Mackintosh’s Hill House Becomes an International Iconic House!
SPECIAL – Czech Classics
Record Number of New Iconic Houses - Part 1
At Plečnik House: To Decide Where the Shadow Falls
Record Number of New Iconic Houses - Part 2
A Story of Burnt Books and Broken Bricks
Iconic Encounters: London
Remembering Irving J. Gill
Iconic Houses in the Media
Interview in Leading Catalan newspaper ARA
Bauhaus Villa in Berlin For Sale
Historical Exhibition, Marie-Laure de Noailles, Painter, Conversation
Our Badge of Honour
Istanbul’s Modernist Ataköy Housing Estate is At Risk
Early Furniture Designs by Le Corbusier on Permanent Display in Maison Blanche
Photo Report City Icons Amsterdam
Healing Through Architecture
Reopening An Iconic Modernist Landmark
City Icons Kick Off with Talk by Linda Vlassenrood
MORE MIES - Pure Architecture in Haus Lange Haus Esters
Through a Bauhaus Lens: Edith Tudor-Hart and Isokon
Modernism Week Lecture: 12 Years of Iconic Houses
Aluminaire House Grand Opening
Exhibition Icons of the Czech Avant-Garde
An Elementalist and Mediterranean Architecture
Icon for Sale - Loos Villa: Haus Horner
SPECIAL – Iconic Dreams Europe - Sleep in an Iconic House!
SPECIAL – Iconic Dreams North America - Sleep in an Iconic House!
SPECIAL – Dutch Delights!
SPECIAL - Vacances en France!
SPECIAL – German Greats!
SPECIAL - Casas Icónicas en España!
SPECIAL – Northern (High)Lights!
SPECIAL – Iconic Artist Residencies
SPECIAL – Iconic Collective Housing
SPECIAL – Women & Iconic Houses
Public Screenings and Private Streaming of Pioneers of the Dutch Modern House
Support the Frankfurt Declaration (on Housing)
Winy Wants a World Wonder
Welcome Atelier Volten!
Sleep in a Modernist Gem – Huis Billiet in Bruges
Iconic Houses in The Netherlands - 100 Years Van Zessen House
Exclusive Tour and Film Screening Package
The Last House Designed by Adolf Loos Will Be Built in Prague
Icons of the Czech Avantgarde
Icon for Sale - Casa Legorreta
Rietveld Day: 200 Enthusiasts Explored 3 Utrecht Icons
Hurray! 10 Years Iconic Houses
7th International Iconic Houses Conference A Huge Success
Meet Conference Co-Chair Iveta Černá
Meet Conference Co-Chair Maria Szadkowska
Eighteen Iconic Houses Under One Roof
17 June - 'Pioneers-film' Screening Amersfoort
Iconic Houses in The Netherlands - Van Eesteren House Museum
Welcome Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky Zentrum in Vienna!
Welcome Vila Volman! Jewel of Czech Functionalism
Movie Night: Adolf Loos- Revolutionary Among Architects
'Inside Iconic Houses' Case Study House #26 Webcast in Webshop
Inside Iconic Houses at Taut’s Home in Berlin
Rediscovering Forgotten Loos Interiors in Pilsen
'Inside Iconic Houses' - Online Tour Program
Iconic Houses in The Netherlands - The Diagoon House
Iconic Houses in The Netherlands - Rietveld Schröder House
Rietveld Houses Owners Association
Corberó Space: New Life for Hidden Jewel
Iconic Houses in The Netherlands - Pierre Cuypers' House and Workshops
Reeuwijk Celebrates Completion of Restoration Rietveld Homes!
Iconic Houses in The Netherlands - Van Doesburg Rinsema House
Welcome Rietveld's Van Daalen House!
Architect Harry Gessner Passed Away at 97
Watch Pioneers of the Dutch Modern House Now On Demand
Icon Saved: Dorchester Drive House
Welcome Umbrella House!
