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Page 11   Homes Grouped be Architect    Kahn, Berkowitz, Rice, Maitin, Mebus

Index and Outline of History Pages at bottom of this page

 Kahn, Louis I. (1901-74), architect

Born Estonia / educated at U. Penn (1924) where he studied with Paul P. Cret / independent practice from ca. 1932 on / AIA and RIBA gold medalist

click here for Wikipedia bio of Louis Kahn

Residential architecture of Louis Kahn in the Philadelphia area

Oser House 1940-1942

    

from The Architecural Forum August 1945

'It is rare when architect and client are lifelong friends and find that they think alike on most questions that arise in the building of a house..  But such was the case here, and the unity of design may well have stemmed such mutual agreement.

The site is a wooded slope in an estate recently opened for developement near Philadelphia.  The house has been placed to let the sun into the windows of the principal rooms, and high enough to allow a basement garage with a terrace level on the southern facade. Economy demended that the plan be compact and the house two-stories high, but interior spaciousness has been achieved by throwing many of the family funtions together.  The emphasis on outdoor living is expressed by the kitchen door opening directly on the dinning terrace, and by the big outdoor firplace on the terrace itself.

The essentially box-like appearance of the house, inevitable where strict economy dictates maximum cubage at minimum cost, is somewhat relieved by the projecting living room deck.

Original Owner's Comment  We feel that to the architect goes all the credit for giving us a house that cost no more than a ready made design, yet one that met our tastes and specifications.

Roche House 1947-1949

This home is similar to other new post war ranch style homes being built at the time

   

 

Weiss 1947-1950  AIA gold medal winner

This home is at the beginning of Kahn's use of materials to help define the structure. The checkerboard widow pattern could be adjusted with the large panels sliding up and down in the living room wing.  The home has a 'bi nuclear' floor plan with the bedrooms well segregated from the entertaining wing

   

 

Genel 1948-1951  

This home incorporates cedar and stone in a unique design.                                     

   

  

Shapiro 1956

The home is built as a series of pods.  The Kahn collection at the Archives at the University of PA found on the PAB website show the various arrangements considered

Greenbelt Knoll project 1956

Kahn was involved in the overall design of the preoject of 16 homes, but the firm Montgomery & Bishop were responsible for the details of the plan.  Each of the 16 homes had the same original floor plan.

Barlow Residence of Greenbelt Knoll photos 2010 in original 1957 condition, including original kitchen and bath.

Esherick 1959-1961

 

Louis Kahn said that his work as an architect is "the sum of all my works." The noted Yale professor Vincent Scully, an early champion of Kahn's work, wrote that Kahn was "gifted in every imaginable way, most of all as musician and painter." Kahn's greatness as an architect is a measure of the richness and quality of his gifts and experience.

The house he designed for Margaret Esherick, niece of sculptor Wharton Esherick, at 204 Sunrise Lane is one of few residential commissions that were actually built. His spirit and guiding hand touch those who live there. The size of the windows and their carefully considered placement fill the house with light that is choreographed by the time of day and the seasons.

Kahn described the many considerations that went into its design. "Beauty and logic" were two. They form a house that is clean, direct, and warm. The warmth is created, in part, by the richness and variety of the wood, within and without?in the cypress shutters, the teak bookcases, the oak wall in the living room, and the rough oak beam supporting the balcony.

The setting made its own contribution to its design. The house has two faces, which "suggest two different houses." The street side is private and the back opens to Pastorius Park.

Economy was an element, too, along with "the desires of the client." He added, "A building reaches excellence when the client knows what she wants, and the architect knows how to interpret it."

Shirley Hanson
Founding Member
Chestnut Hill Historical Society

Fisher 1960-1967                                                Clever 1968

 

Korman 1976 no photo available

 

Berkowitz, Allan A (1913-1992), architect

Allan Berkowitz was born inCzechoslovakia June 13, 1913.  He was trained in architecture at the Royal Technical University of Budapest.  Berkowitz designed many libraries, schools, over 35 churches, and 10 homes in this area.

The Dusseau Residence  Wayne Pa

Mrs Dusseau ca. 1950                                           terrace today

  front after initial construction

Allan Berkowitz designed this home for his Uncle Sam Berkowitz in 1951. It is the largest of the homes he designed in this period with 4 bedrooms and a "rumpus room" divided off from the main living room for the children

  

Allan Berkowitz completed the drawings of Mon Reve "my dream" prior to his decision to come to Philadelphia.  He had this home built for his family and lived in it for 20 years.

 

rear and west side                                                   front view

 

 

 

 west and front view                                             living roon

the photos below are of the house when Allan Berkowitz lived in it with his family.

The current owner of Mon Reve has just completed a complete restoration photos soon to come

The butterfly roof home below was designed by Berkowitz in ca. 1956 for David and Mae Haber and constructed in 1957.  The Habers owned it for almost thirty years,
selling the property in 1986 to Leonard and Diane Snyder who owned it until 2002.

Rice Norman N. (1903-1985), architect

 

 

Born in Philadelphia/ educated at U. Penn (1924) where he studied with Paul Cret / first American to work in the atelier of Le Corbusier (1928-29) and, upon his return to Philadelphia, contributed to the design of the P.S.F.S. building by Howe & Lecaze / independent practice from ca. 1932 on/ was classmate colleague and longtime friend of Louis Kahn/ best known for his public commisions for the city of Philadelphia and Temple Beth Hillel in Wynnewood.

