Cover story
By Lawrence Kreisman
Modern, 40 Years Later
The spirit of what was unique and ingenious is honored still
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 BENJAMIN BENSCHNEIDER / THE SEATTLE TIMES The bold geometry of Norman J. Johnston's house, situated among maple trees, contrasted sharply with its neighbors. Despite 40 years under a series of owners, the house looks almost as it did in 1964.
RAY O. WELCH / COURTESY OF NORMAN J. JOHNSTON The Johnston house in 1964.
BENJAMIN BENSCHNEIDER / THE SEATTLE TIMES Throughout the home, abstract expressionist and modernist artworks set just the right tone. In the entry is a piece by Northwest artist Fay Jones.
BENJAMIN BENSCHNEIDER / THE SEATTLE TIMES With the exception of the fireplace wall, the living room is much the same as in Johnston's time. Johnston gave the Eames chairs at the table to Buchanan after she contacted him about helping her with the remodel.
BENJAMIN BENSCHNEIDER / THE SEATTLE TIMES Like much of the house, the kitchen remains essentially the same as the original. Oak cabinets were painted white, however, and a dishwasher was added.
RAY O. WELCH / COURTESY OF NORMAN J. JOHNSTON The original kitchen.
BENJAMIN BENSCHNEIDER / THE SEATTLE TIMES The study, originally furnished with a black leather chair and ottoman, provided Johnston room for books, periodicals and records. Buchanan's stress-reducing chair is equally comfortable.
RAY O. WELCH / COURTESY OF NORMAN J. JOHNSTON The study, originally furnished with a black leather chair and ottoman, provided Johnston room for books, periodicals and records. |
MENTION MONTLAKE and people have visions of Craftsman and Colonial Revival bungalows and tidy brick Tudor mini-mansions. But Kathryn Buchanan's vintage Montlake house is unlike anything her traditional neighborhood expected in 1964 — and it stands out from the rest 40 years later. It is, in a word, "modern."
In fact, the 1,350-square-foot, two-level house was featured as the Home of the Month in the Seattle Times of Aug. 9, 1964. An article by Margery Phillips begins, "Professional knowledge and ingenuity went hand-in-hand in the designing of the new home of Norman J. Johnston, assistant dean of the College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Washington."
Johnston chose the undeveloped site for its easy access to the university. His design incorporated narrow, vertical panels of obscure glass on the street side for privacy, wide windows on the Portage Bay side for the view. The interior spaces were modest by today's standards: a living-dining area with an adjoining study; a small, efficient galley kitchen with "eating space for one." The lower level included an office, bedroom, bath and storage.
According to Johnston, he was attracted to the elegant urbanity of Philadelphia townhouses and tried to capture the sense of height and formality in the design of his own house. He selected easy-to-maintain materials and chose a color palette of black, gray, white and red in varying tones. In a "Pacific Northwest Living" feature a year later, Phillips praises the architect-owner for having "achieved admirably a home of distinction on a relatively small site in a limited number of square feet."
Buchanan appreciates all these qualities. "I'd been looking for a house like this for 10 years," she says. "This house came on the market, and when I previewed it, I said instantly, 'I'm going to have this house!' I was not ready to buy a house that day, but I did."
An international organization with local chapters is raising public awareness of Modern design and advocating for the preservation of Modern buildings, objects, neighborhoods and landscapes.
DoCoMoMo_WeWa (short for Documentation and Conservation of buildings, sites and neighborhoods of the Modern Movement, Western Washington) is the local chapter of DOCOMOMO US, a working party of DOCOMOMO International.
Beginning in 2000 as a volunteer committee of Historic Seattle, the local organization produced lectures and developed tours in Seattle and Bellevue. DoCoMoMo_WeWa is a private, volunteer, nonprofit organization. For more information contact DoCoMoMo_WeWa, P.O. Box 70245, Seattle, WA, 98127. E-mail: momowewa@yahoo.com
In an era that has turned with some nostalgia to what is now termed "Mid-century Modern," residences such as this one, considered the cutting edge of design in the 1960s and '70s, are now falling back into favor.
The main floor of the Johnston house is very much as it was. Previous owners seeking more living-room space cantilevered out the fireplace wall, replacing tile with plaster. Oak kitchen cabinets were painted white. Downstairs, the utility/storage room was altered for a second bathroom and sauna. A lower terrace was put in off the office.
Buchanan has taken quite naturally to the modern aesthetic in outfitting the house. While she brought with her some large leather chairs that fill the living area, she is adding furniture that is spare, clean-lined and scaled for the small spaces, such as a Noguchi dining table and an Eames stool. Her abstract expressionist and modernist artworks set just the right tone.
When she started thinking about a way to add a master bedroom and a studio/playroom, she contacted Johnston, retired from 29 years of teaching at the university and living with his wife, architect Jane Hastings, on First Hill.
When he called back, she was quick to say, "I love your house, and thank you for building it." She invited him over, and he brought Hastings. They understood her dilemma. Johnston remembers that while he hated to part with the house, what was ample space for one person in 1964 would prove challenging for two.
Now, 36 years later, Johnston and Hastings are facing the challenge of doing an addition that they had hardly considered back then. It will take its cues from the 1964 façades and materials to capture the spirit of the times. For Kathryn Buchanan, one of the side benefits of inviting the architect back was his gift of two Eames chairs that once graced his bachelor pad.
Lawrence Kreisman is program director of Historic Seattle. Benjamin Benschneider is a Pacific Northwest magazine staff photographer.
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