Celebrated Architecture

Michael Graves, a recent recipient of the American Institute of Architects’ highest honor — the Gold Medal — revives classic lines for easy living.

By: Faith Bahadurian

   The answer is "yes" if it is a Graves design. Touched with lovely classical references, tied to the surrounding landscape, uplifted by a splash of whimsy and careful strokes of subtle color, his residential work is very much to be lived in and enjoyed.
   It would be nice, very nice, to have a substantial public building designed by Michael Graves in Princeton. But with a university policy against hiring its own faculty, of which Mr. Graves is a member, to design campus buildings, and the current Arts Council building plans on hold, that is not likely to happen in the near future. So, if you want your very own Graves architectural creation, it’ll have to be in your own home.
   His own home, "The Warehouse," as he calls it, is located on a quiet street in Princeton and has evolved over many years into a warm and personal haven.
   Originally constructed by the Italian craftsmen who came to work on the Princeton University campus in the 1920s, and at one time used to store students’ furniture, it has been reclaimed, space by space, and has now been the feature of many glossy architectural write-ups.
   The exterior is warm stucco, and resembles an Italian Tuscan villa. Most of us would call our possessions "stuff," but in this setting, "stuff" becomes "objects" as Fran Leibowitz drolly commented in her BBC television tour several years ago. (Indeed, some of the "objects" were originally curbside finds.)

Light floods the living room area of the Graves addition. Staff photo by Mark Czajkowski

   Several of Mr. Grave’s residential projects were on view during a YWCA house tour in the mid-90s, and a little sleuthing helped me put together a driving tour of my own.
   In the most unexpected places, deep in conservative neighborhoods, I would suddenly catch a glimpse of a contemporary addition to an older home. The effect could be startling, and yet I could see that these additions had "softened in," and become part of that neighborhood’s landscape.
   In his notes for the YWCA tour, Mr. Graves wrote, "my work now uses color more directly as part of the composition, contributing to the building’s character and the understanding of its relation to the surrounding context. Issues of character can be played into the narrative of the architecture."
   These homes will be forever thought of as "Graves houses." They are called by the name of the family who originally commissioned his work, even though new owners may have settled in some time ago.

The upstairs library. Staff photo by Mark Czajkowski

   I was allowed to tour one such home, the "Alexander House," now owned by Helmut and Eva Schwab. Constructed in the early 1970s, this addition to the back of a 1930s colonial-style house includes a 900 square foot downstairs area with a kitchen, family area, desk and an upstairs library.
   With floor to ceiling windows, the downstairs addition is flooded with light. The floor is laid with earth-colored ceramic tile, adding warmth to the look of the room.
   Outside is a snow-covered landscape, inside is airy and spacious, lending a continuum to our view.
   In a deep bay windowsill in front of the desk, Ms. Schwab has laid down a layer of beach sand and pretty shells she has collected on trips. It is a most pleasant contrast to the wintry view beyond.
   To the left of the desk, outside, one can see an open frame across the back of the house partially enclosing a porch. The structure has a sculptural quality, and even sports a whimsical "open window" rectangular sculpture high up near the trees at the edge of the property.
   Inside, to the right of the desk is a curvilinear wall of glass bricks, giving a sense of privacy to the family area. Opposite that wall, a curved counter and overhead shelving for glassware delineate the kitchen area.
   Other shelving displays a collection of colorful ceramic pitchers, glassware and other kitchen items. It is a functional and well-designed space for a family.

A close-up of the desk and bay window where Ms. Schwab displays a seashell collection. Staff photo by Mark Czajkowski

   Upstairs, in a smaller area of the Graves addition, is a cozy library, looking out onto the peaked room of the larger kitchen area below.
   Now lined with books and small collections, this room was once a child’s bedroom. During that period, a Graves-designed mural on the back wall, an abstraction of soft pleasant color, was covered, but now it has been restored to its original glory, the Schwabs say.
   A sliding pocket door provides privacy, and windows are more like "portals" to the outside, with functional inside shutters for when a little "cocooning" is in order.
   The wall opposite the mural used to be an outside wall, with windows looking out the front of the house; the owners have added on a large airy home office for Mr. Schwab in that once exterior space.
   However, they’ve left in the original windows, sans glass, to provide for communication between his workspace, her reading area. The shutters are still in place, though, and the couple joked that you could judge their mood by whether or not the shutters are open.
   Around the corner of the library is a small bathroom. It, too, has a window above the sink that is an inside wall of the new office space. In that window is placed a large poster of Munich, Germany, and a vase of silk flowers. When you open the shutters, the fan goes on and the "view" lights up.
   The Schwab’s obvious appreciation of Mr. Graves’ work is reflected in their own creative and whimsical adaptations to the original design. They’ve shown a sensitive appreciation of living in a "Graves home," yet made it truly their own.