Street of Eames tickets go on sale Monday

The annual Street of Eames modern home tour is returning this April 18 with a slate of both new architecture and classic midcentury houses, all benefitting after school enrichment programs for homeless elementary school kids in Portland.

The tour has always had a limited number of tickets, and fewer than meets the demand. But it takes a lot to convince some of these homeowners to let all these people come traipsing through. There are again 1,000 tickets available this year. But considering it's a substantially pricey ticket, at $50 apiece ($40 for students), that may bring demand more in line with supply. (But whoa, baby! What is this, a Springsteen concert?)

There are seven homes included in this year's tour. Pictured above is one, a 1979 house designed by architect William Church, a veteran local designer who was named an AIA Fellow several years ago for his contributions to local architecture. As you can see in the photo of the public sun room that's part of this multi-house development, there is a different in look and feel from either the earlier 20th century homes designed by the likes of John Yeon, Saul Zaik, or Pietro Belluschi; it slightly resembles a barn in form, but has a natural wood exterior and enough glass to take up almost an entire facade. 

Path Architecture has the Butler house in Southeast Portland (pictured at right), which I visited last week with designer Corey Martin as the final pre-move-in touches and finishes were being applied.

The house is three stories and draped in an elegant combination of glass and wood. The back of the house has a two-story high dining room space that opens up onto a patio, garden and sauna. Designed for a professional mountain biker and her husband, the house has incredible views of Southeast Portland, downtown, and even a couple Cascade peaks on a good day.

The house has a boxy form and is cantilevered slightly over a glassy first floor. Inside, Path makes the spaces sight lines a playful experience. No matter where you are, there is a panorama of windows, but not always in the symmetrical places one might expect.

The Eames tour also includes a unit in the 1310 Condominiums, which won for its architects, Brett Crawford and his wife Dana Diana, the top Honor Award at this year's AIA/Portland design awards (along with Allied Works Booker T. Washington High School in Dallas). I've already posted about the 1310 Condos recently, so I won't say as much here, but the project is certainly worth a look. It's a rare example of practically hand-made architecture, in which the Crawfords found the property, completed the deal, designed the renovation, oversaw and even performed much of the construction.

There is also a new home completed last year and designed by Matthew McCarthy; I believe this home was also on the Build It Green home tour in 2007. This spec home, as McCarthy told the Daily Journal of Commerce at the time, was envisioned not to be an ultra-green-everything house with an out-of-reach price, nor to be a regular house masquerading as green with a few add-ons.

Giulietti/Schouten Architects of Portland has quietly been designing house after house here for well over a decade, earning a reputation for design quality in a segment of the building industry where real registered architects aren't always doing the work. This house, originally built in 1959, was expanded renovated by the firm in 2007, which is actually the second time the place was added on to. Brett Schulz was the architect for a 2002 remodel, which included the addition of a 700 square foot master bedroom as well as the house's new entry. As Tim Schouten said, each expansion left the original portions of the house more or less intact. Here's what it says about the design on Giulietti/Schouten's website:

"We expanded the existing living room by removing the deck and building out 300 square feet. The integrity of the existing house was maintained by carrying over the existing roofline to the addition. New clerestory windows enhance daylight access to the space. A small, but elegant steel balcony located at the far end of the living room creates a physical connection to the outdoors while maintaining views from the inside with an unobtrusive steel guardrail. A stylish steel staircase with floating mahogany treads connects the upstairs to the Asian influenced 400 square feet downstairs. Tatami mats recessed into the stained concrete floor and sliding shoji screens enclosing the toy storage area are central to the room’s Asian influence. Sliding doors open onto a 200 square foot concrete terrace where family and friends can enjoy a warm summer’s West Hills evening."

The head principal at Colab Architecture, Mark Engberg, has his own recently completed house on the tour as well, a renovation of a 1969 home. Colab has always had a diverse and interesting portfolio. On the residential front, their Brandon House just west of Mississippi Avenue is among Portland's most striking houses, and was featured on HGTV as a "Dream House". Colab has also designed at least two large towers in Dubai, although they're as yet unbuilt, and they also crafted ABC's Times Square studios in New York.

Finally, there is the classic Swann House designed by the great John Yeon in 1949. If you're new to this blog or to architecture in Portland, know that Yeon is easily among the three or four greatest architectural designers Portland has ever produced. Also deeply committed to ecology and conservation before they were fashionable, his designs come in gentle integration with the landscape.

