A 1959 mannequin residence in Northeast Portland was dubbed the Wedgwood Home of Tomorrow when it was new, however right now the fastidiously preserved residence is a spacious, livable time capsule made well-known to a brand new technology as a movie location for “Shrill,” a comedy collection starring Aidy Bryant and streaming on Hulu.
Architects William Fletcher and Donald Blair designed the dwelling seven many years in the past to be topped by an inventively light-weight, folded-plate roof, which was referred to as the “Wedgwood Wave” after developer Wedgwood Homes.
Underneath the Douglas fir plywood roof had been floor-to-ceiling glass panels and prefabricated walnut-veneer panels. A suspended hearth and clerestory home windows add to the sense of lightness, as if components are floating.
The good-looking, then-futuristic residence with indoor-outdoor areas, an excellent work-from-home setup and “The Jetsons”-like built-in gadgetry, earned a benefit award by the American Institute of Architects in the course of the halcyon days of midcentury structure.
Fast ahead: The 0.27-acre property at 1300 N.E. 117th Ave. in Portland’s Hazelwood neighborhood was listed on the market at $639,000 on Jan. 12, 2020, by dealer Lori Fenwick of Premiere Property Group.
Who will love this residence with architectural gravitas? “Someone who appreciates aesthetic and modern design,” says Fenwick. “Someone who is excited about owning and preserving one of the most architecturally significant, mid-century modern homes in Portland.”
The longtime homeowners say their residence was impressed by German-American architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House, in addition to summary painter Piet Mondrian’s use of colours and enjoying solids towards voids for dramatic, simplified visible impact.
Western Building devoted a canopy story and two pages to the Wedgwood Home of TomorrowWestern Building
The residence was invited to be a part of Restore Oregon’s 2017 residence tour spotlighting Fletcher’s uncommon residential work.
The late architect not solely helped refine midcentury trendy for the Pacific Northwest, however based an everlasting agency, Fletcher Farr Ayotte (now often known as FFA Architecture and Interiors, Inc.), and secured his legacy via his enticing, ground-breaking constructions.
Airbnb visitors have additionally been ready to take a look at the Wedgwood Home of Tomorrow (usually misspelled “Wedgewood”) and “Mad Men”-era furnishings and paintings. “Live like a Jetson,” acknowledged the holiday keep description.
The entry is protected by a walled and landscaped courtyard. It’s a signature characteristic of Fletcher’s that gives privateness and a way of transition from the road to the house sanctuary.
The home has 4 bedrooms, two bogs and 1,650 sq. toes of residing area. It is surrounded by a Tiki deck and Japanese gardens.
See extra Portland midcentury modern homes on the market
Fletcher is credited with advancing modernist tenets of open ground plans and environment friendly kitchens that enhanced the excessive livability of his customized homes. He added magnificence with fastidiously positioned skylights, heat wooden louvers and different sensible and stylish geometric varieties.
In the Fifties, Fletcher graduated from the University of Oregon’s School of Architecture and arrange store within the basement of his Portland residence.
His information to design had been works by modernist trailblazer, Mies van der Rohe, and the spare International Style motion.
While basic revival structure dominated the drawing boards at most corporations, Fletcher joined a handful of outliers designing pared-down dwellings encased by glass and native timber.
A yr into his profession,
