The principle quality of the Gefter-Press House resides in its unconcealed celebration of the nature that surroundings it.
Completed in 2007 by Michael Bell, a professor at Columbia University, its simple, somewhat rough, grassy terrain is enveloped by an uninterrupted spectrum of all the greens, oranges, browns and greys that the local nature has to offer.
Without competing with these surroundings, the house itself manages a similar kind of simple, no-nonsense beauty, letting good straightforward design speak for itself, with a single storey, open plan space and floor to ceiling windows all around.
The house calls to mind others recently covered on this site, Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House, and Philip Johnson’s Glass House, as well as the Sarah Waller’s more recent, and less well-known house, also dubbed the Glass House (or more precisely, Doonan Glass House). The comparison is obvious from the floor to ceiling windows, but also in the simplicity of each design.
What distinguishes this home is that it’s much less monumental, and less bombastic. This is not just reflected in the structure, but also the interior decoration, which is most notable for the presence of a series of Bauhuas furniture pieces. Like the best of the Bauhaus style, this house is a tribute to uncomplicated elegance.
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Photos via Michael Bell Architecture
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