Iconic Houses in the Netherlands – Berlage’s Masterpiece
Iconic Houses in The Netherlands - Het Schip
Inside Iconic Houses - Tour of Maison Cazenave
Inside Iconic Houses Tours Vizcaya Museum & Gardens in Miami
Casa Masó Celebrates 10 Year Anniversary
Inside Iconic Houses tours Roland Reisley's Usonian Frank Lloyd Wright House
Rietveld’s Experimental Housing in Reeuwijk Saved
Serralves Villa after restoration
Portraits of the Architect - Interview with Gennaro Postiglione
Test Labs for New Ideas - Interview with Natascha Drabbe
Inside Iconic Houses - Isokon Building
Inside Iconic Houses - 16 December: Sunnylands with Janice Lyle
BCN-BXL Coderch-De Koninck - Beyond Time
New Chairman Architect Nanne de Ru on The Perfect Platform
Health and Home - Interview with Beatriz Colomina
A Life Less Ordinary – Interview with Valentijn Carbo
Invisible Women - Interview with Alice T. Friedman
Winy Maas on the Green Dip
Anita Blom on Experimental Housing of the 1970s
Women’s Worlds - Interview with Natalie Dubois
The Culture of Living - Interview with Robert von der Nahmer
Hetty Berens: A Fresh Take on Modernism
Niek Smit on Supporting Modern Heritage
Alice Roegholt on Amsterdam’s Working-Class Palaces
July is Iconic Houses Month
Hans van Heeswijk on The Pioneers of the Dutch Modern House
Wessel de Jonge on Dutch Icons at Risk
Save Maison Zilveli - Sign the Petition!
How a Building Tells a Story - Recorded Event
Toolkit for Owners of a Modern House
13 Aalto Sites Nominated for UNESCO World Heritage
Villa Beer At Risk - Sign the Petition!
Business Cards of Stone, Timber and Concrete in the Brussels Region 1830-1970
Exhibiting & Visiting Modernist Monuments
Fostering Well-Researched Responsible Design
ICONS AT RISK
Enjoy a virtual visit to the California House and a Q&A with architect Peter Gluck
Exhibition 'Modernism and Refuge'
A Hidden Gem of Postmodernism
New Centre for Historic Houses of India
An Online Chronicle of the Douglas House
Villa Henny, geometric style icon in The Netherlands
A Mendini temple in Amsterdam
IH-lectures USA & Canada Feb 2020 on Melnikov House
Sponsors and Friends
An Afternoon with the Glucks
Chandler McCoy on Making Modern Houses Sustainable
Catherine Croft: Getting Away from the Demolition Mentality in the UK
Patrick Weber on Discovering an Unknown Icon
Fiona Fisher on Iconic Interiors
Jocelyn Bouraly on Villa Cavrois
Mireia Massagué on finding success through a new kind of partnership
Danish Moderns – Looking Back at Our Mini-Seminar
Venturo house complements Exhibition Centre WeeGee’s offering
Lecture report: Remembering Richard Neutra
Hôtel Mezzara and the Guimard Museum project
We welcome 13 new members!
BREAKING NEWS: 8 Wright Sites Inscribed on Unesco World Heritage List!
LECTURE 29 August - Raymond Neutra: My Father and Frank Lloyd Wright
Iconic Reads
Iconic Houses End Year Message
City-ordered rebuild of landmark house stirs debate: Appropriate or overreach?
