The Benacerraf House ARCHITECT Michael Graves Architecture & Design
R E S T O R A T I O N
LOCATION Princeton, New Jersey
Alan Chimacoff
The Benacerraf House—designed in 1967 by Michael Graves, built in 1969, and published widely in the following years—was instantly an influential touch point in discussions about American modernism. The project embodies Graves’s neo-Corbusian aspirations and presaged an interest in figural forms and colors that informed his later work. On its 50th anniversary, after years of deterioration and even partial demolition, the house has been preserved, restored, and modernized.
The exterior has been returned to its original design (with improved construction details and materials), and the first- and second-floor interiors have been updated. The results of this 6,160-square-foot restoration and modernization are more contemporary spaces that greatly improve functionality without compromising the geometry of the addition. Repainted with the original color palette, the house today is as visually interesting as it was when completed half a century ago.
HONORABLE MENTIONS ROW DTLA Produce Renovation
22
Aurora St. Charles Senior Housing
Jim Simmons
Courtesy Weese Langley Weese Architects
ARCHITECT
LOCATION
ARCHITECT
LOCATION
Rios Clementi Hale Studios
Los Angeles
Weese Langley Weese Architects
Aurora, Illinois