Charles Gwathmey - Triangle Modernist Houses - America's Largest Archive of Residential Modernist Design

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After his death the Cameron Art Museum in Wilmington NC (which he designed) sponsored a two-part lecture on his life and career. Part 1

Part 2

CHARLES GWATHMEY, FAIA (1938-2009)

Gwathmey was a native of Charlotte NC. His mother was the sister of Walter Hook, a respected Charlotte architect whose work included Mercy Hospital, Carolinas Medical Center, Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte, and the Veteran's Administration Hospital in Salisbury. Gwathmey's grandfather was C. C. Hook who designed various projects at Duke University over 30 years.

After his family moved to New York City, he attended the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts, graduating in 1956. He studied architecture at the University of Pennsylvania and Yale University, receiving a Master of Architecture degree in 1962 at the latter. At Yale, he studied under Paul Rudolph and won both The William Wirt Winchester Travelling Fellowship as outstanding graduate and a Fulbright Grant. From 1962-1963 he worked for Candilis Josic Woods in Paris; from 1963-1964 at George Nemeny Architects in New York, and from 1964-1966 for Edward Larrabee Barnes in New York.

In 1966 he rose to fame for a house and studio for his parents in Amagansett, NY. Gwathmey was not a licensed architect at the time. When he did take the professional licensing exam, he was surprised to see a multiple-choice question on the test that asked "Which of these is the organic house?" The choices included the house he designed for his parents. He wanted to answer that the organic house was his, but in order to pass the exam he chose Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater House. He knew that was the answer they wanted. He passed.

Gwathmey went into partnership with Richard Henderson to form Gwathmey and Henderson, Architects. In 1968, the firm became Gwathmey Henderson and Siegel Architects. After Henderson's departure in 1970, the now-iconic Gwathmey Siegel & Associates was established. He was a partner there until his death in 2009 of esophogeal cancer.

He was one of the New York Five (Gwathmey, Peter Eisenman, Michael Graves, John Hejduk and Richard Meier) who dominated avant garde American architecture in the 1960s and ’70s. They were the subject of a meeting of CASE (Conference of Architects for the Study of the Environment) held at the Museum of Modern Art in 1969 and subsequently a book published in 1972.

In the decades since, Gwathmey has been honored with the Brunner Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1970) and elected to the Academy of Fellows (1976). In 1983, he won the Medal of Honor from the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. In 1985, he received the first Yale Alumni Arts Award from the Yale School of Architecture. Three years later, the Guild Hall Academy of Arts awarded Gwathmey its Lifetime Achievement Medal in Visual Arts. In 1990 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the New York State Society of Architects.

From 1965 through 1991, Gwathmey taught at Pratt Institute, Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, Princeton University, Columbia University, the University of Texas, and the University of California at Los Angeles. He was Davenport Professor (1983 and 1999) and Bishop Professor (1991) at Yale, and the Eliot Noyes Visiting Professor at Harvard University (1985). In the spring of 2005, he served as the William A. Bernoudy Resident in Architecture at the American Academy in Rome.

His most famous commercial design is the 1992 renovation/addition of Frank Wright’s Guggenheim Museum in New York, left. He married Bette-Ann Gwathmey in 1974. She donated his archives to Yale University in 2010.

Additional Resources:

1980 Interview * 2000 Interview with Charlie Rose

His North Carolina buildings are the 1994 Rubenstein-Silvers Hillel Center at Duke University, the UNC-Charlotte School of Architecture (with Ferebee Walters), and the 2002 Louise Cameron Wells Museum in Wilmington, shown below.

1964 - Gwathmey's first house commission, The Gerald Miller Residence, on Fire Island NY.

1966 - The Robert and Rosalie Gwathmey Residence and Studio, 122 Bluff Road, Amagansett NY on Long Island. Gwathmey became a sensation doing these house and studio buildings for his parents. Costing $35,000, the Gwathmey houses attracted throngs of visitors and was consistently named one of the most influential buildings of the modern era. Built by John Caramagna. In 2001, Gwathmey inherited the house from his mother and moved in. He began a renovation that included covering the original concrete floor with marble. Stairs and dining room photos by Scott Francis/Esto.