Kohlberg House Restoration in Progress
Planned Demolition of Rietveld Homes in Reeuwijk
Renovation Gili House in Crisis
An Iconic Saga
Restoring Eileen Gray’s Villa E-1027 and Clarifying the Controversies
Modernism on the East Coast
Iconic Houses in Latin America
Conference testimonials
House Tours May 2018
Expert Meetings
Natascha Drabbe - Iconic Houses: The Next Chapter
Terence Riley -KEYNOTE SPEAKER- on Philip Johnson
New era for Villa E-1027 and Cap Moderne
Hilary Lewis on Philip Johnson and his Glass House
John Arbuckle on Great House Tours
William D. Earls on the Harvard Five in New Canaan
Stover Jenkins on Working for Philip Johnson
Frederick Noyes on his Father’s House
Scott Fellows and Craig Bassam on their Passion for Preservation
Jorge Liernur -KEYNOTE SPEAKER- on Latin American Modernism(s)
Fabio Grementieri on Modernism in Argentina
Catalina Corcuera Cabezut on Casa Luis Barragán
Renato Anelli on Lina Bo Bardi’s Casa de Vidro
Tim McClimon on Corporate Preservation
Amanda Nelson on Building Donor Relationships
John Bacon on Planned Giving
Jean-Paul Warmoes on the Art of Fundraising in America
Chandler McCoy on Why Less is More
Katherine Malone-France on Moving with the Times
Anne Mette Rahbæk on Philanthropic Investments and Preservation
Peter McMahon on Saving Modern Houses on Cape Cod
Toshiko Kinoshita on Japanese Modern Heritage Houses
Roland Reisley on Life in a Frank Lloyd Wright House
5th Iconic Houses Conference May 2018
Kristin Stone, Pasadena Tour Company
Restoring the past: The Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Home Studio
Behind the Scenes: Hendrick de Keyser Association
Crosby Doe, Architecture for Sale
Latin America Special – Focus on Mexico
De Stijl in Drachten
Preserving the Nancarrow House-Studio
Meet the Friends - Nanne de Ru
Latin America Special – Focus on Brazil
Jan de Jong’s House is Latest Hendrick de Keyser Acquisition
Stay in a Belgian Modernist Masterpiece
In Berlin’s Modernist Network
Rietveld-Schröder House Celebrates De Stijl Anniversary
Meet Our New Foundation Board Members
Maintaining Aalto's Studio – Linoleum Conservation
Virtual Tour of a Papaverhof Home in 3D
Getty Grant for Villa E-1027
Plečnik House in Ljubljana
Iconic Dacha
Iconic Houses: A Bohemian Road Trip
Work in Progress: Capricho de Gaudí
11 Le Corbusier Homes now on Unesco World Heritage List
At home with Le Corbusier
Henry van de Velde’s Study in Haus Hohe Pappeln Restored
Lynda Waggoner reports
A Conference to Remember
4th International Iconic Houses Conference
Guest of Honor - Harry Gesner
Fallingwater: European Lecture Tour
Wright Plus 2016 Walk
Susan Macdonald, Getty Conservation Institute
John Mcllwee, Garcia House
Meet the Friends – Elisabeth Tostrup
Iconic Houses: The Story So Far
Willie van Burgsteden, designer Iconic Houses
Buff Kavelman, Philanthropic Advisor
Meet the Friends - Frederick Noyes
Sheridan Burke, GML Heritage
Meet the Friends - Raymond Neutra
Sidney Williams, Frey House
Franklin Vagnone and Deborah Ryan, Museum Anarchists
Meet the Friends - James Haefner
Toshiko Mori, architect
Malachi Connolly, Cape Cod Modern House Trust
Meet the Friends - Penny Sparke
Lucia Dewey Atwood, Eames House
Cory Buckner, Mutual Housing Site Office
Jeffrey Herr, Hollyhock House
Speaking Volumes: Building the Iconic Houses Library
Sarah Lorenzen, Neutra VDL Studio and Residences
Ted Bosley, Gamble House
Keeping It Modern - Getty Conservation Grants
Meet the Friends - Thomas Schönauer
Wim de Wit, Stanford University
Linda Dishman, Los Angeles Conservancy
Jesse Lattig, Pasadena Heritage
Join us in Los Angeles! Update
Work in Progress: Casa Vicens
Work in Progress: Van Wassenhove House
Work in Progress: Villa Cavrois
Work in Progress: The Pearlroth House
Conference calls!
Follow us!
