Ina Morris Harper House - Frank Lloyd Wright

[Music] located at 2571 lake shore drive in st joseph michigan you will find a beautiful architectural work of the modern era designed by the esteemed frank lloyd wright this is known today as the ina morris harper house named after its original inhabitants the house was designed in 1950 and construction was completed in 1953 the house situated just a short walk away from the coast of lake michigan is work of the modern time just before the turn of the post-modern design era the harper residence is one of two houses designed by frank lloyd wright to be located in st joseph michigan the other one being called the carl schultz house situated just on the bank of the saint joseph river it uses large overhangs which is a design cue from falling water in pennsylvania the harper residence was the last house to be designed by wright in michigan for the remainder of his career i went to see this house for myself on january 15 2022 and is currently for sale with a price tag just shy of 2 million looking at the floor plan we can see that the whole structure resembles a capital l shape rotated onto its back the house is constructed out of cyprus and chicago common brick which are all staples of wright's designs and midwest construction alike as we can see there is very little sculpted aspects to this architectural work there is no smooth or flowing transitions from one element to the next everything is done in linear motion with sharp edges and corners despite the exterior design suggesting rigidness there still manages to be an eye-pleasing design that flows in a different way than rounded sculptures do the interior of the house follow suit with the exterior as the trend of linear motion and edges continue the house is undoubtedly modern but features subtle references to gothic design with the house seeming to be made up of squares and triangles that can be seen pretty much anywhere most noticeable is the beautiful photogenic living room that slopes upwards towards the end of the house providing an unobstructed view of lake michigan just on the other side of lake shore drive taking a deeper approach we can see that this house does not work against gravity and that it sits flush with the ground very few parts of the house jet towards the sky or suggest that this house was meant to stand out as a symbol of wealth or power i would go the lengths to say that this building is one of if not the shortest on the entire street yet it somehow encompasses beauty in its most pure form this house is not overly flashy and actually can blend in with the neighborhood to the unknowing eye by someone just passing by it's situated further back from the road not demanding any immediate attention i believe that eno morris harper was not out to display her wealth of this home she simply wanted a house that could partake in all the gorgeous methodologies that frank lloyd wright had to offer through this house we can see that luxury does not have to be ornate harper wanted a home that could fit in with its surroundings but was still breathtaking in execution i believe that this architectural work is absolutely timeless and encompasses everything you could possibly ask for in modern design it still stands the test of time 70 years later and is just as desirable as the day it was constructed this is also backed by the merit and credibility of frank lloyd wright who knocks it out of the park every time still evident in the house's two million dollar price tag the architecture successfully communicates its message of pushing boundaries in order to move forward in life as depicted by the large bay windows that look out over lake michigan they remind its inhabitants to keep dreaming of reaching new horizons every day you

Channel: Jeremy Lane

Views: 16,555

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Id: 0VtHfcSCiBg

Length: 3min 52sec (232 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 16 2022