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SOUTH HILL BY MARCUS WESTON

6/22/2012

1 Comment

 
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South Hill garage (right), entry (center) and public spaces (left)
On June 9, I had the pleasure of attending “Wright and Like 2012”, a self-guided tour of homes and commercial buildings designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, his apprentices, and others inspired by Wright’s work.  The tour took place in Spring Green and the surrounding countryside.  Wright encouraged his apprentices to buy land and settle near Taliesin, so it’s not surprising that there are many buildings near Spring Green that were designed either by him or by those who apprenticed under him.  

There were 15 buildings on the tour - a daunting number of places to visit in the course of an 8-hour day.  I had already visited all of the commercial buildings which were part of the tour, so I concentrated my efforts on the private homes, most of which I had never had the opportunity to visit before.

One of my favorite homes was South Hill by Marcus Weston.  Marcus, now in his 90’s, joined the Taliesin Fellowship in 1938.  He designed South Hill, located just north of Spring Green, in 1967.  It is a beautiful yet modest home, with three bedrooms, 2 full baths, a lower level playroom and two-car garage.  What sets it apart is the circular geometry.  The home consists of three circular “pods”, which intersect at the central stone fireplace mass.  One pod contains the public spaces (living/dining/kitchen), one contains the master bedroom, and one contains the guest bedrooms.  Living, dining and kitchen spaces are all open to one another, but because of the circular shape of the space, the room is only gradually revealed as you move through it, and the kitchen and dining table are not visible from the front door.  

The exterior material palette is simple:  red-painted vertical wood siding and stone, placed in layers to resemble the stone outcroppings which are common in this area.  Bands of windows connect the house to the surrounding woods.  This is not a home designed to impress but rather one in which to live a beautiful life, surrounded by the beauty of nature.  It shows how common materials and a simple program can be made into an exceptional home through an innovative use of geometry.  

 Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos inside the houses, and so I only have exterior pictures.
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Playroom below; Great room above
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Great room "pod" on right; garage (below) and master bedroom (above) on left
1 Comment
Gene Meier
7/15/2015 01:49:46 am

I met Marcus in Watertown, Wisconsin in the early 1980s. He was in town working on the new addition to Bethesda Lutheran Home. I was in Watertown to learn more about my Old Lutheran ancestors in nearby Lebanon (1843 emigration), and continue my education --and begin my museum career--at UW Whitewater. In Watertown I was rooming at the home of Mrs.Ella Lenius, on Wisconsin street, up the block from my Aunt Edith Meier Williams and cousin Ruth Wimmer, and my grandmother. Marcus roomed across the hall. Marcus was born 1915, my father's age.Marcus introduced me to the writings of Frank Lloyd Wright. He had me check out a stack of FLlW books from the 'Wisconsin Collection' at the Watertown Public Library, and my favorite was AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY. Fascinating to read this book, then ask Marques questions about this-and-that. Especially interesting was the chapter on the 1913 fire at Taliesin. "Marcus, your father saved the drafting rooms with the garden hose! Marcus, your brother died at Taliesin.""Yes, my brother died three years before I was born. I never knew my brother." At length I purchased a copy of AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY and pasted in it the only letter ever received from Marcus, dated August 31,1981. Late one night I arrived at my room and Marcus was writing a letter at the desk in his room. I said hello and learned that he was writing the letter to Mrs., Wright--Mrs. Olgivanna Wright. Marcus made a terrific impression on my. As for myself, I am writing the first spreadsheet about 19th century rotunda panoramas from the American point of view. These were the biggest paintings in the world, 50 x 400=20,000 square feet, housed in their own rotundas which were 16-sided polygons. Chicago in 1893 had 6 panorama companies and 6 panorama rotundas. FLlW does not mention PANORAMA PLACE, Wabash and Hubbard Court (now Balbo), but he describes taking the cable car through it on page 86 of AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY. Here stood the BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG (permanent exhibit 1883-1893) and a second panorama (SIEGE OF PARIS, MISSIONARY RIDGE, JERUSALEM, NIAGARA, etc)

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