Bill Lowe Gallery, artist Tom Swanston, & the Peachtree Pointe Lobbies

It's what you should do; it's what architecture tourists want: put art galleries in great lobbies so the view changes from time to time. Building managers should do it rent free for vignettes like these featuring artist Lita Cabellut.






So it is with Bill Lowe Gallery in Two Peachtree Pointe. Peachtree Pointe by Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart & Associates, Inc. is a prominent terminal vista for Peachtree at Pershing Point - two curvy buildings that look like one. They are between WSB and The Temple in the Peachtree Street jumble.


Did you know that there is gallery in there, a spectacular space for spectacular art?


Bill Peace of Peace Design knows. Here's Bill (left) with one of his favorite artists, Tom Swanston.


Bill likes the birds which is no surprise once you see Tom Swanston's flocks of shiny silver and gold birds.




The birds seemed to fly from room to room.




Self portrait with the flock.


Mr. Lowe told me he'd designed the gallery for exploration. Up one balcony I found polar bears.


In an office this spectacular work by Hyunmee Lee.


I'd have a tough time sticking to business in this conference room.


So, you should go when you have a chance, when you are at the Peachtree Playhouse. or La Pietra Cucina.

See a little video?




All my pictures and videos from Bill Lowe Gallery that night.




One Peachtree Pointe has a lobby too, home of the SCAD Dewberry Gallery, a two-fer.

Landmark Modernist Ansley Teardown used Rotation, Superimposition and Poche

When completed about 1986, the Hulse residence wasn't like its neighbors. That made it a landmark.

 
Some modernists hated it, some traditionalists liked it.

"The Hulse house ... was designed in 1985 by Anthony Ames, Arch '68, for a young couple interested in a modern interpretation of residential living in Atlanta's Ansley Park. The modern house was built on the site of an older dwelling that was demolished." - Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine


In any case it had become a familiar sight and we thought it would last at least as long as a pro football stadium.


Demolition started in earnest on November 6. Most everyone has an opinion. Me too.


Fortunately we have Anthony Ames, the architect himself, on video. He spoke about the Hulse house and you can watch the video from September 24, 2008, Georgia Tech's Architecture Centennial Lecture Series. The Hulse House starts at 30:37 and runs until about 57:00.

From the lecture:

Palazzo Pandolfini (Raphael) was a source of inspiration.

"...pre-modern: ideal and regular, closed, often symmetrical...modern: endless and undefined or loosely defined"

"Consequently I designed a series of houses that allowed for the investigation of the coexhistance of modern and pre-modern space and the uses of rotation superimposition and poche."

"All the projects are the same only the site and the programs change."

Mr. Ames explains it all quite well with a sense of humor.


What is poche? Paraphrasing Mr. Ames: It's the screwy space you get when you superimpose rotated plans. It's good for service infratructure.  Turns out we have some poche in our house.

Sounds like poe-SHAY (Edgar Allan POE and SHEA Stadium).


Be on the lookout for the new house.

P.S. This may be the next Ansley Park teardown:


Its a 1909'er according to property records.
 

3 Modest moderns: Ansley Park, Morningside, Loring Heights

There are plenty of modern houses planted in Atlanta's intown neighborhoods. I'm not categorically for or against them. Most are eye-catching. Some for the wrong reasons. (You can click on the pictures to enlarge them in Flickr.)

This is my favorite Morningside modern. It make sense to my eye, great proportions, wonderfully sited and landscaped. I enjoy it every time I go to the grocery store.




Here is the most modest modern home in Ansley Park. It's on a less traveled but typically spacious intersection. I've been following this house for decades. It's been struggling for an identity, sometimes awful, mostly never quite right for the lot. I think this is the best it's ever been.


I wish they could straighten out that telephone pole. It's been cock-eyed for 25 years.


Loring Heights? Well you might have passed through without noticing. Mostly likely you've never even passed through. This modern house has the crazy windows, it has angles and overhangs, nice landscaping, striking location (can't tell from the picture). I think I like it.