Third Iconic Houses Conference a huge success
Conference House Tours Barcelona
Marta Lacambra, Fundació Catalunya-La Pedrera
Natascha Drabbe, Iconic Houses Foundation
Special speaker Oscar Tusquets
Jordi Tresserras, UNESCO Network ‘Culture, tourism and development’
Christen Obel, Utzon Foundation
Elena Ruiz Sastre, Casa Broner
Fernando Alvarez Prozorovich, La Ricarda
Tim Benton, Professor of Art History (Emeritus)
Susana Landrove, Docomomo Spain
Rossend Casanova, Casa Bloc
Conference Program 25 November 2014
Jordi Falgàs, Casa Rafael Masó
Documentary La Ricarda
Marga Viza, Casa Míla/La Pedrera
Celeste Adams, Frank Lloyd Wright Trust
Conference 25 November 2014 at La Pedrera
Henry Urbach, The Glass House
Victoria & Albert Museum London November 12
Tommi Lindh, new director of the Alvar Aalto Foundation and Museum
Iveta Černá, Villa Tugendhat
Lynda Waggoner, Fallingwater
Kimberli Meyer, MAK Center
Rent a house designed by Gerrit Rietveld
Barragán House on Screen
Gesamtkunstwerk – An Icon on the Move
Triennale der Moderne 27 September - 13 October 2013
Prestigious Art Nouveau mansions in Brussels open
September 14 + 15: Heritage Days in Paris
June's New Arrivals: Museum Apartments
Iconic Houses is now on Twitter and Facebook
Corbu’s Cabanon: Reconstruction and Lecture
Projekt Mies In Krefeld: Life-sized model of the Krefeld Clubhouse
New arrivals: Spain special
MAMO: Le Corbu’s ‘Park in the Sky’ open 12 June
Taut's Home wins Europa Nostra Award
Annual Wright Architectural Housewalk: 18 May
Frank Lloyd Wright Homes on Screen
Message from the Editor
Neutra’s House on Screen
Michel Richard, Fondation Le Corbusier
Symposium The Public and the Modern House
Melnikov House on Screen
Iconic Houses in the media
Message from the Editor
Round Table Review
Eileen Gray House on Screen
Copy Culture
At Home in the 20th Century
New 20th century Iconic Houses website launches
Philippe Bélaval, Centre des monuments nationaux
A Conference to Remember
Tuesday 16 February – VIP Opening Reception Getty Trustee House
Photography by Els Zweerink for Iconic Houses
As our Iconic Houses Conference opened at the Getty Center on February 17, there was some exceptionally good news regarding one of LA’s most iconic houses. The Sheats-Goldstein House, known to a huge public thanks to its starring role in the cult movie The Big Lebowski (and the scene of our conference closing cocktail party), was donated by its owner, the inimitable James Goldstein, to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).
The future of the Sheats-Goldstein House is happily assured, but sadly the same is not true for many other important houses of the 20th century. Preserving these places for future generations is our mission at Iconic Houses, and our conference played a key role in promoting this goal. Over three days, we brought together 150 attendees, representing 11 nationalities, to learn from and inspire each other in ensuring an equally happy ending for many more of the world’s unique 20th-century houses.
Conference highlights included our Q&A session with visionary architect Harry Gesner and the tour of his remarkable Sandcastle, and Toshiko Mori’s keynote presentation on working with houses by the likes of Marcel Breuer and Frank Lloyd-Wright. With a program of two expert sessions and 12 talks, plus visits to 15 of California’s most memorable iconic houses, it was a complex event. Yet thanks to the unflagging support of our superb team of organizers, everything went without a hitch. Don’t take our word for it though: check out our press coverage and read what the conference goers themselves thought below!
Wednesday 17 February – Pre-conference Tours of Los Angeles house museums
Wednesday 17 February – Expert Meetings
Building the Iconic Houses Toolkit
Our expert sessions explored fundraising and conservation management plans (CMPs), two topics of crucial importance to our members. A total of 30 people spent the day working hard in break out sessions to establish the USPs of their houses, challenges and opportunities in a series of case studies in order to identify new funding partnerships and create CMPs. Practical toolkits allowed them to analyze the houses’ strengths and weaknesses. The experiences of the expert sessions are being used to help develop the forthcoming Iconic Houses Toolkit, which will be made available to all members.
Conference Videos Now Online
Our conference content is now online - a new resource for Iconic Houses fans. Our video footage is packed full of ideas, information, inspiration and entertainment – including a playful presentation from our ‘museum anarchists’ Franklin Vagnone and Deborah Ryan, featuring some fun footage courtesy of Jacques Tati, to name just one example. So check out our videos to see what you missed, or to refresh your memory of this unique event. What’s your own favorite conference moment? We’d love to hear from you.
