MIDCENTURY HOUSES TODAY

Traces the evolution of midcentury houses and demonstrates how they are experienced and lived in today

This expanded and updated edition of the 2014 classic focuses on the concentration of midcentury houses in New Canaan, Connecticut, built by noted architects including Marcel Breuer, Eliot Noyes, Philip Johnson, John Black Lee, and Edward Durell Stone. This new edition addresses the issue of preservation and adaptive reuse as a sustainable architectural strategy.

A representative group of 17 houses reveals an evolving legacy, now adapting to contemporary life. Each is examined in detail, with plans, timelines, and both archival and new photography, capturing the clean, minimalist look of the initial construction and re-imagining by significant architects of our time. Today preservation and renovation of older buildings has new visibility as a sustainable approach. As the National Trust for Historic Preservation has said, “The greenest building is the one that is already built.”

Cristina A. Ross is an architect and preservationist, based in New Canaan, and a board member of Preservation Connecticut.

Lorenzo Ottaviani is the creative director of Lorenzo Ottaviani Design.

Jeffrey R. Matz is a practicing architect in Stamford, Connecticut.

Michael Biondo is an architectural photographer whose work has appeared in numerous design publications.