Goetsch-Winckler House
Encyclopedia
The Goetsch-Winckler House, (also known as Goetsch-Winkler House), was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright
, built in 1940, and is located at 2410 Hulett Rd, Okemos, Michigan
. The house is an example of Wright's later Usonian architectural style, and is considered to be one of the most elegant.
, in neighboring East Lansing, formed a co-op
and bought a forty acre
tract of land in Okemos. Two of them, Alma Goetsch and Kathrine Winckler (or Winkler), approached Wright asking him to design a community for them. Wright's concept, derived from the Broadacre City
plan, was to be known as Usonia I. The community was to consist of seven houses and a caretaker's cottage surrounding a common farm, orchard, and fish pond. Access to the houses was by a U shaped road around the farm, with each house at the end of a long driveway and each with a private garden. Although the design of each house varied, they did share common features such as flat roofs, accentuated horizontal lines, and simple massing. Due to lack of financing the project collapsed and only the Goetsch-Winckler House was built on a different site.
After World War II, Wright designed houses separately for several other co-op members, although the only design built was that for Erling P. Brauner, also in Okemos less than a mile and a half from Goetsch-Winckler House.
supplementing a bank of full length casement window
s on the adjacent wall. Despite its small size the house seems large due to built-in furniture and shelves. Built-ins include the dining room table, a seat by the fireplace, a bar, a desk and bookcase in the workspace, as well as numerous storage spaces.
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
, built in 1940, and is located at 2410 Hulett Rd, Okemos, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. The house is an example of Wright's later Usonian architectural style, and is considered to be one of the most elegant.
History
In the 1930s eight professors from Michigan State UniversityMichigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
, in neighboring East Lansing, formed a co-op
Cooperative
A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...
and bought a forty acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
tract of land in Okemos. Two of them, Alma Goetsch and Kathrine Winckler (or Winkler), approached Wright asking him to design a community for them. Wright's concept, derived from the Broadacre City
Broadacre City
Broadacre City was an urban or suburban development concept proposed by Frank Lloyd Wright throughout most of his lifetime. He presented the idea in his book The Disappearing City in 1932. A few years later he unveiled a very detailed twelve by twelve foot scale model representing a hypothetical...
plan, was to be known as Usonia I. The community was to consist of seven houses and a caretaker's cottage surrounding a common farm, orchard, and fish pond. Access to the houses was by a U shaped road around the farm, with each house at the end of a long driveway and each with a private garden. Although the design of each house varied, they did share common features such as flat roofs, accentuated horizontal lines, and simple massing. Due to lack of financing the project collapsed and only the Goetsch-Winckler House was built on a different site.
After World War II, Wright designed houses separately for several other co-op members, although the only design built was that for Erling P. Brauner, also in Okemos less than a mile and a half from Goetsch-Winckler House.
Design
One of Wright’s earliest Usonian homes, the house is an "in-line Usonian", literally a house built in a straight line. The carport, living room, dining room, kitchen and bedrooms all form rectangular spaces that slide past each other. The living room takes up most of the house, with a chimney at one end in front of a workspace. At the opposite end, two bedrooms, separated by a bathroom, open out on to a veranda. The workspace exemplifies the Usonian interior, with its clerestory windowsClerestory
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...
supplementing a bank of full length casement window
Casement window
A casement window is a window that is attached to its frame by one or more hinges. Casement windows are hinged at the side. A casement window (or casement) is a window that is attached to its frame by one or more hinges. Casement windows are hinged at the side. A casement window (or casement) is a...
s on the adjacent wall. Despite its small size the house seems large due to built-in furniture and shelves. Built-ins include the dining room table, a seat by the fireplace, a bar, a desk and bookcase in the workspace, as well as numerous storage spaces.
See also
- The Acres - Galesburg Country HomesThe AcresThe Acres, also known as Galesburg Country Homes, is a naturalistic residentialsubdivision designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in Charleston Township, Michigan...
- Usonia HomesUsonia HomesUsonia Homes is a planned community in the Town of Mount Pleasant, adjacent to the village of Pleasantville, New York. In 1945, a rural tract was purchased by a cooperative of young couples from New York City, who were able to enlist Frank Lloyd Wright to build his Broadacre City concept. Wright...
- Suntop HomesSuntop HomesThe Suntop Homes, also known under the early name of The Ardmore Experiment, were quadruple residences located in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, and based largely upon the 1935 conceptual Broadacre City model of the minimum houses...