1968 - The Joseph Sedacca Residence, 19 Northwest Landing Road, Northwest Harbor NY. 1100 square feet on three acres. Built by John Caramagna. Won a 1968 AIA NY Honor Award. Sold by Sedacca to Paul A. Amador in 1993. Color photos by Paul Amador.

1968 - The Roger Straus III Residence, 3558 Purchase Street, Purchase NY. 6566 sf. Won a 1968 AIA National Honor Award. An Architectural Record House of 1968. Sold by Nina Straus in October 2007.

1969 - The Jack D. and Barbara Weiss Goldberg Residence, 119 Wyneding Hill Road, Manchester CT. 2367 sf. Was an Architectural Record House in 1969. Featured in the New York Times in 1969. Mrs. Goldberg passed away in 2010.

1969 - The Kenneth Cooper House, 35 Bufflehead Lane, Orleans MA. Top left photo by Bill Maris. 1263 sf. Commissioned 1968. Sold in 2003 to Williams and Dororthy Carr who still owned it as of 2011.

Around 1970 - The Richard Lawrence House, Kings Point NY. Designed with Richard Henderson. Unsure if built. Does not appear in most Gwathmey lists.

1970 - The Loring Mandel House, 117 Bay Avenue, Huntington Bay NY. Commissioned 1969. Designed with Richard Henderson. Does not appear in most Gwathmey lists. Sold in 2001 to Alyson Richman and Stephen Gordon. Sold in 2007. As of 2011 owned by Agustin Ruiz De Arcaute Diaz De Entre-Sotos.

1971 - The John Steel Residence, aka Steel Residence I, Surfside Drive, Bridgehampton NY. House on the left, above. Commissioned 1968. Was enlarged (addition on right near pool) and a beach footbridge and swimming pool also added. Destroyed and replaced by a new owner.

1971 - The Arthur/Ruth Steel Residence, aka Steel Residence II, Surfside Drive, Bridgehampton NY. House on the right, above. Commissioned 1969. Added on considerably (left section of house) and a pool added.

1970 - The Faye Dunaway Apartment, Eldorado Building, 300 Central Park West, New York NY.
Interior photos by Ezra Stoller/Esto.

1970 - The Eskilson Residence, Roxbury CT (unbuilt).

1970 - The Tolan Residence, 130 Bluff Road, Amagansett NY. Next door to the house for Gwathmey's parents. Commissioned 1965. Right photo by Wayne Eastep. Sold to the Kurzner family.

1972 - The Marshall and Maureen Cogan Residence, five acres at 34 Terbell Lane, Hook Pond, East Hampton NY. Commissioned 1971. A rectangular pavilion intersected with three ramps and a living area overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Marshall Cogan was the former owner of Knoll. Won an national AIA Award and a AIANY Award. Was an Architectural Record House. Photos by Ezra Stoller/Esto. Sold to Joan and Joseph Cullman, who was the head of Philip Morris. Sold to Gary Fuhrman, who had it destroyed and a new house built.

1973 - The Breslow Apartment, aka the New York Apartment, New York NY. Designed for a writer and his wife. Bottom photo by Tom Yee.

1973 - The Elia-Bash House, Califon NJ. Unsure if built. Featured in Architectural Record July 1974.

1973 - The Maurice and Marilyn Cohn Residence, 54 Sandpiper Lane, Amagansett NY. Commissioned 1972. An oceanfront dune site with a steep slope to the cul-de-sac access road. Won a AIANY Design Award in 1974. Bottom photo by David Franzen. For sale in 2012.

1973 - The David Geffen Residence, Malibu CA. Unbuilt.

1975 - The Sagner House, Orange NJ. Unbuilt. Commissioned 1973.

1977 - The Buettner Residence, 67 Johnsontown Road, aka Stony Brook Drive, Sloatsburg NY. Commissioned 1974. Was rented out for 20+ years; owned since 2001 by son Robert Buettner.

1976 - The Charof House, Montauk NY. Commissioned 1974.

Sold to current owner Ted Stone in 2001. Color photo by James Wilkins.

1975 - The Unger Apartment, New York NY. Featured in Architectural Record in 1976.

1977 - The Harry Kislevetz Residence, 10 Lott Avenue, Westhampton NY on Long Island. Left photo by Norman McGrath. Commissioned 1974. Built from within a shell of a Spanish-style house.