One of Norman Rice's public commissions was the renovation of Fitler Square Park completed in September of 1954.  Rice explained that "an architect, who has a feeling for bricks, mortar and wood, has the same feeling about space and planting, although he may not have the knowledge of plant names."   Rice's design allowed for the park to be green in all seasons through the use of ivy as groundcover and by using two species of evergreen holly.  Fitler Square was located across the Street from Norman Rice's office at 2400 Pine Street.

Below are photos of Norman Rice's office/studio (single story portion) and home above the garages. Rice was quoted as saying cars make better neighbors than people.

   

Evelyn Keyser House 1947
         

Swarthmore Pa 1950

James Oser Residence  1955
The original home was a rectangle with a gable off center providing high ceiling public rooms. The north side screen porch and deck were removed for a recent bedroom wing.

     



home built by Alma Morani from a design by Norman Rice.  Montgomery & Bishop added and a laundry, dinning room and greenhouse addition in 1966.   I went to look at this home in 1993 when it was last for sale, it was the first time I had been in this style home, although it was not the home I ended up purchasing, I have loved mid-century homes since that day!  



Dr. and Mrs. Jacoby T. Rothner Residence -1952
School House Lane, Philadelphia, PA This home is currently undergoing a complete restoration, new photos soon to come.   
   Dr. Rothner was a practicing Dentist and professor of Dentistry at Temple University at the time that the house was commissioned and built.
   It is a single story masonry structure and has  a 1970's garage addition to the original edifice.The dining room, living room, office and master bedroom have continuous ribbon windows allowing an unobstructed view of the backyard and Wissahickon Valley beyond. The largest single window in the continuous run is 10'w x 6'h.
   The materials used in the interior and exterior of the house were newly developed in 1950's.  They include metal Geneva kitchen cabinets, plastic laminate kitchen counters, plasterboard ceiling and walls, parged and scored cinderblock exterior masonry, double hung aluminum framed windows, double paned aluminum framed windows and glass block. The home has had four owners.  With the exception of the vinyl asbestos tile, which was abated by the current owners and replaced with a monolithic slate floor, all of the original interior and exterior materials remain intact.


before recent renovation



Rothner Residence after 2009 Renovation

Norman Rice Northern Montgomery County smaller home built with 2 bedrooms and adjacent to the Wissahickon Creek on a hillside

    

rice ca. 1965
  

B&W photo is the original rear of this home

 

George Wm. Smith, AIA

education B.A. architecture U.Penn and masters M.I.T. 1954/ worked in Office of Louis Kahn/ Frederick Wise, also for Stonorov and Haws for 15 years/ partner Johnson/Smith

 

 other homes By Johnson/Smith yet to be photographed

Frazier Residence Gladwynne /Wells Residence Philadelphia

Irving Maitin

Maitin, Irving Jacob (1924-1999), architect

Graduate of U. Penn (1945) and Harvard (1946) where he studied with Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer / independent practice practice prior to employment with Ewing Cole 1966 on.  The following bio is from the PAB website "Irving J. Maitin, brother of artist Samuel Maitin, was born in Philadelphia, the son of Isaac B. and Ruth Pollack Maitin, and attended Simon Gratz High School in the city. Maitin received a B.Arch. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1945 before going on to Harvard University, where he completed an M. Arch. degree in 1946. Maitin excelled at Penn, earning several medals and prizes: in 1942-3 he won the Alumni Medal for Efficiency in Sketch Problems, in 1943-4 the James Smyth Warner Memorial Prize and second place in the Samuel Huckel Jr. Architectural Prize, and, in 1944-5, the Faculty Medal in Architecture. After serving as designer and head draftsman for Morris Fruchtbaum, Maitin and Fruchtbaum established Fruchtbaum & Maitin with offices at 1231 Sansom Street in 1955. Maitin also worked for Louis I. Kahn at an unknown point. In 1966, Maitin joined the office of Ewing Cole Erdman & Eubank, and was a project manager for the firm by 1970. He was later made a partner, and remained with the successor firms, retiring in 1994 from Ewing Cole Cherry Brott.
Maitin joined the AIA in 1958 and was a member of its Philadelphia chapter. Maitin was particularly active in music schools of the Philadelphia region, donating his architectural services for branches of Philadelphia's Settlement School. He served as president of the board of the Jenkintown Music School in 1988 when it merged with Settlement. According to his Philadelphia Inquirer obituary, he played a key role in bringing the two institutions together, and also presided over the successor board of the new Jenkintown Branch of Settlement, as well as serving as vice president of Settlement's trustees. Written by Emily T. Cooperman, and Sandra L. Tatman."

!953 The Maitin Residence

Quotes From Irwin on the design of his family home

"The functional problem was to design as large and efficient a house as possible with a limited budget, on a wooded steeply sloping lot.  Beyond this, a conscious attempt was made to design a straight-forward structure with simplicity as its essence.  The view is a striking one, and it was felt that the house should eschew dramatic effects and sit lightly among the trees with a sense of calmness."

"It was attempted to orient the house to outdoor living insofar as the Pa climate permits, and a large screened porch serves as living-dinning area for five months of the year. The house was fitted onto a natural shelf in  a rather steep slope which drops to a streem."

Exterior materials are natural cypress and white painted brick.

    

 

 

  

 

George B Mebus
1954-1955

This is a classic mid-century home, with extensive windows in every direction due to private setting. Original wood screens exist along entry hall.  The central fire pit in the living room is also original to the 1954 home. Well designed additions by Susan Maxman AIA in 1992 are hard to distinguish from original.

                                  

 

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