The Franzen House 1955 - Ulrich Franzen, Architect

The Franzen House
Rye, New York.

I recently assisted in organizing a preservation event benefiting DOCOMOMO http://www.docomomo-us.org/ and recognizing The Franzen House and it's present owners (Fernando and Gloria) who have restored and carefully maintained this iconic jewel.

Honoring modern architecture and supporting preservation in the New York area included a discussion with Christian Bjone, author of First House: The Grid, the Figure and the Void, as well Frederick Noyes, son of Elliot Noyes of The Harvard Five.
An added bonus to the evening, and particularly important to Fernando and Gloria, was an inclusion of architectural students from Boston College who experienced The Franzen House with great enthusiasm!

In 1955 Walter Gropius described Ulrich Franzen's architectural residence as one of "the best contributions I have seen in a long time on the way to a bold, visual triumph over the gravity of inanimate materials." And in 1956 the house was chosen as Architectural Record's 'House of the Year'.

http://archrecord.construction.com/recordhouses50/01_1956.asp