Ben Thompson, Jane Thompson, and Design Research

Ben Thompson in front of his house on Moon Hill Road.





Ben Thompson was one of the key partners of The Architects Collaborative and one of the founding residents of the Six Moon Hill neighborhood here in Lexington. Then he went on to become a "shaper of cities," including ther evitalization plan for Boston’s old Quincy Market and Faneuil Hall, South Street Seaport in Manhattan, and Harborplace in Baltimore. Architecture Boston Magazine has dedicated its current issue to him.

Of particular interest in this issue is the article by Thompson's son, Anthony, declaring his house at 40 Moon Hill Rd., "perhaps the worst building Ben Thompson ever designed. The roof leaked. The house was drafty. There was no privacy. Form did not follow function. I should know. I grew up there."



There will also be this event this week:

March 16 » Boston Public Library’s Rabb Lecture Hall, Copley Square
6:00 pm » Free
JANE THOMPSON AICP: NEW RESEARCH ON DESIGN RESEARCH

A retrospective of the life of the Design Research stores in Cambridge, New York and San Francisco (1953–1978), this presentation by 2010 National Design Award winner Thompson encompasses the larger story of modernism in architecture and everyday objects, evolving from the 1920s German Bauhaus into the midcentury vocabulary of American buildings, interiors, useful objects, textiles and graphics. This lecture is part of the Boston Society of Architects lecture series. You can read more about Design Research in the Spring issue of ArchitectureBoston magazine architectureboston.com.

Boston Globe Coverage of Five Fields and Modernism in Boston's Subutbs

Nice picture and mention of the 440 Concord. Ave Five Fields house in today's Boston Globe.

And a gallery of more shots here, with other area homes.

Eames Trade

Great baseball-like trade today. I just happened to check in on Craigslist last night and there was a guy looking to trade an upholstered Eames fiberglass shell armchair for an orange non-upholstered. I happen to have a few of them and the white one matches a white mid-cent. mod coffee table in our basement room. He had the rocker bottom on it, but to get that in return wouldn't have been fair.





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Let the Light Shine In! New Five Fields Listing

(click any image to enlarge, if your browser allows)

New (Feb. 24) mention of this house in the Boston Globe!


For what you would expect to pay for a cape in Lexington (or for even less), you can have style and history. Yes, you erstwhile dreamers and house voyeurs can now buy this brilliant, renovated mid-century modernist house in the historic Five Fields neighborhood. This three-bedroom, two-full-bath house with an open floor plan and over an acre of land is going on the market for $578,000 with Bill Janovitz and John Tse February 17/18, with open houses tentatively scheduled for 2/19 and 2/20. CONTACT Bill or John at janovitz.tse@gmail.com or bjanovitz@hammondre.com for more information. If urgent, you can call Bill 781.856.0992/John 617.851.3532

The current owners have continued to improve the house, most notably with a conversion of the heating fuel from oil to gas, and the upgrade to a high-efficiency boiler and hot water storage system. A sub-par carport was taken down, perhaps allowing for possible expansion on that west side of the house, either with another carport or expansion of the living area. Of course, all such possibilities have to be checked with the town of Lexington. And as is always the case with Five Fields, Moon Hill, Peacock Farm, and other mid-century neighborhoods, there is the expectation that owners will keep improvements and expansions within the existing aesthetic of the neighborhood. The current owners also opened up the floor plan even more graciously and have upgraded electrical to some extent, adding new circuits.








The House

1445 square feet of living area on one level overlooking an acre abutting common/conservation area. Walls of glass bring the outdoors in, with stunning year-round views. The house was designed by The Architects Collaborative (TAC) principal, Richard "Dick" Morehouse and built in 1953 (according to town records).

A large, loft-like open floor plan encompasses the main living area, consisting of living room, dining room, and kitchen. As with most such houses, the construction is simple and sturdy post-and-beam, allowing for flexibility in the floor plan. In fact, both of the last two sets of owners have opened up walls. This main living area is considered the central nucleus of the design, with wings to the easy and the west sides.

In the east wing of the house, there is a full bath and two bedrooms. In the west wing, there is the third bedroom, second full bath, a laundry and storage room, and a separate entrance, perfect for guests, au pair, or an in-law stay.

