Happy New Year from All Your Friends at KCMODERN!

I took these photos over the Christmas Holiday as the snows started to build up and drifts began to grow. This particular area on the roof of our mid-century modern ranch is a drainage point for two gables and prone to wind drifts during snow and heavy wind. I wanted to share what I thought was a lovely snow veil cantilevered from the roof.

The icicles grow...somehow a metaphor for the year as it goes by...
We wish you a Happy, Healthy and Abundant New Year!
...We were talking the other day about upcoming events for 2010 ( check back soon for announcements on our late winter events) when we reflected on 2009 and the fun we had...Here is a short list of our efforts:
In February, there was "Memphis in Missouri, " an open event at the home of our friend Rod, showcasing his collection of Ettore Sottass designed furniture and decorative accents, along with other great 80's artists and designers.
In March we hosted a modern tour for the architectural students from Iowa State University and our friend and professor of architecture, Dan Naegele.
KCModern co-hosted an April tour of architecturally important houses, Louis Curtiss, Frank Lloyd Wright, Marcel Breuer, Jones and Emmons, Clarence Kivett, Bruce Goff, Edward Tanner and Barry Byrne, (see previous posts) for the Frank Lloyd Wright Conservancy Spring Meetings, including reception dinners at the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Bott and Sondern-Adler houses.
In April, we planned and recorded an audio/visual oral history of Ted Seligson, architect FAIA/educator, preservationist and wonderful man.
In June we partied with our first "Martini Modern" at the wonderful home in KCMO designed by William S. Beckett. Part of the proceeds from the event was for the benefit of the Historic Kansas City Foundation.
In August we began our co-sponsored film events with the AIGA.
September was the David B. Runnells House Tour and reception at the "All-Climate Home" with our special guest Jill (Runnells) Grose.
November was our "Showcasing Green" Event at the Studio 804 designed house in KCKS.
At this time we are in the process of seeking not-for-profit status.
This will help us in our quest for continued research and advocacy for modern architecture and preservation of our modern assets...
As we build our calender of events, please let us know what you would be interested in... and look forward to a fun filled and educational KCModern 2010... We wish you the very best the New Year has to offer!

Bixby Residence Garden Facade - Bonus Modern Photo of the Week

Name: Walter Edwin Bixby, Sr. Residence
Architect: Edward W. Tanner
Landscape Architect: Hare and Hare
Interior Designer: Kem Weber
Year Designed: 1935
Builder: Unknown
Year Built: 1936-37
Size: Unknown
Location: State Line Road, Kansas City, MO
Type: Residential
Style: Moderne with International Style influences
Status: Exterior excellent; Interior altered
Photographer: Norman Hobart. Courtesy of Leon and Margaret Jacobs via The University Art Museum, University of California at Santa Barbara

See their website here:
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Since we have been covering the Bixby Residence here and here, I thought I would go ahead and add this vintage exterior photo of the rarely seen Garden Facade of the house. The cantilevered balcony on the right is much more visible from this view.

Bixby Residence Rumpus Room by Kem Weber - Modern Illustration - Modern Photo of the Week

Kem Weber. Elevation of Rumpus Room for W. E. Bixby, Sr. Residence, 1936-37. Watercolor and graphite on board. The University Art Museum, University of California at Santa Barbara.

Rumpus Room of W. E. Bixby, Sr. Residence, Kansas City. Photograph by R. B. Churchill, 1937. The University Art Museum, University of California at Santa Barbara.

This illustration and photograph are the interior designs of Kem Weber for the Bixby Residence which we featured an exterior photograph of here last week. The Moderne Style residence is located on the Missouri side of State Line Road. I am sure that many of you have driven by this house hundreds of times.

Weber is best known for his designs for the interiors of the original Walt Disney Studios in the 1930's and the ubiquitous Airline Chair (1934), which was used thoughout the studios.

In 1936 and 1937, Weber designed thirteen rooms for the Walter Edwin Bixby, Sr. home that was done in an uncharacteristic Modern style by noted Kansas City architect, Edward W. Tanner, who designed many of the buildings on the Country Club Plaza.

According to the University Art Museum, University of California at Santa Barbara website:
In its 1939 review of the Bixby interiors the London-
based International Studio praised Weber’s exploration
of the full creative potential of the Moderne aesthetic
through bold colors—Dubonnet (maroon), midnight
blue, coral red—and such new materials as aluminum,
glass block, linoleum, and masonite as well as richly
veneered plywood and cork paneling. Weber used
moveable and built-in furniture, combined with
veneered wood paneling surrounds to manipulate the
existing outline of Tanner’s rooms. Critics singled out
Weber’s distinctive use of the curved line in his design
for the built-in furnishings of the basement rumpus room
and its drop ceiling with concealed overhead lighting.


Bixby sold the house 1949 and unfortunaly the interiors were eventually dismantled, but we still have Weber's original renderings to show us this great design.

See the University Art Museum, University of California at Santa Barbara website for a more in depth discussion of the Bixby Residence.
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Bixby Residence by Edward W. Tanner - Modern Photo of the Week

Name: Walter Edwin Bixby, Sr. Residence
Architect: Edward W. Tanner
Landscape Architect: Hare and Hare
Interior Designer: Kem Weber
Year Designed: 1935
Builder: Unknown
Year Built: 1936-37
Size: Unknown
Location: State Line Road, Kansas City, MO
Type: Residential
Style: Moderne with International Style influences
Status: Exterior excellent; Interior altered
Photographer: Jim Seelen

KCMODERN friend Jim Seelen has been out photographing lots of Kansas City are houses of all styles recently and posting them to his Flickr Site, SKY-VU . This one caught my eye.

More on this house next week!