The Vanna Venturi House by Robert Venturi and the Margaret Esherick House by Louis Kahn
an elegant evening at two of Philadelphia’s most architecturally significant 20th century residencesThank you for joining us on September 23
Please enjoy photos from the evening courtesy of SSM Photography.Thank you to our hosts for their gracious hospitality
Dan Macey and Paul Savidge
David Lockard
Thank you to the members of the planning committee
David Brownlee
John Carr
Dan Macey
Thank you to our generous sponsors
Bruce E. Brooks & Associates
Hansell Construction, Inc.
John Milner Architects, Inc.
Keast & Hood
Looney Ricks Kiss
Materials Conservation Co., LLC
Moore Brothers Wine Company
Rago Arts and Auction Center
Vanna Venturi House, designed by Robert Venturi
When American architect Robert Venturi began to design a house for his mother, Vanna, in the late 1950s, he boldly replaced the generic vocabulary of modernism with the charmingly old-fashioned symbols of the “home”– a big chimney, sheltering roof, and welcoming doorway. Although apparently simple, even childlike in its conception, the Mother’s House was also “complex and contradictory” in the spirit of the manifesto that Venturi was then writing. The design was hugely influential, and it came to be seen as the first embodiment of Post-modernism, although that generalization is complex and contradictory, too.
Margaret Esherick House, designed by Louis I. Kahn
Evincing the heroic unity of form and structure that is also visible in Louis I. Kahn’s other landmark commissions, the Margaret Esherick House (1959-61) is one of only nine homes that he designed. Monumental in its geometry, the house is gentle and humane in its details, and includes a stunning kitchen crafted by famed sculptor and woodworker Wharton Esherick, Margaret’s uncle. The homeowners’ efforts in preservation and conservation have been recognized nationally by Docomomo US and locally by the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia. It is a model for stewardship and preservation.
All proceeds from this fundraising event support the work and mission of the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia. Contact Susan Matyas at 215-546-1146 x3 or susan@preservationalliance.com for further information.