One big difference between our house and the original, Pope-Leighey house, is that we are using pocket doors in all the rooms. We chose this option for space...but tonight while reading The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbury (Europa Editions, 2009), I found a perfect explanation of the benefits of pocket doors.
In this novel, a Japanese gentleman has bought and renovated a Parisian apartment and installed sliding doors.
"I was fascinated by the way the Japanese use space in their lives, and by these doors that slide and move quietly along invisible rails, refusing to offend space. For when we push open a door, we transform a place in a very insidious way. We offend its full extension and introduce a disruptive and poorly proportioned obstacle. If you think about it carefully, there is nothing uglier than an open door. An open door introduces a break in the room, a sort of provincial interference, destroying the unity of space. In the adjoining room it creates a depression, an absolutely pointless gaping hole adrift in section of a wall that would have preferred to remain whole....Sliding doors avoid such pitfalls and enhance space. Without affecting the balance of the room, they allow it to be transformed. When a sliding door is open, two areas communicate without offending each other. When it is closed, each regains its integrity. Sharing and reunion can occur without intrusion. Life becomes a quiet stroll..."
I asked Pat why he thought Frank Lloyd Wright didn't use pocket doors in the Usonians. He thought it was cheaper to do the other sort. I think it is interesting that a Japanese gentleman introduced the sliding door to this Parisian apartment and we are using them in our little house... after all, Mr. Wright was heavily influenced by the Japanese. A bit of serendipity... we are now thinking of learning how to do bonsai...
I read that book!! Did you even understand any of it? I have recommended it to the one person in our family who might actually get all of the Kant, Nietsche references, etc. BB
ReplyDeleteIt goes over my head on many levels, but I think I get points for even attempting it. Kay thinks it is about beauty, whereas I think it is about truth. Of course we ended up at ODE TO A GRECIAN URN "truth is beauty," It's about peeling onions, to get under the many layers of people's armor.
ReplyDeleteMr. Wright did not use pocket doors in Usonian houses because it was impossible to do so: the walls were solid wood, consequently there could be no "pocket". Wood walls in Wright's originals were made of 3/4 inch plywood, with solid horizontal reverse board and batten screwed to each side creating a wall only 3 inches thick.The solid board and batten was generally cypress (later mahogany) with the dimensions corresponding to the vertical unit of the house, usually 13 inches resulting from a one foot board and one inch batten. Six units placed on a 2 inch base created a 6'8" high wall, the same as a standard doorway. This was the usual height found in galleries, entries, and other compressed spaces. On outside walls, the top unit was commonly a row of clerestories with uniquely patterned wood screens. These walls were not heavy load bearing, as that was the job of the masonry, with the roof cantilevered in multiple directions as a tray firmly sits on fingertips. (In Pope, the usual fireplace/workspace mass, the wall from the end of the living room to the sunroom bumpout, the master bath/dining area, and the carport pier.) Wood walls were not insulated. Long walls frequently had cantilevered bookshelves in lieu of battens.(Rosenbaum living room, Pope living room end/library area). The frequent corners and folds in these walls were as much structural as architectural. John Sergeant's book (http://www.amazon.com/Frank-Lloyd-Wrights-Usonian-Houses/dp/0823071782) has drawings of the wall components, and they owe more to cabinetry than rough framing. So....no pocket doors. Full answer to follow.....
ReplyDeleteAddendum: I know the blog writer knows all of this, and will no doubt get to it in due course, but I am reading chronologically and have written for posterity, or perhaps posterior, even post-mortem.
ReplyDeleteWell,of course, Doh! I remember seeing the cut out of the wall at the Pope leighy house with the flimsy insulation. Of course, that's why no pocket doors. Thank you for that clarification.
ReplyDeleteWe have two sets of cantilever bookshelves. One in the hallway and one more recently built in the living room. However, the living room is somewhat of a cheater because of lack of studs, so there are two supports. Does it still count?