The 2008 kitchen has a stainless steel gas DCS/Fisher Paykel range with an outside-venting hood, a stainless LG refrigerator, and a stainless Bosch dishwasher. The sellers will include all appliances in the sale, including a front-loading washer and dryer purchased in the last couple of years.

A fireplace in the living room features a new (2010) surround with Heath Ceramics' handmade porcelain tile, (a rare mid-century pottery still in existence today.)

Flooring includes cork tile, natural slate, and ceramic tile (in the bath rooms).

Property abuts the Hardy Stream and the Swommonland Conservation Area (22 acres co-owned by members of Five Fields who
border the property. 440 Concord holds 1 share of 13). Five Fields also owns and maintains Juniper Hill Conservation Area as well as it's common land and swimming pool.



Some improvements by current owners:

* Regraded ground around house and extended lawn
* Installed invisible electric fence for dog (covers over an acre)
* Removed oil tank (and built shed to house heating and water unit)
* New Buderus boiler and water tank
* New gas line to rear of house for heat and BBQ
* Waterproofed storage shed
* Stained and painted exterior
* Removed wall to open up living room
* Installed new entertainment center cabinets
* New electrical circuits for entertainment center, heating system and bedroom
* Finished interior of former boiler room
* Handmade porcelain tile by Heath Ceramics on Fireplace
* Tree Maintenance
* Pest Control Contract

See Lexington GIS map for information on lot, wetlands, etc.

The Neighborhood



The below is taken from our history of Five Fields, which is included in an overview of the modernist communities found in Lexington, here at this page

While the houses of Six Moon Hill were mainly built as a community to house the highly collaborative TAC partners and associates themselves (Gropius built his own famous house out in the nearby town of Lincoln), the architects also conceived of their next such development of spec houses to sell to other home buyers and chose a farm on the southwestern part of town. The old Cutler Farm was purchased by the TAC and the young firm moved forward on their conception of a development that they would control from beginning to end. This became the neighborhood known as Five Fields.

One of the original eight TAC partners, Dick Morehouse, who was a resident of Moon Hill, oversaw the project and even acted as a salesman, showing the new homes to interested buyers. As noted above, Morehouse designed 440 Concord Ave.

The project was conceptualized as 68 house sites, though the initial phase consisted of 20 houses built in 1951, 1952, and 1953, the sales of which would finance the rest of the project. The original price points of these homes—some of which now fetch close to $2 million-- ranged from about $18,000-35,000.



"For twenty years after the establishment of the neighborhood, TAC approval had to be obtained for additions. The restriction expired in the early 1970s. Today, almost all of the houses have been modified or added onto over the years, obscuring what was originally a neighborhood of houses built as variations on a few standard plans." (See link to source, below).

As one of the other original partners, Chip Harkness, explained to the Boston Globe a number of years ago, describing the goals of the TAC when they set out to build Moon Hill, “An initial goal was low-income housing. We were shooting to build homes for under $15,000. That’s quite a bit less than the $1 million one of the houses recently went for.” Like Moon Hill, form followed function in the design of the Five Fields houses, the homes were sited sympathetically into their surroundings and the existing contours of the land, and there was common land set aside and a swimming pool, a playground with playing fields, and a skating pond, for the community. This community spirit carries on today in both Moon Hill and Five Fields.



A boy jumps into the FIve Fields swimming pool, from the commemorative book, Five Fields -- Five Decades: A Community in Progress

More can be read here, at the page for Five Fields on the town of Lexington's Historic Survey site.

Buildblog

I'm a big fan, big fan. We need some non-custom, spec. developer willing to build some things in this area, in this vein (though, this seems to be all custom as well.) But for those of you in the Seattle area, this is for you. Check out their blog too.

A Sign From Yesteryear to Begin the New Year

Interesting article in the local Patch for Lexington (quoting John Tse) about a recent discovery of an old sign for sales of Carl Koch's Techbuilt houses in Middle Ridge/Turning Mill, as described in a recent post of mine.