The Foyer on Inman Circle

I made a plan: Win the lottery, buy it, move in by Thanksgiving, invite the extended family over for a long Christmas holiday.

I don't get to do this. Jim Getzinger invited me to caravan 15 Inman Circle in Atlanta's Ansley Park today. It's a 1904'er on 1/3 acre. If you aren't from Atlanta: This is as good as it gets this close to the city. It's a block from the High Museum and more.

They don't know who designed it. Ward Seymour & Associates "did a down to the studs renovation with the highest level of finishes revealing an authentic period total restoration."



Then Kemp Mooney added an indoor pool outback, (understatement).

It's livable and lived in, neither stuffy, nor precious. It looks like 1904, gently nudged and tweaked for modern living. We'll still love it in 2104.

The foyer alone was enough for me. It is three stories tall and a show off.

But it dosn't say, "Look how tall I am you puny human."

It says, "I'm here to make you feel important."


Here's the front door from the inside.


There's a Greek temple up there. The entablature atop the columns is massive, to my eyes just the right size for the space and the house. It "feels" like it's safely supporting the house. Was it like this in 1904?


From the balcony, you can see 3 stories of stained glass windows that bring light into the center of the house. The entablature becomes the massive cornice. (I welcome corrections on these architecture terms.)


This is the window that's way up there. Is the one white circle a repair?


The background and sunlight provide the color in the lower windows. You can kind-of see out.


Beautiful no?

A 10 second tour:


Here's what you do when you walk in.

One more thing.


A shower stool really warms up the tile.

This is a goner. Teardown week.

I wish they'd call me before they team them down.



I should have known. This house on Beverly hadn't looked it best in quite a while.





It's history now.





It's a big lot for the area with a big slope.





The house next door is handsome but it was at risk during the boom. It may still be at risk. This neighborhood is hot even in the bust.



I hope we get a good one. I'll let you know

Meet some of Atlanta's modern archtiects

We met a bunch of Atlanta's modern architects at Modern Atlanta 10. If you read to the bottom, you'll find the horse lamp. This is an LED chandelier:


In the order of my picture taking.

This is Johnna Barrett of Barrett Design International, LLC. She designed "Spring Creek" which was on the tour.


We met Peter S.K. Yeung, A.I.A at the Eames Demetrios event. He was a fan (and architecture tourist) just like us.


Here are husband wife architects, Jose Tavel and Cara Cummins of Tac Studios. They designed the tour's Harris/Carroll residence shown in the picture. In the small world category: they live and work next door to my son.


We met architect John Bencich of Square Feet Studios (center) whose "Bencich Residence" was on the tour. On the right is builder Robert Soens of Pinnacle Custom Builders (right). Robert has done a number of modern houses including Decatur's RainShine House and the tour's Harris/Carroll residence.


Vivian Bencich is Principal, Interior Designer at Square Feet Studios. They designed the footbridge over the railroad at White Provision, one of the my very favorite structures in Atlanta.


In the center is architect Bryan Russell of Dencity Design who the did the

Liotta Residence on the tour. (If you are getting all modern'ed out, see the Dencity house at Alys Beach.) On the left is Clair Bannerman host of "Our Coastal Art Scene with Claire Bannerman" on 30-A Radio. On the right is Kara Thomas, designer with Habachy Designs who worked on the Liotta house.

This is architect, Joseph Dreher, responsible for the new "bridge" and major renovations of the tour's Wollaert Residence. Joe is an alumni of Peter Block Architects.


I'd like to thank my fellow Sunday Docents Christy Nixon, Rochelle Cole, Caitlin Henry, and to Matt-Dahlhauser from Cablik Enterprises, builder of the Liotta Residence. And thanks to the the owners who allowed us to spend a wonderful day enjoying their house.


I'd like to say hello to fell docent Allan Price, architect at Pieper O'Brien Herr Architects. Wish I'd gotten a picture.

Terry

I promised a horse lamp: