The Gordon House and the Usonian Style
While visiting Oregon recently, we were lucky enough to learn that Silverton, Oregon is home to the Gordon House, the only Frank Lloyd Wright house in Oregon. Naturally, we took the detour to pay a visit. And luckily we got there just before the Docent closed up for the day!
This image shows some of the classic Wright style with the custom window cutout forms and the low front entrance portico.
The Gordon House was designed in 1957 as a weekend/farm home for a Portland couple, overlooking the Willamette River near Wilsonville, Oregon. Completed in 1963, this is one of Wright's most modest homes at about 2000 square feet, and is made of concrete masonry units and redwood siding and trim. The Gordon house is one of Wright's so-called "Usonian" homes: modest in cost and scale, with a carport instead of a garage, large overhangs for passive solar heating and natural cooling, clerestory windows for natural light with privacy. Unike most Usonian homes, however, the Gordon house has two floors, with the master bedroom on the main floor and guest rooms upstairs.
The line between interior and exterior is blurred by carrying materials from the inside out, strengthening the connection between man and nature
The Gordon house now resides in The Oregon Garden in Silverton, Oregon, after a being rescued from demolition on its original site. Following the Gordons' passing, the home was sold by their estate. In need of TLC, it was simply assumed the new owners would restore the iconic home to its original charm. Shortly thereafter, the building department notified the Wright Foundation that the house was being slated for demolition. In a dramatic, last-minute rescue operation, the foundation negotiated a deal with the new owners to disassemble the home and relocate it to a new site, at no cost to them.
In classic Wright style, the main living area's height is accentuated by entering through a low threshold, and through the floor-to-ceiling doors that surround the space.
The carport is a typical feature of the Usonian home as it is less expensive to build than a garage.
Wright would often deconstruct corners as a way to open the home to nature.
It is believed that the unique fretwork on the clerestory windows represents the form of abstracted saws, as logging was and still is a major industry in the area.
Given the overcast Oregon climate, the deep overhangs are punctuated with openings to allow light to pass through.
The siting of all Wright's homes and buildings was crucial to their design. Every vista, sound and smell is taken into consideration by Wright. Because the home was relocated, we could only imagine the views and vistas he was framing as part of his original design. And yet, the brilliance of Wright still shines through in his signature philosophies and design details. Even in a modest home such as this, his work is always beautiful, creative, evocative and inspiring.