Architect Bruce Goff
"A masterpiece has to be surprising to catch our attention - and mysterious to captivate it." -Bruce Goff
Born: June 8, 1904, Alton, KS
Died: August 4, 1982, Tyler, TX
Nationality: American
Education: Central High School
Books: Architecture, Bruce Goff: A Creative Mind, Bruce Goff, MORE
Awards: AIA Twenty-five Year Award (1987)
American architect Bruce Goff is known for his out-of-this-world, eclectic, modernist homes. nearly 500 of them span across the mid-west, of which only a handful remain. While many architects of his time were focused on clean lines and the philosophy, form follows function; Goff was more interested in creating captivating living spaces that went above and beyond.
The Ford House (The Round House), Aurora, Illinois, 1949
“One of the most significant homes in Aurora is the Ford house, designed by architect Bruce Goff in 1949. Now a private residence, it is also commonly referred to as the “Round” or “Coal” house. Working on the theory that the circle is “an informal, gathering-around, friendly form,” Goff designed the home with a center circle 50 feet in diameter and two circular bedroom wings. It is constructed of anthracite coal, steel, glass, cedar, and hemp, and has remained relatively unchanged since its construction. Bruce Goff was a self-educated and exceptionally creative architect. His organic designs often depended on creative free-association and borrowed materials. Ruth Van Sickle Ford was the original owner. She was a noted artist, and was the director of the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts at the time the house was constructed. Drive-by tour only. Absolutely no admittance.” - source
Joe Price House, Shin’en Kan, Bartlesville, Oklahoma, 1956
A decorative pool in the gallery of Shin’En Kan, Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Photograph: Horst P Horst/Conde Nast via Getty Images
Shin’En Kan was commissioned by a wealthy man named Joe Price. THe entire design process lasting over a period of 20 years. The legendary home featured a sunken 'conversation pit’ lined with deep pile carpet, golden roofs and versatile geometric details. For example, he opted for starburst patterns of sequins and glass tubes for the windows.
It was necessary for the home to have a gallery to house Price’s collection of Japanese screens. Within the room there was a hexagonal, glass-bottomed pool in the center. Directly below, one floor beneath, was a hexagonal Japanese bathtub. When Price was bathing, he could look up and see the pool acting as a skylight, giving him the abilit to view his art from a floor below.
Many of The intricate details Goff imagined are so out there, its hard to picture how he even came to think of them.
British architect John Sergeant was a friend of Goff’s offering his home to the fellow architect when he traveled to Britain in 1978. He stated, “He was slightly humorous, but at heart he’s a serious architect.” … “All the houses were very strictly geometrically controlled. I don’t think Goff was able to describe these things in intellectual terms; he just instinctively got them. He picked up the vibes, in music, in film. He was very aware of culture. I took him to a record shop in Cambridge and he came away with a suitcase full of far-out modern classical music – really noisy stuff.”
Durst-Gee House, Houston, Texas, 1958, (addition 1978-1981)
Each Goff house has it’s own peculiarity to it. His rebellion nature shines through the intricate details found within every aspect of its architecture. The circular design of the Durst-Gee house is inspired by the location of the house as it sits on a cul-de-sac. You can see the semi-circular motifs in the large windows that appear almost to be eyes.
The house is one of Houston’s most famous and has been featured in several magazines and books on Goff over the years.
Exterior view of Bruce Goff’s only Houston commission: Durst-Gee House, 1958, addition 1978-1981.
exterior shot of the Durst-Gee House in Houston.
Durst-Gee House side view, showing addition from 1978-1981 on the right.
The bright and airy front living room of the Durst-Gee House.
The living room of the Durst-Gee House.
The distinctive oculus windows of the Durst-Gee House lend a sci-fi quality to the setting.
Light pours into the music room of the Durst-Gee House.
In the Durst-Gee House, Goff placed sparkling flex-glass on the doorway to the upstairs bathroom, to mimic stained glass.
First-floor master bedroom of the Durst-Gee House faces a signature Goff window.
Bavinger House, Norman, Oklahoma, 1955
Considered a quintessential icon of organic modernist architecture, the Bavinger house was a collaborative effort. Goff worked with artists Eugene and Nancy Bavinger, along with students from the University of Oklahoma during its inception. Goff “wanted to do something that had no beginning and no ending.”
The house has no interior walls, instead it is made up of an array of multi-leveled platforms, each one creating its own space within the house. The center of the home that connects all of the levels is a 96-foot-long spiral, coated in sandstone and curving downwards in a logarthmic style.
Writing for the Architectural Review, Michael Webb said in 2005 that the house had “become as choked with vegetation as a lost temple in the jungle.
An effort was made to restore the building but countless problems were encountered with funding. Then, in 2011, the house suffered heavy damage from a storm. The central spire was the more notable features in need of repair. This halted vistits and was eventually closed permanently.
Shortly after, the Oklahoma Office of Historical Preservation received an anonymous phone call from a man threatening to bulldoze the building. Local news station “News 9” suspected this to be Bob Bavinger, the now owner of the house and son of Eugene and Nancy and went to investigate. Upon arrival however, they were welcomed with gunfire.
It is said that the building’s fate was due to a conflict with the University of Oklahoma and the Bavinger house over the home’s ownership and restoration. Bob Bavinger has said that demolition “was the only solution that we had, we got backed into a corner.”
One year later in August of 2012, the website of the Bavinger House issued a statement saying: “The House will never return under its current political situation.” Four years later on April 28 2016, Caleb Slinkard in the Norman Transcript reported “all that is left of the Bavinger House is an empty clearing.” For those who never had a chance to visit the building, a video walkthrough is available here courtesy of Skyline Ink.
Al Struckus House, Los Angeles, California, 1982
Photo © Adam Štěch
Photo © Adam Štěch
Photo © Adam Štěch
Bruce Goff in his Price Tower studio, Bartlesville, Oklahoma, circa 1960s. The architect was a master also at painting and the applied arts, often including his own canvases, sculpture, and glass or mirror mosaic elements in the interiors of the buildings he designed. Shown here, he is at work on a mosaic panel
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