by the architect who designed and supervised the construction.
PQ
 
I met a guy who owns a couple of MCM Eichler homes in the Balboa Highlands and both are problematic leakers.
Both houses are stuffed floor to ceiling with very collectable thrift store finds from back in the day and I worry about his Paragons:eek:
I've hiked back in the hills behind the Eichlers and have always admired them, way before they were $rediscovered$.

Quite a few Eichlers in the North Valley. There are some in my neck of the woods as well.
 
My understanding is that most Eichler homes were tract homes of mediocre quality and suffer many issues including leaking issues..
Those homes would have rotted to the ground where I live in Oregon where we get 8 months of rain.
Luckily our house was a custom build and quality materials and workmanship were required by the architect who designed and supervised the construction.
PQ

The most classic and desireable MCM were simply built and typically featured slab foundation and T&G roof. I don't want to say they were thrown together but there really is not much to putting one together. Sure, they present challenges but mine at least is immensely strong and does very well in earthquakes. My home was designed by Richard Dorman who is not as famous as Eichler but he is held in high regard within the MCM community. Dorman took commercial commissions, a fact which holds him back among the artistic purists. Dorman's residential commissions were featured regularly in Arts and Architecture although sadly, mine was not. My home was a so-called "speculative house" and was built to attract land buyers when my sub-division was graded. It was photographed by the great Julius Shulman, who was the visual chronicler of MCM architecture. Schulman's photo collection now resides at the Getty Museum so there is a possibility that my home's original portfolio still exists. Dorman was a pragmatic designer and intended for his buildings to be used and lived in. He did not mind owners modifying his work nor did he rue the day when his structures came to the end of its useful life. My home was built in 1958 and our family acquired it in 1963. The home was retained by the developer for several years so it is likely we were the first private owners. My father hired Dorman to design an addition which was completed by Modern Trends Construction, the original builder. My home was originally a 2 bedroom. Having personally worked on my home, I have a good idea of what it originally looked like. One of these days, I will find the Schulman photos.
 
The most classic and desireable MCM were simply built and typically featured slab foundation and T&G roof. I don't want to say they were thrown together but there really is not much to putting one together. Sure, they present challenges but mine at least is immensely strong and does very well in earthquakes. My home was designed by Richard Dorman who is not as famous as Eichler but he is held in high regard within the MCM community. Dorman took commercial commissions, a fact which holds him back among the artistic purists. Dorman's residential commissions were featured regularly in Arts and Architecture although sadly, mine was not. My home was a so-called "speculative house" and was built to attract land buyers when my sub-division was graded. It was photographed by the great Julius Shulman, who was the visual chronicler of MCM architecture. Schulman's photo collection now resides at the Getty Museum so there is a possibility that my home's original portfolio still exists. Dorman was a pragmatic designer and intended for his buildings to be used and lived in. He did not mind owners modifying his work nor did he rue the day when his structures came to the end of its useful life. My home was built in 1958 and our family acquired it in 1963. The home was retained by the developer for several years so it is likely we were the first private owners. My father hired Dorman to design an addition which was completed by Modern Trends Construction, the original builder. My home was originally a 2 bedroom. Having personally worked on my home, I have a good idea of what it originally looked like. One of these days, I will find the Schulman photos.


Thats very cool!
Sounds like you know the history of your home which is always a plus.
We bought our home from the 2nd owner and after we bought it I found all of the original drawings and blue prints including the landscape architects designs for the gardens in the attic among some old boxes.

This is what my research has uncovered..
Edmond MacCollin A.I.A who designed and supervised the completion of our home was a very respected architect in the Willamette Valley in the 50' thru the 70's. He received his BA degree in architecture from Yale in 1947 & went on to Cornell University to receive his Masters degree in architecture. Eventually worked his way up to partner and later started his own firm in which he was the President & principal partner.
He is best know in Oregon for his commercial and public buildings. I have no idea how many homes he designed. From the ....
1970 American Architects Directory
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Other than the 2nd owner redoing the kitchens and baths the house inside was still pretty much unmolested. Some of the things that drew us to the house was that many of the original architectural features were still there and unaltered. Little details like the copper door knobs, the original JBS globe & pendent lighting fixtures, the original Venation plaster walls where specified by the architect had not been "up dated" and painted over after 50 years. We found the original cork tile floors in some of the rooms when we puled up the carpets. Some how the all of the interior wood doors and other wood work were never painted over to "Modernize" the home.

My guess is the original owners worked with the architect and had the house built exactly to their liking & knew what the had built. The second owner not so much & did do a horrible remodel to both kitchens and the 4 baths some time in late 80's or early 90s.
And also did some God awful things to the downstairs living areas and instead of replacing the original exterior cedar siding he installed Vinyl siding. Closed in the down stairs carports (which caused flooding) and a multitude of other sins that I spent 3 years slowly undoing...It's been an experience for sure and then this happened..

http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/mid-century-modern-disaster.845740/

We are about 95% completed with water and fire insurance claims but man this house has taken it's toll on us emotionally ,finically and stressed our marriage to damn near the breaking point.
I have a love hate relationship with this house... it has put us thru the ringer!

But the light is at the end of tunnel and we are seriously consider selling it when it's all done!
My other half is over the whole "Vintage" house thing and wants to build a new one..
Me not so much, I have too much blood, sweat and tears to hand it over to new owners and say I pored my heart and soul in to fixing everything and hand over the keys and walk away...
Maybe she's the smart one.

Cheers
PQ
 
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Love / hate sounds about right. Lovely to look at, difficult and uncomfortable to own and live in. (I posted photos of my home in the previous page of this thread.) It's kind of nice that others admire the look and style. I frequently receive compliments from neighbors and realtors but familiarity breeds contempt. And yet here we are. I've spent a lot of time and money maintaining and upgrading mine and I have finally gotten to the point of semi-satisfaction. My approach was more resto-mod and increasing utility. Not much of the original fixtures have survived. The original built-in cabinetry and closets were junk to begin with and frankly difficult to live with when new. They are all gone. There used to be louvered opening windows floor to ceiling which were badly corroded and let the elements and dust in. Those are gone. The kitchen in classic MCM style was tiny. That got gutted and expanded. Mine is impossible to heat or cool economically. The ducts are in the slab so the warm air is cooled by the ground long before getting to the vents. In the summer, T&G acts like an oven. And then there are the floor to ceiling windows but you already know about those. If it wasn't for Prop 13, I would not be so tied to this home.
 
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There used to be louvered opening windows floor to ceiling which were badly corroded and let the elements and dust in.

Mildly related: I had an entire east facing wall of these when I lived in San Juan - I lived on the second story of a little beachfront house, and from floor to roof and one side to the other, the whole wall. Open them all horizontally and the wall would disappear then the tradewinds would breeze their way through... and if it was sunrise too *le sigh*

Pretty sure that second story lost that wall and it’s whole wood roof during Maria, that wasn’t really on there all that great.

But yeah, sand dust and salt spray were quite a challenge in the 11 or so years I lived there - lost quite a bit of home a/v electronics during that timeframe.
 
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