1976 - The Melville I. Haupt Residence, 43 Gilberts Path, Amagansett NY. Top right photo by Marvin McGrath. Featured in Architectural Record May 1979.

1976 - The Weitz House, Dune Road, Quogue NY.
Featured in Architectural Record September 1979.

1977 - The Richard and Thea Benenson House, 95 Greenhaven Road, Rye NY. Commissioned 1976. Won a AIANY Design Award. Was a 1980 Architectural Record house. According to Richard Benenson, the house had no closets but had dressing rooms customized to the owners' clothes. Sold in early 1980's to Michael Silberkleit. Pool added later. There have been other renovations as well.

1977 - The Swid Apartment I, New York NY. Color photo by Norman McGrath.
The Swids will later commission a second apartment (see below).

1978 - The John S. and Carol K. Crowley Residence, 627 Round Hill Road, Greenwich CT. Commissioned 1977. Sold in 1996 to Gerald Friedman. Sold later in 1996 to Robert H. Shaffer. For sale in 2011.

1979 - The David Geffen Apartment, New York NY. Commissioned 1977. Color photos by Norman McGrath.

1980 - The Lloyd Taft House, around 4412 Drake Road, Cincinnati OH. Commissioned 1978. Sold to the Olson family. Minor alterations by Carl Strauss Associates around 1990 and by Stewart Shillito Maxwell, Jr. later in the 1990s.

1979 - The Hines Residence, Martha's Vineyard MA. Unbuilt.

1979 - The François de Menil House, 19 Crestwood Drive, Houston TX.

1979 - The Block Residence, Wilmington NC. Unbuilt.

1979 - The Viereck Residence, 144 Fresh Pond Road, Amagansett NY.

1981 - The Arango Apartment, New York NY. Photos by Norman McGrath.

1981 - The deMenil Residence, Santa Monica CA.

1981 - The deMenil Residence, New York NY. Unbuilt.

1982 - The Steinberg Apartment, New York NY.

1983 - The Francois deMenil Residence (aka Toad Hall), 428 Further Lane, East Hampton North NY. 10000 square feet. Commissioned in 1979. Sold in 1988 to Larry Gagosian. Renovated by Gwathmey in 1990. There was a small fire in the house in June 2011.

1985 - The Steven Spielberg Apartment, 52nd floor of the Trump Tower, 721 Fifth Avenue, New York NY. Commissioned 1983. 2500 square feet.

1983 - The Swid Apartment II renovation, New York NY. Photo by Paul Warchol.

1984 - The Sagner Residence, Essex Fells NJ. Unbuilt.

1986 - The Barry and Patricia Gimelstob Residence, 75 Sand Spring Road, Harding Township, New Vernon NJ.
Commissioned 1982. Tennis pro Justin Gimelstob grew up there. Bottom two photos by Norman McGrath.

1987 - The John R. and Julia Opel Residence, 297 Adirondack Drive, Shelburne VT. Commissioned 1985. 7000 square feet on 12 acres. Most photos by Richard Bryant/Arcaid. Bottom two photos by Peter Close. The Opels sold it in 2007. Unbelievably, the new owners destroyed the house in 2010.

1988 - The Garey House, Mauwee Brook Way, Kent CT. 4000 square feet on nine acres. Ambrosino DePinto & Schmieder were the Consulting Engineers. 5000 square feet. Commissioned 1983.

1988 - The Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw Residence, 110 Apaquogue Road, Georgica Pond, East Hampton NY. 5000 square feet on six acres. Second photo by Richard Bryant. Commissioned 1985.

1988 - The Charles Gwathmey Apartment, his own at 1115 5th Avenue, New York NY.
2500 sf. Photo by Paul Warchol.

1988 - The Rosen Townhouses, New York NY.

1989 - The Robert Steinberg Residence, Gracie Lane, Apaquogue, East Hampton NY. Bottom photo by Steven Brooke. Commissioned 1986. 8500 square feet on four acres. Sold to Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks. Will be renovated by Kang Chang, a former Gwathmey Siegel associate who started his own firm in 2010.

1990 - The Cary F. Staller Residence, aka Old Field House, 45 Crane Neck, East Setauket NY.