I visited and blogged about Yeon's Swan house about a year ago with realtor Bob Zaikoski and was profoundly moved by its simple elegance. If you go there, notice not just the quintessentially Oregon look to the house, but its small details, like the air vents that open out of the wall.

If you can't make the Street of Eames tour, in this economy I'll bet several of these architects (except Yeon, of course) would be happy to take a potential client to see any of these properties. And there is also another homes tour coming up later this month (and which I'll be blogging about shortly) called the 11xDesign tour for which admission is free. Meanwhile, though, consider taking the Eames tour and supporting homeless kids.

Note: My mention of Brett Schulz as an architect involved with a previous expansion to what's now a Giulietti/Schouten project on the Eames tour is a later addition to the post. Schulz has an intriguing portfolio of his own, which I recommend checking out. A note to readers on this point as well: if there's ever information you feel I've left out of a post that ought to be included, please feel free and encouraged to email me.

Note: On Wednesday, March 4, the Architecture Foundation of Oregon announced at $2,000 grant for Street of Eames' efforts to increase the visibility of good design while raising money for at-risk youth.

Comments

[Amy Sabin]

Hi Brian,
It's not a Springsteen concert, but it is a fundraiser for two after-school programs for homeless youth. Street of Eames actually saved one program and started another.

All ticket sales go directly to support the programs. I know not everyone out there is going to the tour for this reason, but we can all feel good about where our money is going during this economically challenging time. The best fundraisers are the kind that the donors really enjoy. Kudos to the brilliant ladies and mom's behind Street of Eames. I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to support their cause.

[Nick]

"ladies and mom's" in case the two are mutually exclusive? lol

I believe the Giulietti/Schouten house on Hewitt was remodeled (and almost doubled in size) by an architect and his interior designer wife in the 90's.

see: http://brettschulz.com/residential/hewett/

[Amy Sabin]

I've never thought of ladies and moms as being mutually exclusive, but that's one way to read my comment. ;)

[Jeff Joslin]

I second Amy's emotion. The purpose is pure, and the need has never been greater. The effort is entirely volunteer, all or nearly all of the expenses are donated, and thus the funds are truly going to the right place for the right reasons. The opportunity to visit these ensembles, while giving to so efficiently administered and worthy a cause, is icing on the cake.

[mongoose]

Yes, a worthy cause, but slightly ridiculous. I am a student. I don't have any income and probably wont when I graduate (see DJI). So spread the love, make it something design students can afford.

[Brian Libby]

Gang, I totally agree that this is absolutely a worthy cause. It is my sincere hope that Street of Eames sells all 1,000 of its tickets at the $40-50 price, and given that demand for these tickets has to my knowledge outweighed availability in all three of the first three years, it only makes sense to raise prices as they did. I was only joking when I made the Springsteen reference, of course (and dating myself along the way).

[DC]

Mongoose, check out http://www.11xdesign.com/.

It's a FREE home tour this Saturday.

[Brian Libby]

Actually, DC, the 11xDesign tour is Saturday the 21st - NEXT Saturday.

[Andrew McCartor]

Slight Correction: The first building pictured (by Bill Church) is not actually a home, but rather a community event space. I grew up in that small community, in which there are about 14 homes all designed by Bill Church. They are all beautiful passive solar homes. The building pictured is called the "community building" and plays host to potluck dinners, community meetings, and the like. It is worth a stroll through this beautifully designed community.
-drew

[val]

Now that the Eames tour has sold-out, I'd like to invite everyone, including those who could not get tickets for the Eames tour, to check out the 11th Annual Kitchen Revival Tour put on by the Architectural Heritage Center. The tour is the same day as the Eames tour, April 18th from 10-4. This year there will be nine homes on the tour covering all periods from the 1890s to the late 1950s. Of special note to mid-century fans may be the two 1950s -era homes we have on the tour this year - one of which is still occupied by the original owner and includes original furnishings built specifically for the house. The Pittock Mansion will also be on this year's tour. The cost: $25 for the general public, $20 for AHC members. Visit www.visitahc.org for more information. Proceeds from this program help the AHC continue to offer education programs, like upcoming lectures on Morris Whitehouse, A.E. Doyle, and John Yeon. The AHC is owned and operated by the Bosco-Milligan Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Thanks!

[Brian Chung]

Could someone tell me the original cost of the SOE tickets this year? I'm planning on buying two...the person selling wants $75 and I'm wondering how much of a premium this person is asking.
Thanks in advance!