Three Frank Lloyd Wright Followers Designed This $1.1M Ohio Midcentury With an "Ivory Tower"
Restored after years of neglect, Glenbrow sits at the edge of a wooded ravine, with a Zen garden, site-sourced stone walls, and a four-story structure awaiting completion.
Restored after years of neglect, Glenbrow sits at the edge of a wooded ravine, with a Zen garden, site-sourced stone walls, and a four-story structure awaiting completion.
Location: 7495 E Broad Street, Blacklick, Ohio
Price: $1,099,000
Year Built: 1940
Tower Built: 1964
Architects: Tony Smith, Ted van Fossen, Laurence Cuneo
Last Renovated: 2017
Renovation Architect: Joe Kuspan
Home Footprint: 2,854 Square Feet (3 Beds, 3 Baths)
Tower Footprint: 850 Square Feet
Lot Size: 2.5 Acres
From the Agent: "Glenbrow is a two-and-a-half-acre estate built in 1940 as the vision of three architects tied to Frank Lloyd Wright: Tony Smith, Ted van Fossen, and Laurence Cuneo. Drawing on Wright’s principles of organic architecture, the home is closely tied to its natural setting, with stone quarried on-site used in fireplaces and accent walls throughout. The landscape becomes an extension of the architecture, with views of a wooded ravine and meandering stream that shift with the seasons. French doors open the interiors to a series of patios, creating an easy flow between indoors and out, with plenty of space for alfresco dining, including one area with a wood-fired oven. The high-performance kitchen features soapstone counters, a coffee bar, and extensive built-ins, and it opens to a large dining room with views of the scenery. In the living room, a restored built-in sofa and table made of old-growth cypress sit alongside a woodburning fireplace and a cozy niche for work or creative projects. An open-concept primary suite offers views of the Zen garden and ravine. Also on the property is a four-story ‘Ivory Tower,’ designed in 1964 by Ted van Fossen. Partially restored, it remains one of the property’s most distinctive features, ready for the next owner to furnish. For those who appreciate architecture, Glenbrow is an opportunity to own a piece of Central Ohio’s modernist legacy."
Tony Smith, Ted van Fossen, and Laurence Cuneo met in 1937 at the New Bauhaus in Chicago, then headed by László Moholy-Nagy. After the school closed, Smith and Cuneo joined Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin Fellowship; in 1939, van Fossen received a commission to design and build a house for Rob and Mary Gunning, a young couple with a wooded lot on the edge of a ravine. The trio applied Wright’s principles of organic design to the residence, which they named Glenbrow.
Photo by Joe Kuspan
According to renovation architect Joe Kuspan, the restoration was designed to unify decades of exterior modifications while allowing old and new elements to remain distinct inside. The material palette follows the home’s 1940 language of plywood, 1-by-2 pine trim, colored concrete floors, cypress, and stone.
Photo by Joe Kuspan
The living room features a restored built-in sofa and table made of old-growth cypress, a functional stone woodburning fireplace, and a corner work niche. Original cypress window and clerestory frames were restored with new low-e insulating glass, while custom birch and cypress built-ins serve as storage, shelving, and an AV console.
Photo by Joe Kuspan
See the full story on Dwell.com: Three Frank Lloyd Wright Followers Designed This $1.1M Ohio Midcentury With an "Ivory Tower"
Related stories:
