Mackintosh’s Hill House Becomes an International Iconic House!
Obituary and Interment: The Death and Disposition of 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: 10 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 – German Greats!
SPECIAL - Vacances en France!
SPECIAL - Casas Icónicas en España!
SPECIAL – Dutch Delights!
SPECIAL – Iconic Artist Residencies
SPECIAL – Northern (High)Lights!
SPECIAL – Iconic Collective Housing
SPECIAL – Women & Iconic Houses
Public Screenings and Private Streaming of Pioneers of the Dutch Modern House
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
Renovation Gili House in Crisis
The renovation of the Gili house, by Martínez Lapeña and Torres, is in crisis, because it disregards the municipal permit*
This is the second home by the architects that is under threat on Ibiza. A few months ago, the architect Salvador Roig and the COAIB demanded the protection of the Van der Driesche house to avoid its demolition; the authorities were planning to meet this week.
Modern heritage in Ibiza is again threatened. The City Council of Santa Eulària has stopped the work being carried out on the Gili house, one of the most emblematic buildings of José Antonio Martínez Lapeña and Elías Torres in Ibiza. According to sources at the council: “The City Council has previous preliminary diligences against the property of this house for having executed works much superior to what could be allowed under the terms of the minor work license that they requested at the time and that, actually, was requested after the consistory decreed the termination of the work that had been initiated.” It is expected that the owners will be sanctioned: “On Friday the property was informed of the sealing order for the works that are currently being carried out and, from now on, a sanctioning procedure will begin,” explains the same source.
Detail of the illegal works at the Gili house. Photo SALVADOR ROIG
The Gili House is named after the family of publishers who were the first owners. It was completed in 1987 and is one of the most significant works in the development of architects Martínez Lapeña and Torres in the 1980s. The house is located in the urban area of Can Pep Simó, where there are works by important Modern architects such as Josep Lluís Sert, Germán Rodríguez Arias and Albert Ilescas. It is not part of the heritage catalogue of the town because it dates from after 1956, but it is included among the works that the Insular Commission for Land Planning, Urban Planning and Historic-Artistic Heritage (CIOTUPHA) recommended protecting as a result of the approval of the subsidiary regulations of the town. The list includes works by architects such as Erwin Broner, Raimon Torres, Carles Ferrater and Lluís Gascon. The architectural and urban design work of Joseph Lluís Sert is considered as of ‘cultural interest’.
The Santa Eulària City Council will sanction the owner of the Gili house for the works that are being carried out. Photo SAVADOR ROIG.
Unfortunately, it is not the only building by the architects of the 1980s that has suffered alterations: changes have also been made in the restoration of Hospitalet Church, in the city of Ibiza, and the Boenders House, in Sent Antoni.
The precedent of the Van der Driesche house
The Van der Driesche house on a vintage photo. Source: JAMLET.
The Gili House is not the first work of the architects in Ibiza to be under reconstruction. The conservation of the first house in Ibiza by José Antonio Martínez Lapeña and Elías Torres, the Van der Driesche House, is still in the air. Salvador Roig and the Architects' Association of the Balearic Islands called for cataloguing it three months ago, after the new owners submitted an application to demolish it. The Ibizan public authorities have not yet made any decision. According to sources from the Island Council of Ibiza, this week they intend to meet with the City Council of Sant Josep - the house is located in Calla Molí - to address the situation. According to sources from the Sant Josep City Council, the new owners do not want to execute the demolition license they requested: “They asked for a license because they wanted to demolish some parts of the house, but they did not intend to use it, because according to the urban regulations of the area they could not rebuild them.”
Drone video of the Van der Driesche house by local police department of Sant Josep, posted on Facebook 22 September 2018.
The Van der Driesche house was built between 1969 and 1973 and is named after the Dutch family who commissioned Martínez Lapeña and Torres, the architecture firm that received the National Architecture Prize in December. It would be easy to protect it if it were catalogued, but this will not be the case until the architect Juanjo Serra finalizes the writing of the new catalogue of architectural heritage of the City Council of Sant Josep. Then, though, it could be too late. “If the house were included in the catalogue, the justification for protecting the building would be much simpler. We will study what legal basis we have to protect the house between both authorities,” according to sources at the institution. However, as Salvador Roig says, the council could act in a preventive way: “There are articles of the heritage law that allow the suspension of possible actions while analysing the subject,” stresses the architect.
The date of completion of the catalogue of architectural heritage of Sant Josep, which after it is written will have to be put on public show, is not fixed. According to Roig, it is not essential that the house is catalogued to protect it, and he states as a precedent the case of the approval of the subsidiary regulations of Santa Eulalie. “It is difficult to protect the work of a living author as cultural heritage, and it is not included in a heritage catalogue,” says the architect. With respect to the ‘Goods of Cultural Interest’, they are reserved for historical architects.
The Van der Driesche house is in very good condition and few alterations have been made. The COAIB included it in its list of contemporary works suitable for protection. With regard to its most outstanding features, the architects used the reduced dimensions and the strong slope of the lot to great effect, resulting in magnificent views of the sea, and the creation of outdoor spaces sheltered by the existing pines and by sail-like awnings. At the owners’ request the house is divided into two separate blocks. In addition, details such as the angular volumes and the use of ‘soft’ elements such as the sail-like awnings, which are a constant in the architects’ work, make an early appearance in the Van der Driesche house. “All the free spaces in the plot, in small dimensions, have been designed to enable life in the open air, especially the terraces oriented to the sea, covered with the sails of ships,” affirms the architect Stefano Cortellaro in the report issued by the COAIB to request the cataloguing of the building. “The site has been completely occupied by the structure, the interiors and the terraces merge to facilitate both outdoor life and the formation of diverse groups in the frequent meetings,” said the architect of the work. The Cortellaro report also includes the numerous publications where it has appeared, among which the Cuadernos de Arquitectura y Urbanismo. Another highlighted publication is the book by Gillo Dorfles, Arquitectura moderna, where, citing the architect Rafael Moneo, the author speaks of the “Kahnian roots” of the house, referring to the work of the architect Louis Kahn.
The Van der Driesche House. Photo JUANJO SERRA.
The Van der Driesche House. Photo JUANJO SERRA.
Stay tuned for updates.
Posted November 22, 2018
*This article by Antoni Ribas was first published in Spanish in ARA newspaper on 16/02/2018. The drone video of the local Police of Sant Josep was added to this English translation of the article by Iconic Houses.