The Smith House was one of Richard Meier’s most seminal commissions, propelling the famous American architect’s career when it was built in 1967; it is considered as one of the great architectural masterpieces of the 20th century to this day. 2017 was the 50th anniversary of the house’s completion and to mark the occasion the Smith family and architectural photographer Mike Schwartz have just released a new set of photographs of the iconic home.
The house, which we visited in Wallpaper* March 2016, employs all the architectural hallmarks of Meier’s work, helping him to build his distinct architectural language of large, open-plan spaces, bright white volumes, large openings, grids and natural light.
‘I was working out of one room of a two-room apartment shortly after leaving the office of Marcel Breuer. One day I had a call from Carole Smith asking if I would be interested in designing a weekend house for her in Darien, Connecticut. She was looking for a young architect who would give full attention to her house’, recalls Meier, who upon visiting the site discovered that due to the landscape’s rocky nature the solution was building upwards, instead of spreading out in the horizontal. ‘This was the beginning of the design process’, he says.
Schwartz’s camera records the house’s magnificence, the way it sits on the Connecticut coast and how it relates to the striking nature around it. Inside, there is a clear separation between public and private spaces, with the former being outward-facing and open, and the latter composed of cellular, protected areas behind an opaque façade, pierced with windows.
‘I can't believe it's been 50 years since I first experienced the Smith House’, says owner Chuck Smith. ‘I was only five years old then, but the childlike wonder I felt then comes back to me every time I walk up the ramp, inside the door, and feel Richard Meier’s design.’
2017 marked the 50th anniversary from the house’s completion.
This commission helped Meier build his distinct architectural language of large, open plan spaces...
...bright white volumes, large openings, grids and natural light.
Part of Meier's architectural solution for building in the rocky site was going vertical instead of horizontal.
Inside, there is a clear separation between public and private spaces, with the former feeling open, while the latter are more closed off and secluded.
The property’s layers of intersecting bright white planes frame the area’s surrounding foliage.
The house sits in Connecticut's picturesque Gold Coast, situated by the small lakeside town of Darien.
INFORMATION
For more information visit the website of Richard Meier & Partners
-
This cult Los Angeles pop-up restaurant now has a permanent addressChef Brian Baik’s Corridor 109 makes its permanent debut in Melrose Hill. No surprise, it's now one of the hardest tables in town to book
-
French bistro restaurant Maset channels the ease of the Mediterranean in LondonThis Marylebone restaurant is shaped by the coastal flavours, materials and rhythms of southern France
-
How ethical is Google Street View, asks Jon Rafman in CopenhagenIn 'Report a Concern - the Nine Eyes Archives' at Louisiana Museum of Art, Copenhagen, Jon Rafman considers technology's existential implications
-
Step inside this resilient, river-facing cabin for a life with ‘less stuff’A tough little cabin designed by architects Wittman Estes, with a big view of the Pacific Northwest's Wenatchee River, is the perfect cosy retreat
-
Remembering Robert A.M. Stern, an architect who discovered possibility in the pastIt's easy to dismiss the late architect as a traditionalist. But Stern was, in fact, a design rebel whose buildings were as distinctly grand and buttoned-up as his chalk-striped suits
-
Own an early John Lautner, perched in LA’s Echo Park hillsThe restored and updated Jules Salkin Residence by John Lautner is a unique piece of Californian design heritage, an early private house by the Frank Lloyd Wright acolyte that points to his future iconic status
-
The Stahl House – an icon of mid-century modernism – is for sale in Los AngelesAfter 65 years in the hands of the same family, the home, also known as Case Study House #22, has been listed for $25 million
-
Houston's Ismaili Centre is the most dazzling new building in America. Here's a look insideLondon-based architect Farshid Moussavi designed a new building open to all – and in the process, has created a gleaming new monument
-
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fountainhead will be opened to the public for the first timeThe home, a defining example of the architect’s vision for American design, has been acquired by the Mississippi Museum of Art, which will open it to the public, giving visitors the chance to experience Frank Lloyd Wright’s genius firsthand
-
Clad in terracotta, these new Williamsburg homes blend loft living and an organic feelThe Williamsburg homes inside 103 Grand Street, designed by Brooklyn-based architects Of Possible, bring together elegant interiors and dramatic outdoor space in a slick, stacked volume
-
This ethereal Miami residence sprouted out of a wild, jungle-like gardenA Miami couple tapped local firm Brillhart Architecture to design them a house that merged Florida vernacular, Paul Rudolph and 'too many plants to count’
