German – WELT – Feature

Thank-you WELT for the feature article this weekend, we are so thankful for the interest our prefabricated house is receiving from around the globe. WELT – originally called “Die Welt was founded in Hamburg in 1946 by the British occupying forces, aiming to provide a “quality newspaper” modelled on The Times”. It is a large german publication, and has been recognized as recognized as one of the “World’s Best-Designed Newspapers” by the Society for News Design. We feel honored for the featured.

Here is a google translate of the article …. not sure if it is correct … but here goes:

Homestory: Preserving Instead of Modernizing – A House Like a Time Capsule

Black grids, rectangular areas of color in red, blue or yellow: when you first see the rows of cubes between the large, shady deciduous trees, you inevitably think of the abstract works of Piet Mondrian.

He led the art people art people into the promised land of abstraction

But this is not about Dutch art, but about American design – and legendary: The so-called “Frost House”, a stone’s throw from Lake Michigan, is one of the rare so-called “Modular Houses”, a prefabricated house from the 1960s years. The special thing about it: The modern construction – consisting of a steel framework, in which glass walls and aluminum plates were used – can be put together in a very short time.

All the more beautiful that the house, named after the original owners Dr. Robert and Amelia Frost, preserved today in its original condition. The new residents, Karen Valentine and Bob Coscarelli, including their dog Banksy, who bought the house in 2016, have at least made it their mission to keep the charm of the house after their purchase, rather than modernizing it.

In particular, they fell in love with the original furnishings, which fortunately were still completely intact. The entire furniture was designed by interior designer Paul McCobb in cooperation with the world-famous furniture brand Knoll. Bob Coscarelli can still remember his first visit. Before he looked at the rooms, he turned the furniture around and saw all the Knoll stickers: “That was a great feeling, because I knew that Knoll had installed the furniture there as well. It felt like a time machine. ”

Accordingly, the two dealt with this legacy carefully: “We felt obliged to leave the pieces as far as possible in their original environment,” says Coscarelli, only a few private pieces and a few Knoll new acquisitions have added them to the collection.

And so the house still breathes the spirit of the no frills midcentury design and revives in the mind’s eye directly the time of the A-line dresses, suede miniskirts and pixie cuts: In the living room soft earth tones harmonize in carpets and built in wardrobes. In one corner stands a cognac-colored leather “Womb Chair” with matching ottoman by Eero Saarinen.

Another mid-century dream

An expressive contrast is the canary-yellow and co-lime-blue laminated cupboards, which are embedded in the walls in the other rooms. Small splashes of color in orange and green tones balance the heaviness of the partly wood-paneled walls. In the dining room “Tulip Chairs” are grouped around an oval table with walnut wood top and in the office there is finally a simple desk with the “Number 9” lamp by designer Isamu Noguchi, in front of it a Bertoia “Side Chair”.

In addition, the new owners started to research. At first, they did not know much about the exact genesis of the house. Only through magazine contributions and brochures did they finally learn that this was a design by Emil Tessin, Vice President and Chief Designer of Alside Homes Corp. from Ohio. In the hope that the project would quickly make school, it was patented by the manufacturer at that time. 200 homes per day should leave the company headquarters, that was at least the ambitious, self-imposed goal in an old company brochure; in fact, in the end, only a handful was built, as Valentine found out.

Karen Valentine and Bob Coscarelli have made a name for themselves with their love of detailing history. On the associated website and an Instagram profile, they provide insight into the latest findings of their gradual review of the past.

More design stories can be found under the name ICONISTdesign on Facebook and Instagram.