Recent Sale of a "Green Home" in Lexington's Five Fields

1 Stonewall Road, Lexington. Photo courtesy of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage


A common problem for would-be buyers and fans of modern architecture in the Boston area is the paucity of available newly built homes with a modernist sensibility. And when one is located, the price is usually quite high, generally above even higher-end colonial (or, being nice, "eclectic" style) spec homes. Or perhaps the location is somewhat compromised, maybe a subdivided lot somewhere near a highway or in a run-down neighborhood, as available building lots in the 128 belt have mostly been scooped up so that all are left are "tear-downs." If a buyer is lucky, he might stumble across a custom-built modernist home that has had only one owner that needs to relocate.

There is quite a good inventory of mid-range, older homes, even some that creep into the upper price ranges. This page is filled with listings we have marketed and sold that fit this bill. But for someone who does not or can not afford the time and energy -- or the stress of dealing with potential unknowns -- and therefore wants something newly constructed, choices are severely limited. Now, if that same buyer wants an architecturally consistent, or even simpatico neighborhood, well, good luck with that, amigo! Architecturally significant mid-century-modern neighborhoods like Five Fields, Moon Hill, Peacock Farm, Brown's Wood, and Snake Hill were all built, as the term would suggest, way back in the mid-century. Generally, all the lots were sold off and developed.

I was faced with such a dilemma when some buyer clients came to me looking for such a house, at a reasonable price (another relative term, I know). They were ostensibly open to exploring a variety of towns, but as with many people, the town of Lexington made the most sense in terms of location, schools, and town services and amenities. I showed them a few options, including a few choice specimens in some of the aforementioned neighborhoods, but those were older and needed TLC. With their extremely busy schedules, they simply did not have the time for it. So ultimately, the choice was reduced rather quickly to one house, in Five Fields.

"Five Fields? you ask. "Why, Bill, didn't you just spend a few paragraphs long-windily explaining the lack of new construction in 5F and other such MCM areas?"

Yes, dear reader, this very factor, for these buyers, was the primary selling point of this house. By the time they came to me, I was already aware of this new "green" home going up on the bend of Stonewall Road and Barberry Road. Within the past year, the lot beside it on Barberry had been subdivided to allow for this buildable lot, albeit one with strict limitations due to relative proximity to wetlands. Included in these were typical setbacks, limits to landscaping, and a rule that required it to be slab-on-grade, no basement. It was on the market for $1.35 million.

At the time of our first visit, the house was nearing the end of construction but had not yet been ready for broker previews. So I had not yet been inside. We arranged a visit and we all fell in love with the layout, the light, and the siting. Given the thrust of the marketing materials, it seems the main selling point and inspiration for the house was its super green properties and state-of-the-art, LEED-certified construction techniques, materials, and systems. This was certainly all a fantastic bonus to my clients, who were, as I say, primarily motivated by location and style. The fact that the house was highly insulated (R43), with a geothermal HVAC system, with no- VOC finishes, and a lovely, low-impact landscaping plan was all gravy. You can read many of the details here.



We negotiated the price down to $1.29 million. The neighborhoods of Five Fields and Moon Hill (read about them at my history page, here at modernmass.com, and other links on the right of this page) support such a value. Buyers regularly buy modest-sized houses here for $800,000+ and spend hundreds of thousands to renovate them. From the time I began real estate marketing and consulting in 2001, the demand has dramatically increased for these authentic neighborhoods with a true sense of community (common recreation land and swimming pools) and an appreciation for pioneering modern architecture. The turnover when I started over 10 years ago was snail's-pace slow. Many of the original owners were still living in houses that had been built in the 1950s. Many others had seen only one or two sets of buyers over 50 years. So when a house becomes available at a reasonable price, buyers generally pounce. And the past few years has seen a bit more become available. But still, the rarity of a sub-divided lot with a new house that fits the philosophy of the original neighborhood plan -- in fact, pushing it into the future -- was a rare opportunity indeed.

It would be encouraging to see more local builders (I gather they are more common on the West Coast) willing to break out of the "safe" traditional styles taken from plan books or web sites and take more risks, perhaps smaller, more stylish, and efficient homes like this one, which will cost relative pennies compared to mcmansions with tons of wasted space. But hey, until my money is on the line, I guess my opinion isn't worth much.