Sunday, December 21, 2008

In Martindale on the Monon

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thats a cool little home.... I particularly like the "sidewalk to nowhere"... ;-)

Anonymous said...

Yeah, it's like they started building the walkway and then realized, "Oh shit there's a fire hydrant in the way. Oh well."

These redeveloping neighborhoods have some interesting architecture, and not interesting in a good way. This house looks like a bunker, and there should be an artillery piece pointing out of that little window. Why is the front door hidden on the side? Why is there no front porch? It's like the designer imagined the residents will lock themselves inside their ugly little box and want no interaction with the outside world.

thundermutt said...

It looks (from the construction of the sidewalk in the foreground) as if this might be a corner house, in which case it has two "front yards" and the door can only face one.

It also looks as if there might be a break downhill in that other sidewalk, and that it's covered by fallen leaves.

I think it's attractive, in a plain sort of way. Like a good-looking woman in jeans and no makeup.

The Urbanophile said...

The home is on a corner lot.

This is the Frank house that was on the AIA Indiana architect's home tour. Mark Beebee designed it. The owner is a chef. The idea behind the house is to do "modern on a budget". So you don't have super-fancy materials or anything, but I think it is a solid design. It looks like an infill structure in Indy that fits in, not a flying saucer from Mars or something.

Anonymous said...

Saw the house on the AIA Indy tour. It's a great design that is particularly well-suited to its current owner. A nice addition to that block.

Anthony Bullard said...

Hey now UP, sometimes a flying saucer design is appropriate - such as when the client wants to build on a 35 degree cliff over Hollywood. I love your blog(s), but I will fight if you try to down on Lautner.

Anonymous said...

Frank Lloyd Wright didn't like doorways and did what he could to obscure them or make them small. When I first saw this house (in the Star), I immediately thought of Wright's alcove doorways.

I love this house. It could use a little more pizazz, but it's terrific for what it is. And I love the door placement.

Anonymous said...

Mr. Peanut, I happened to visit this home on the AIA tour and the interior is very open and naturally lit throughout except for the more private bathroom and bedroom. Also, there are plans for future expansion which the architect took into consideration. The 'urban infill' industrial look fits in much nicer in downtown indy than your standard suburban 'gables to no where' box. You can't see that because of what's around it...the same old tradition versions of the american dream. i'm sure they all contain a premium thomas kinkaid print. And, the home is very contextual: It addresses the corner nicely and the minimum amount of windows addresses the fact that you are in the hood. Martindale is a developing area. I would like to see this 5-10 years from now. hopefully this type of urban infill development will be encouraged more often. Indy has plenty of suburbs...keep the traditional stuff there!