Early 1990's - The Jeffrey Katzenberg House, Bald Eagle Drive, Deer Valley area of Park City UT. 13000 square feet. Interior designed by Naomi Leff. Built by New Star General Contractors. President Clinton stayed here in 1998. In 2007, Goodyear was ordered to pay Katzenberg $2.17 million to replace faulty heating hoses. It was Goodyear's largest settlement to an individual homeowner at the time, as the house is finished with rare and expensive materials destroyed in the restoration process. No photo. Do you have one?

1992 - The Charles and Brenda (Bunny) Koppelman / Sobel Apartment,
Upper East Side, New York NY. Photos by Durston Saylor.

1993 - The Jeffrey Katzenberg Residence, aka the Oceanfront Residence, 22350 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu CA. Top photo is the view from the Pacific Coast Highway, next photo from the beach. Commissioned 1988. 11000 square feet. As of 2011 owned by the Gerald D. and L. Breslauer Trust. Bottom photo by Farshid Assassi.

1994 - The Thomas and Christina Bechtler Residence, aka the Zumikon Residence, Rigistrasse and Rigiweg Roads, Zumikon Switzerland. Overlooks Lake Zurich. Commissioned 1990. 10225 square feet.

1994 - The Chen Residence, Taipei Taiwan. Commissioned 1990. A massive 40,000 square feet. Unbuilt.

1995 - The Alan and Carol Pomerantz Apartment, 1185 Park Avenue 5C, New York NY. Gutted down to the studs for its two-year renovation. 2300 sf. Top photo by Hiroko Matsuike. Photos by Paul Warchol. For sale in 2010.

1997 - The Jerry and Ilene Kosberg Residence, aka the San Onofre Residence, 1600 San Onofre Drive, Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles CA. Consulting Electrical Engineers: Athans Enterprises. Commissioned 1993. 18000 square feet on 1.5 acres. As of 2011 still owned by Jerry Kosberg. Kosberg also owns 1571 Casale down the hill next door.

1997 - The Michael Dell Residence, aka Villa Austin, aka the Hilltop House, 3400 Toro Canyon Road, Austin TX. Overlooks Lake Austin. The complex is 33,000 square feet, has 8 bedrooms and bathrooms, 13 half baths, a conference room, a restaurant quality kitchen, an exercise room, an indoor pool, an outdoor pool, cabanas, and a five-level terraced lawn on 85 acres. Commissioned 1993.

1999 - The Winnick Apartment, located in a hotel at the southeast corner to Central Park, New York NY. 2000 sf/ Photos by Paul Warchol.

2000 - The Ronald Meyer Residence, aka the Malibu Residence, 27600 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu CA. Commissioned 1993. As of 2011 still owned by Mr. Meyer. The top photo was an early 1990's design that was scaled back for a second, smaller version actually built.

2001 - The Arie and Rebecka Belldegrun Residence, aka Casa Vecchia, aka the Bel Air Residence, 811 Strada Vecchia Road, Los Angeles CA. 15,000 square feet. As of 2011 owned by Stuart P. Ross and the Belldegrun Descendants Trust.Top and bottom photos by Scott Frances/Esto.

2001 - The Jerry Seinfeld Apartment, aka the Central Park West Apartment, Beresford Hotel, 19th and 20th floors, 211 Central Park West, New York NY. 3800 sf. Photos by Christopher Wild. Seinfeld bought the unit from Isaac Stern. Planning began in 1998, construction in 1999. The project architect was Kang Chang.

2002 - The Alvin and Joan Einbender Apartment, aka the Gymnasium Apartment, 240 Centre Street 5H, aka the Police Building, New York NY. Located in the 1909 building's former gymnasium. The NY Police Dept. moved out in 1973 and the building was converted to luxury condominiums in 1987. There are 55 apartments on six floors. This unit took four years to completeand was the only apartment Gwathmey designed from the ground up. 6600 square feet. On the market since May 2008. Photos by Paul Warchol.

2002 - The Ron and Ann Pizzuti Apartment, aka the Miranova Apartment, aka House on the Roof, 1 Miranova Place
Columbus OH. A 12000 sf two-story penthouse. Photos by Scott Frances. The owners are the developers of the building. The kitchen, in the center, includes a stainless-steel domed ceiling and a wine cellar. The residence also has a fitness center, book-lined library and guest apartment. Floor-to-ceiling windows stretch across part of the north side and open to a terrace overlooking the Scioto River and much of the Downtown skyline.