Praise for the Iconic Houses Conference at the Getty Center
‘This has been a fantastic conference! I have learned so much, both from presenters and our fellows.’
Lucia Atwood – Eames House
‘You definitely got everyone's attention here in Los Angeles! Harry Gesner was a real discovery for many people, and with the timing of the Los Angeles Times article it almost seemed to some as if you were the one who brokered the deal between LACMA and Jimmy Goldstein.’
Ted Bosley Jr – The Gamble House
‘It was such an inspiring and educational event. I met so many incredible people based all around the world; many of whom I intend to keep in touch and hope to see in two years.’
Cory Buckner – MHA Site Office
‘It was an incredibly rich week in so many ways – wonderful people, places and ideas – and such a privilege to have the opportunity of visiting so many private homes.’
Fiona Fisher – Dorich House
Your vision and organisation is so important to the world of architecture and the future of it.’
Harry Gesner – The Sandcastle
‘It was a fantastic conference. In fact, I think it is the best conference I’ve ever attended and you are to be congratulated. I’ve expressed this view to other attendees who were equally enthusiastic.’
Jeffrey Herr – Hollyhock House
‘The presenters, representing an array of expertise, were universally well versed, well organized, talked concisely and to the point….The size of the conference was also just right - small enough so that you saw new acquaintances repeatedly, but large enough so that others were untapped. And the attendees list, with so much overlap and yet diversity, was itself enriching.’
Fred Noyes – Noyes House
‘It was a wonderful combination of lectures, tours, and social events.’
Bob Liljestrand – Liljestrand House
‘…Such a wonderful group of passionate conservationists and heritage celebrants.’
Titania Truesdale – Strutt House
Thursday 17 February – Lectures and House Tours to private homes
Friday 18 February – Lectures and House Tours to private homes
Gesner Shines as Guest of Honor
An architect whose life and work embodies our conference theme, ‘A California State of Mind,’ Harry Gesner took the stage as our conference Guest of Honor, seated in conversation with Trudi Sandmeier while images of his beautiful buildings formed the backdrop to a lively discussion. For much of his career, Gesner told us, “It was a very small percentage of the population that understood my work.” His inspiration, he explains, was always “nature, not other architects.” Happily, his warm reception at the Getty Center showed that the world has finally caught up with this visionary architect and thinker, who is responsible for some of LA’s most original houses. Gesner kept us entertained with his accounts of current projects such as a lodge and huts for The Wave, the Lake Huron-based initiative of his good friend, surfing legend Kelly Slater, who has developed a continuous artificial wave for surfers. Another current project, the Autonomous Tent, is a way to circumvent bureaucracy and building regulations with an off-the-grid design (a house with no foundations, it is classed not as a house but as a tent). After listening enthralled to his enthusiasm for medieval castles, surfing, round houses and the quirks of some of his more colorful clients, the audience gave him a resounding ovation. He responded, “I never got applause before!” Shining a light on this pioneering environmental architect’s wonderful body of work for our Iconic Houses members was one of the proudest achievements of our conference.
Watch the video and read the interview made by our media partner Dwell to take a personal tour with James Goldstein—who has lived in the Goldstein Residence for more than 40 years.
Double Celebration
Our closing cocktail party at Lautner’s wonderful Sheats-Goldstein House was a double celebration. We were raising a glass not only to the success of the conference, but also to James Goldstein’s generous gift of the house to LACMA to ensure, as he said at the party, that it would remain for the world to enjoy for the next 100 years and more. To mark the occasion, Iconic Houses founder Natascha Drabbe presented him with an Iconic Houses plaque, and LACMA’s Matthew Thompson made a speech in which he thanked Goldstein, saying that it was “difficult to overstate the significance of the gift to LACMA and the people of LA”, and that the house is an important example of “the experimental domestic architecture that is the city’s great cultural legacy.” It’s perhaps hard to believe, but this will be the first Lautner house to become a house museum – an important step in preserving the legacy of this important architect, and something to celebrate indeed.
Saturday 20 February – Post-conference Tour to Palm Springs
Photography by Els Zweerink for Iconic Houses
Posted March 31, 2016