GEM

DESIGNED AND PREVIOUSLY OWNED BY ONE OF THE GIANTS OF AMERICAN MODERNIST ARCHITECTURE, ARTHUR WITTHOEFFT, THIS UPSTATE NEW YORK HOUSE BUILT IN 1957 HAS BEEN SYMPATHETICALLY RESTORED BY ITS CURRENT OWNERS.

- MARC HELDENS

THERE WERE VERY FEW HOMES in the area when Arthur Witthoefft, a partner at well-known Manhattan architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, first bought this parcel of forest in the late 1950s. And as one might expect of an East Coast architect in the golden era of the Mid-century aesthetic, the 7.5m x 29m geometric block he designed in the greenery of the hamlet of Armonk looked nothing like the prevalent colonial architecture that surrounded it.

In fact, local residents initially thought the structure emerging among the trees was a motel.

The house served as the Witthoefft family home for many years, but after their children moved out, Arthur and his wife Eleanor eventually relocated to Florida. Many new owners followed - some with a passion for the house, some not. One of them owned the property for seven years, but never lived there.

Fortunately, the resilient steel-structured house survived; even more fortunate is the fact that it's now owned by two 1950s aficionados.

The couple had left Palm Springs and travelled towards cooler climes, looking for a new home to live in. Despite the building being somewhat dilapidated when they first saw it, they could appreciate its intrinsic value.

Priority number one was a home to equal the Mid-century Palm Springs residence they'd left behind.

"Of all the projects we had scouted and visited during our research, this house in Armonk was the only one that really left us speechless," says one of the owners.