2002 - The Eric Steel Loft, 227 West 17th Street, New York NY. Steel is Gwathmey's stepson.
Photos by Paul Warchol.

2003 - The Reza Abbaszadeh Residence, aka the Belvedere Residence, aka At the Water's Edge, 445 Belvedere Avenue, Belvedere Tiburon, CA. Photos by Mark Schwartz. Four bedrooms, six bathrooms, over 8000 sf, and an elevator. Sold in 2007 to Settling, Ltd.

2004 - The Central Park South Apartment, New York NY. 8000 sf, one complete floor of a hotel.
Project architect Celeste Umpierre. Photos by Scott Frances/Esto.

Around 2004 - 100 West 58th Street PH-2, New York NY. One of two penthouse apartments Gwathmey renovated in this building. This one was for sale in late 2010.

2006 - The Mitchell Rales Residence and Museum, aka Glenstone, 12002 Glen Road, Potomac MD. Closed to the public except by special arrangement. The 200+ acre site, top photo, includes the Rales House and Guest house (second ahd third photos), and across the lake is his private art museum (last exterior photo by Scott Francis/Esto). Structural engineering by Severud Associates. Built by Harold Gray of Lifecraft, Inc. Civil Engineering by A. Morton Thomas and Associates, Inc. Bottom interior photos of the museum by Zhulong.com.

2007 - The Michael and Susan Dell House, aka the 6D Ranch Lake House, aka the 6D Home, Commons Ford Ranch
Park Road on Lake Austin, in Bee Cave TX, northwest of Austin TX. 6380 square feet. Owned by 6D Ranch LTD, controlled by DFI Resources LLC, belonging to Michael and Susan Dell.

2007 - 311 West Broadway, Townhouse TH-2, New York NY.
Private entrance off Wooster Street. Sold September 2010.

2008 - Apartment 51/52 West, 51st and 52nd floor of the Bloomberg Building, New York NY. 8400 sf. Merger of two apartments vertically into one, requiring some floor removal. Designed for a family with four children. Photos by Paul Warchol.

2009 - Fifth Avenue Penthouse, New York NY. Belongs to Marlo Thomas and Phil Donahue. Source.

2007 - Apartment 40/41, Central Park West, New York NY. Horizontal merger of two apartments into a 5000 sf space. Photos by Paul Warchol.

2009 - M-1 Apartment. Built.

2010 - The Three Trees Residence, 1 Toby Lane, Aspen CO. Commissioned 2006. Project architect Dirk Kramer. On the side of Shadow Mountain. 15000sf. Built by Harriman Construction. Structural Engineers: KL&A, Inc. Mechanical by Beaudin Ganze Consulting Engineers. Lighting by HDLC Architectural Lighting Design. 9.4 acres.

2010 - Apartment 15, New York NY.

2011 - Wayward Point, aka Sag Harbor Residence, Sag Harbor NY.

2011 - Ruthy's Way, Peabody Drive, Northeast Harbor ME.

2011 - MS4610 Cabin, Aspen CO. Owned by the same folks as Three Trees, above.

2005 - The Astor Place Tower at 445 Lafayette Street, New York NY. The 270-foot, 21-story asymmetrical tower features a collection of 39 loft residences. Every apartment interior was designed by Gwathmey Siegel along with Ismael Leyva Architects.

2010 - The Larry Gagosian Villas, Saint Barthélemy (aka St. Barth's), French West Indies. Commissioned 2009. Has a view of St. Maarten just a few miles away. The project architect was Kang Chang who finished the work after Gwathmey's death. The plan consists of two levels: On the lower is six guest villas, one of which holds a living room, kitchen, dining area, and gym. On the more private upper level is a master bedroom villa, plus another containing a living room, dining room, and kitchen. Each level has its own pool and terrace. Photos by William Abranowicz/Architecural Digest.

Sources include: The New York Times, Mario Roy, Virtual Globetrotting, AIANY, Gwathmey Siegel, Conde Nast Traveler, Blockshopper Long Island, In Search of Clarity: The Architecture of Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects.