---

Leaving aside the ties that come with a client’s taste or the limits of time, the house of an architect is usually more than a home; in many cases it is the fulfilling of a professional dream on a small scale. In these works, we can clearly see the beliefs of their authors, turning them into some kind of personal manifesto.

Here we show you a selection of five of these impressive houses, designed by their occupant.

Taliesin, by Frank Lloyd Wright. Spring Green, Wisconsin (1911-1959)

The lush nature of the valley where he used to spend summers with his parents always served as an inspiration for Frank Lloyd Wright’s work. From an early age, he used to climb up his favorite hill to sunbathe while admiring the landscape.

Perhaps the fact that he always loved the place led him to choose it as the perfect spot to create his monumental home-studio. Also, after leaving his wife to escape with a client’s, feminist Mamah Brothwick, the valley provided him the isolation he needed to avoid scandal.

In this land of three square kilometers, Frank Lloyd Wright set his mind to create the perfect house for living and named it Taliesin – following his family’s Welsh tradition – after a medieval bard whose name meant “shining front”. As in most of his projects, his ambition was to make the house blend in with the surroundings through its gardens and he managed to do this with a wooden structure, taking as inspiration his previous work with the Prairie School.

 

However, the author of the house built within waterfalls renovated it three times, due to tragedies that involved the murder of Brothwick, a fire caused by an unhappy cook, and the erosion of the second version caused by the wind.

It was the third version where Lloyd Wright spent his life. Even so, the author paired it with another property in Arizona called Taliesin West, to escape from the cold Wisconsin winter to this warmer state. After his death in 1959, the complex has served as the architect’s museum and was appointed World Heritage Site in 1980.

Glass House, by Philip Johnson. New Canaan, Connecticut (1949)

Writing a thesis is a titanic intellectual work, which requires concentration and hermetic isolation from society. We can say that American architect Philip Johnson killed two birds with one stone when he designed a modern, simple, and translucent structure in 1949, both for living and to pass his thesis from Harvard University.

Inspired by the work of his mentor, Mies Van Der Rohe – especially by his quote: “Less is more” – Johnson tried to make the minimum impact on nature in the extensive land he inherited from his family in New Canaan, Connecticut. By having glass walls, the landscape takes a very important role, since the boundaries between the outside and the inside are blurred, so much so that we cannot tell who is the protagonist, either the house or the surroundings.

Undoubtedly, the construction represents a true feat in minimalism, proportion, and flexibility, and is considered a precursor example of modern architecture. This was achieved through novel materials for the time, like steel and the aforementioned glass. However, the house is not entirely translucent, it is held by a brick cylinder that also works as a floor-to-ceiling chimney.

As it could be expected, it had detractors from the time who, even though they acknowledged the aesthetical merit of the house, didn’t deem it practical to be lived in. In fact, both the energy efficiency and ventilation of the house are still topics of discussion. Perhaps it was due to these opposing voices that Johnson decided to spend the rest of his life in this home, until his death in 2005, at the age of 98.

Undoubtedly, visiting this place declared as historic site by the United States Government means admiring an obsession turned into a home by a true genius.

Gehry Residence, by Frank Gehry. Santa Monica, California (1978)

That pink two-story bungalow on a Santa Monica corner would soon experience an unexpected transformation by catching the attention of a couple with one kid and another one on the way: Frank Gehry and his second wife, Berta. The duplex, built in the 20’s, offered enough space for four people. But for Gehry this was not enough.

As soon as he bought the property in 1978, he applied his architect knowledge to expand it while creating a truly impressive work. He left the original construction untouched and visible, to create a new metal, plywood, and fenced exterior around it.

“I used to love the idea of leaving the house untouched. I had the idea to build one around it when I was told there were ghosts inside. Then I decided that they would be the ghosts of cubism”, Gehry stated during a recent interview.

The deconstructionist outcome resembling a half-finished house polarized opinions at the time. On one hand, the neighbors started to complain about the presence of the strange construction in the area before the laughter of Santa Monica’s mayor; and on the other hand, it was appreciated by the architect’s peers and later became a tourist attraction.

The house of the creator of Bilbao’s Guggenheim has experienced numerous transformations as his children grew up, providing it with an increasingly finished look until it achieved the appearance it boasts today.

Even being as prolific as few have been at 89 years old, rumor has it that two mysterious projects, one in Santa Monica and one more in Venice Beach, could tell that the architect is still chasing after his dream house.

Forest House, by Shigeru Ban (1997)

A city center can be overwhelming. At least that is what the seventh Japanese architect to win the Pritzker, Shigeru Ban, used to think. The place chosen to build his own sanctuary was the Hanegi Forest, a quiet residential neighborhood surrounded by vegetation outside Tokyo.

However, instead of making a large expense, Ban set his mind not to cut one single tree while carrying out his project, adapting the building to respect them, through courtyards. He also tried at all times to keep a tight budget, something that was not hard for someone as sober and who does not care much for details, as he is.

This is the reason why he was inspired by Zen elements to create almost monastic rooms with a close to full absence of furniture and dominated by natural light, which filters inside.

The fact that this building with several apartments is energy efficient, respectful towards nature, and especially isolated, caused Shigeru Ban to decide to finally settle in one of them.

Pawson House, by John Pawson (1997-1999)

The very famous and cinematic neighborhood of Notting Hill holds a true temple to color white: the work of British John Pawson. Ironically, even though he did not finish his major in architecture, this creator is considered to be one of the greatest exponents of the minimalist current today.

His home, in his own words, is a sample of who he truly is and how he likes spaces, not so much a proposal of a Spartan lifestyle. Also, the lack of color on the floor and walls is complete with Scandinavian furniture, which is extremely functional in addition to being refined.

The construction process went through a careful exploration of this three-story house’s history before removing everything inside it and creating a new structure. When he could not change the façade, Pawson chose to create very defining details of his style, like a large glass panel that expands across the three floors and a kitchen counter that finds its way into the backyard. Undoubtedly, this house is a sober experience boasting calmness.