This is by far my FAVORITE building because of the colors, the shape of the house and windows. This house is amazing! It reminds me of a spaceship. The Gryder House is located in Aurora, IL and lies deep in the suburb. It was designed in 1947.W.C. Gryder bought the land from Iola Davidson in June 1957 and seen the Gutman House in Gulfport with inspired them to summon Bruce Goff in March 1960 to design their house. Goff did design a carport but it was never constructed. The back of the house resembles a birdcage. Each room opens to a little conical balcony overlooking a moat that surrounds the house. The unique teardrop windows is so beautiful. Then you have the conical balconies, roof lines are mirrored in water and the textured tiling accents inside and out. The Gryder House is Goff most exotic and fancy house. It was well constructed as even Hurricane Katrina did minimal damage. The house is supported by two reverse hourglass columns that is located on the cochere. It has a concrete slab foundation, stucco cladding and rounded corners.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/155866837089425083/

https://www.nytimes.com/search?query=shin%27enkan+pavilion&sort=best

https://www.apps.mdah.ms.gov/Public/prop.aspx?id=14881&view=facts&y=728

Goff, Bruce, Houses

In 2018, the Pavilion for Japanese Art will celebrate its 30th anniversary. Goff vision was inspired by Frank Wright. It is 32,100 square feet pavilion that consist of a three-levels with two wings with exhibition galleries, study are, library, offices and storage areas. The west wing of the pavilion is dedicated to changing exhibitions and a netsuke gallery to display the Raymond and Frances Bushell Collection which consists of 900 nutshell-sized Japanese sculptures. The east wing of the pavilion was dedicated for the traditional display of Japanese screens and scrolls or traditional viewing spaces. The exterior walls are made of a translucent material that allows light to enter a room in the same way as a shoji screen. For it’s 30th birthday, the pavilion received a renewal. The County of Los Angeles provided a grant to undergo renovations and repairs. It took approximately two years to complete.

https://unframed.lacma.org/2018/01/31/visit-pavilion-japanese-art-temporary-closure

https://unframed.lacma.org/2018/01/31/visit-pavilion-japanese-art-temporary-closure

https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-despite-its-startling-architecture-the-pavilion-for-japanese-art-is-111353412.html

The Bavinger House is located in Norman, OK and built in 1955. Goff inspiration was a castle-like shape with a sense of earthy environment. You can see the home against the forested landscape. The walls were made of ironstone that is replaced periodically with large blue pieces of glass cullet. The roof spirals and is 96 ft long. It covers the whole house and is supported by cables connected to the center mass. The house almost look like a sail boat. The outside walls seems to grow out of the landscape and surround the house, then connects to the earth. The interior have floor pods that radiates off of the central axis but no interior walls. It is an open floor plan with each pod serving a different purpose such as a bedroom or study space. Goff inspiration was that he wanted to build a home that had no beginning or ending. The home was damaged in 2011 during a storm. Because of the vacancy, the home became choked with vegetation. There was a dispute in 2011 as to who own the home and restoring the home, the University of Oklahoma or Bob Bavinger, the current owner of the home. Bob Bavinger said the only solution was to demolish the house. All that is left of the house is an empty clearing. There is a video walk through available for those that want to visit the house.

https://www.archpaper.com/2016/05/bavinger-house-demolition/

This house belonged to Ruth and Sam Ford and located in Aurora, IL. It was designed in 1947-1949. As you can see it is not in a traditional shape but in a unique round shape. It is referred to as the Round or Coal house. The home was designed with a 50 ft. center circle and two circular bedroom wings. The materials used was coal, steel, glass, cedar and hemp. He wanted a design that resembled an informal, gathering around, friendly environment. The original construction remains the same since construction. Goff inspiration came from his experience with the Quonset hut, a steel structure with a half-tube shape.

I’ve always been fascinated with unique things and always want to be different. I love to have things that no one else have and this house would be one of them. I love the creativity, the uniqueness and the details. In my opinion it looks like a museum.

https://www.aurora-il.org/655/14-Ford-House-1949

https://www.artic.edu/artworks/228941/ruth-and-sam-ford-house-aurora-illinois-section

i don’t have any ties to the Kremlin, however one day my mother and I were talking about temples and I told her how much I love temples and how beautiful they are and she mentioned this place. She visited this place during her employment. She’s retired now.

It sits on Borovistsky Hill, rising above the Moscow River. I am fascinated with temples and cathedrals. This cathedral is colorful and looks like something that would be in a princess type movie. The white stone walls were first built in 1367-68 and rebuilt more than a century. They later hired skilled artists and architects from around Europe to shape it into a modern form. It used to be where the state governing elites resided and worked in. It is still the office residence of the Russian Federation president but access is limited to where the walls are loosened considerably.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/world-heritage/kremlin-red-square/

One of my employees visited London last year and showed his pictures of this unique building. It is located in London and is the most distinctive building in London. It was sold to a Brazilian billionaire. It is reported it was sold to Joseph Safra for 700 million dollars. The building has been around for about 16 years. It has a unique shape of an egg and what looks like mirrored, diamond shaped windows. It is a beautiful site on London’s skyline. It used to be occupied by Baltic Exchange, that was bombed by the IRA in 1992, killing 3 people. I love interesting buildings and reading about them. I find it interesting what inspired them on the design. The design was to maximize daylight and natural ventilation. It uses about 50% less energy that a typical building of the same size. It won the Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize in 2004 for its impressive and elegant design.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-29988282

http://www.londontown.com/LondonInformation/Sights_and_Attractions/Swiss_Re/ae9a/imagesPage/26813

In November 2016, I reunited with my mother after over 38 years in Las Vegas before I went to Thailand to reunite with the rest of my family. Once again, this was a sentimental trip to me. This building stood out to me because of the waterfall. I LOOOOVE waterfalls. This water fall lit up at night and it changed colors. The hotel had a unique shape that was shaped like a wide horseshoe or curved (the best way I can describe it). I heard people say it’s called Dancing Waters. It would put on quite a show at night. It was absolutely stunning. This was the hotel we stayed in. I took my daughter and niece which was their first time ever meeting her, so they were really excited. Our initial visit wasn’t the best but this was our first time in Las Vegas so we made the best of it while we were there. On the strip there are so many different unique buildings but this building was classy to me.

https://www.booking.com/hotel/us/bellagio.html

In December 2017, I went to Thailand to reunite with my family after over 42 years. I was born in Bangkok, Thailand and left when I was 2 years old. I reunited with my mother about 15 years ago but didn’t get to see her until 4 years ago. This trip alone was very sentimental to me because of the reunion. I visited the Royal Palace in Bangkok on my last day. I visited many temples during my visit in Thailand and they were all beautiful and full of details. It s sacred ground so you have to take off your shoes before entering them. This building stood out to me because of the details and the beautiful jade Buddha (Jade is one of my favorite stone). It is the most important Buddhist temple and located in the historic center of Bangkok in the Royal Palace. The Buddha was carved out of a single block of jade. When you go inside of the temple, the tourists were not allowed to go past a certain point. Only Thai residents were allowed to get close, touch it and praise it. It was dark but yet you could see everything because of the shimmers of the gold and the jade Buddha was lit up. I don’t go to church but I do believe in a higher authority. I started learning about Buddhism about 10 years and my visit to Thailand confirmed my interest.

Sharon Hannah