by John Shearer
posted November 7, 2009
) Photo by John Shearer Riverview home designed by Richard Neutra |
However, the home that is probably most notable on a national scale is a mid-century home that is hardly even visible on its own street due to its setback.
Located at 1718 Minnekahda Road is the only residence in Tennessee designed by noted modernist architect Richard Neutra. It had been constructed in the mid-1950s by Dr. Philip and Jean Livingston and is now resided in by their daughter, Ann Raines.
Although not as well known to the average person as Frank Lloyd Wright, Mr. Neutra (pronounced NOY-tra) is still very acclaimed.
“Neutra was second only to Mies Van der Rohe as America's greatest proponent of mid-20th century modernism,” said UTC art and architecture professor Dr. Gavin Townsend, who thinks the Riverview home could easily qualify for the National Register of Historic Places.
“Most of his buildings are in California, though once his portrait appeared on the cover of Time magazine (in 1949), his practice expanded nationwide, indeed internationally.”
Ms. Raines said her father, who was reared in Columbus, Ga., and practiced internal medicine and cardiology, and her mother, who was from New York, had written several noted architects, including Mr. Wright, about designing their home before selecting Mr. Neutra.
“They chose Neutra because they liked his designs and they were concerned that Frank Lloyd Wright was incredibly temperamental,” said Ms. Raines.
She said that Mr. Neutra came to Chattanooga and saw the lot, and asked the family to write down details of what they wanted in their home. For example, Mrs. Livingston was interested in politics at the time the home was built, so he designed a desk built into a cabinet in the master bedroom.
“He was trying to create the house around the people who lived there,” said Ms. Raines, who was a child along with her brothers, Richard and Dean Livingston, at the time.
Mrs. Raines said Mr. Neutra – a native of Austria who died in 1970 -- later wrote that the Livingstons had been the nicest family with whom he worked.
Besides paying attention to his clients, Mr. Neutra also noticed closely his surroundings and built the home to take advantage of the view of the Tennessee River a few feet down the hill.
Typical of Mr. Neutra’s modernist style, the Riverview home features numerous windows and even has glass doors. Ms. Livingston jokingly said double-pane windows did not exist in those days, so she has to pay a little extra on her utility bill every month.
Other unusual features of the 4˝-bedroom home include a flat roof, a room initially designed as a maid’s bedroom, built-in cabinets and furniture, a combined living and dining room, and an unusual television box and stand.
“It’s a beautiful, beautiful home,” said Ms. Raines.
Because of Mr. Neutra’s busy schedule, the fact that he was in California, and that modernist architecture was not practiced in large scale in Chattanooga, the Livingstons hired family friend and local architect, MaryLou Droston, to help oversee construction.
The contractor was Creed W. Maynard, a patient of Dr. Livingston.
Dr. Townsend said the home is an excellent example of the noted architect’s work.
“The Livingston house embodies many of Neutra's trademarks: the long, low, flat roof lines and deep eaves; banks of large windows running the length of the house; the tight integration of concrete, brick, glass and wood, and a sense of restrained elegance both inside and out,” he said. “The brick veneer on the front of the house is presumably an effort to acclimate a decidedly modern house to a Southern environment.“
Ms. Raines, whose father lived in the home until he died at age 96, plans to keep the residence for now but may eventually sell it to move closer to her daughter out of town.
What is for certain, however, is that living in the home has given her an appreciation for Mr. Neutra’s talent.
“He had an incredible vision of creating work that was both functional and had artistic beauty, and yet he did it with the idea that human beings would be living in his work,” she said.
Jcshearer2@comcast.net
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