Bachman-Wilson House
Encyclopedia
The Bachman-Wilson house, in Millstone
, New Jersey
was originally designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1954 for Abraham Wilson and his first wife, Gloria Bachman. Ms. Bachman's brother, Marvin, had studied with Wright at Taliesin West
, his home and studio in Scottsdale
, Arizona
.
The front façade of concrete blocks has an almost fortress-like appearance to ensure privacy from the street. The Wilson House is built with concrete blocks and Philippine mahogany
trim. It has a second story, rare in a Usonian house, with cantilever
ed balconies. The living room has a built-in banquette
facing a wooded scene through a wall of 10 foot high glass panes, symbolizing a transcendental
pew set before the altar of nature.
The public space is a dramatic focal point, with walls of glass and an open floor plan. Cut-out wooden panels of abstracted forms over 24 clerestory
windows provide an unobtrusive yet restrained decorative touch to this lavish space. These recall Native American geometric motifs as well as stylized forms that may be based in nature. Construction was completed in 1956.
In 1988, Sharon and Lawrence Tarantino acquired the neglected Bachman-Wilson House. Tarantino Architects has since guided the home's complete restoration and rebuilt the kitchen according to Wright's original drawings.
The house is located along the Millstone River in Millstone Borough. It exemplifies Wright's "Usonian" philosophy and employs his early green
building principles, including minimizing the size of the house and ancillary spaces, pioneering passive solar and radiant heat
design, employing natural daylight and recycling construction waste.
The Bachman-Wilson home is now being moved to Sagaponock, NY (as of 3/31/11) and is on the market for $5 million.
Millstone, New Jersey
Millstone is a Borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough population was 418.Millstone was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on May 14, 1894, from portions of Hillsborough Township, based on the results of...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
was originally designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1954 for Abraham Wilson and his first wife, Gloria Bachman. Ms. Bachman's brother, Marvin, had studied with Wright at Taliesin West
Taliesin West
Taliesin West was architect Frank Lloyd Wright's winter home and school in the desert from 1937 until his death in 1959 at the age of 91. Today it is the main campus of the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture and houses the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation.Open to the public for tours, Taliesin...
, his home and studio in Scottsdale
Scottsdale, Arizona
Scottsdale is a city in the eastern part of Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, adjacent to Phoenix. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2010 the population of the city was 217,385...
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
.
The front façade of concrete blocks has an almost fortress-like appearance to ensure privacy from the street. The Wilson House is built with concrete blocks and Philippine mahogany
Philippine mahogany
Philippine mahogany is a common name for several different species of trees and their wood.*Botanically, the name refers to the species Toona calantas in the mahogany family Meliaceae....
trim. It has a second story, rare in a Usonian house, with cantilever
Cantilever
A cantilever is a beam anchored at only one end. The beam carries the load to the support where it is resisted by moment and shear stress. Cantilever construction allows for overhanging structures without external bracing. Cantilevers can also be constructed with trusses or slabs.This is in...
ed balconies. The living room has a built-in banquette
Banquette
In fortification, a banquette is a small foot path or elevated step along the inside of a rampart or parapet, by which the musketeers get up to view the counterscarp, or to fire on the enemies in the moat...
facing a wooded scene through a wall of 10 foot high glass panes, symbolizing a transcendental
Transcendentalism
Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement that developed in the 1830s and 1840s in the New England region of the United States as a protest against the general state of culture and society, and in particular, the state of intellectualism at Harvard University and the doctrine of the Unitarian...
pew set before the altar of nature.
The public space is a dramatic focal point, with walls of glass and an open floor plan. Cut-out wooden panels of abstracted forms over 24 clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
windows provide an unobtrusive yet restrained decorative touch to this lavish space. These recall Native American geometric motifs as well as stylized forms that may be based in nature. Construction was completed in 1956.
In 1988, Sharon and Lawrence Tarantino acquired the neglected Bachman-Wilson House. Tarantino Architects has since guided the home's complete restoration and rebuilt the kitchen according to Wright's original drawings.
The house is located along the Millstone River in Millstone Borough. It exemplifies Wright's "Usonian" philosophy and employs his early green
Environmentally friendly
Environmentally friendly are terms used to refer to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies claimed to inflict minimal or no harm on the environment....
building principles, including minimizing the size of the house and ancillary spaces, pioneering passive solar and radiant heat
Radiant heating
Radiant heating is a technology for heating indoor and outdoor areas. Heating by radiant energy is observed everyday, the warmth of the sunshine being probably the most commonly observed example. Radiant heating as a technology is typically more narrowly defined...
design, employing natural daylight and recycling construction waste.
The Bachman-Wilson home is now being moved to Sagaponock, NY (as of 3/31/11) and is on the market for $5 million.
External links
- The Bachman Wilson House
- Frank Lloyd Wright - Bachman Wilson House | Tarantino Architect
- Exploring Art - Frank Lloyd Wright - Bachman-Wilson Residence
- AIArchitect This Week | For the People: Preserving Wright’s Usonian Houses
- Memories of a Famous Architect - New York Times
- Inhabitat » Frank Lloyd Wright Renovation Receives Merit Award
- Photo and floorplan of the Bachman-Wilson House
