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rZ PAGE F20 • STAR TRIBUNE ARCHITECTURE SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16.2001 Guest house may prove to be a movable feast for Walker Art Center's sculpture garden. Gehry, Johnson houses may part company Star Tribune photos by Stormi Greener Frank Gehry's guest house signaled his turn to architecture as a collection of distinct forms. The squared -off cone is the central gathering spot, the brick cube with the chimney holds the cozy inglenook and the limestone hump on the left and metal -covered shed on the right hold two bedrooms. By Linda Mack Star Tribune Staff Writer 0 n high ground overlooking Lake Minnetonka stands an architectural duo well-known only to aficio- nados. A 1952 classic modern- ist house by Philip Johnson, architect of the IDS Center and other U.S. landmarks, sits within view of a 1987 guest house designed by the now world-famous Frank Gehry. Johnson designed the Mies- ian brick -and -glass house soon after he earned interna- tional acclaim for his own Glass House in New Canaan, Conn. Gehry designed the sculptural guest house just as Walker Art Center's 1986 retro- spective brought him to broad attention. The six -room, six - shape house also signaled Gehry's turn toward architec- e as a collection of disparate orrNs. Quietly owned by art collec- tors and philanthropists Mike and Penny Winton until this summer, the houses and sur- rounding 11 -acre property have been bought by Minne- apolis developer Kirt Wood- house. "It was an expensive and difficult decision," said Wood- house, who just finished build- ing a lakefront house nearby. "I didn't know what I wanted to do with it. And I still don't." But he's thinking of moving the guest house to a more pub- lic location. "It's been here for 14 years, and very few people have seen it," he said as he sat on the Johnson house's understated gravel terrace overlooking the distant lake. "If it were at the Walker or another public place, thousands of people could see it." It's an idea the Winton have embraced. They put re- strictions on changing or de- molishing the houses to pre- vent some- one from buying the . propertyjust 1for the land, Penny Win- ton said. But moving it is a very creative Minneapolis idea, "if it can deti�-dGpev KCyt be -properly Woodhouse sited," she recently pur- said. "It's an chased the early work of Winton prop- an architect erty in Orono. who's just reaching such levels of world domination that it will have historical importance." One possible location is the Walker's existing or future ex- panded sculpture garden. Wal - ker director Kathy Halbreich called the Winton guest house "an extremely influential work of architecture which is in su- perb condition," and said the Walker "would be interested in helping to secure its place in architectural history, provid- ing it can be safely moved and its future care could be en- dowed." Woodhouse said he plans to explore other possibilities such as the nearby Minneton- ka Center for the Arts, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts or a private but visible site like the General Mills campus on Interstate Hwy. 394. A pricey proposition Moving the Gehry house is a pricey proposition. "It would be six figures," Woodhouse said. "I'm in the process of finding out. But I want it to be preserved and also have it in the public domain." It's also possible the guest house could be sold and re- main on its original site. Woodhouse has divided the 11 -acre property into three lots: one for the Johnson house, another for the Gehry house or a future new house, and an open lot. In the short term, he plans to rent the houses for at least a year. The Wintons moved into Designers to speak Two candidates to replace William Morrish as director of the Design Center of the American Urban Landscape will give lectures in upcoming weeks. Ann Forsyth, associate professor of urban planning at the Harvard Design School and for- mer co-director of the Urban Places Project at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, will speak on Sept. 24. Todd Bressi, executive director of the journal "Places," who teaches at the Uni- Gilbert lecture Dr. Barbara Christen will speak on architect Cass Gilbert's master plans for the Minnesota State Capitol and the University of Minnesota at 7 p.m. Sept. 25 at the University Club, 420 Summit Av., Linda Mack Gehry's 1987 guesthouse contrasts with the classic modernist 1952 house by Philip John- son(seen in background). Gehry used the same type of brick to help tie the two together. versity of Pennsylvania and Pratt Institute, will speak on Oct. 8. Both talks will be at 5:30 p.m. at the Bell Museum Auditorium, 10 Church St. S.E., Minneapolis. St. Paul. Christen is co-editor of a recent collec- tion of essays, "Cass Gilbert, Life and Work: Archi- tect of the Public Domain." Call Jean Velleu at 651-298-1127 for more information. bHOME & GARDEN SHOWS" FALL EDITION October 12 - 14, 2001 Minneapolis Convention Center Shop the NKBA Garage Sale & find huge savings on kitchen & bath components! the Johnson house in 1964, soon after they had finished building a house designed by Ralph Rapson. They fell in love with the pristine, powerful house, which had been de- signed for former Minneapolis Institute of Arts curator Rich- ard Davis. "It was always a gentle place to live in," Winton said. "It made me respect propor- tion. That inner garden [an in- terior open-air atrium] was al- ways comforting in the winter. It surprisingly well survived five children." After the children had chil- dren of their own the Winton wanted more space, and they approached Johnson about an addition. "He was very bored with the idea," Winton said. They read a New York Times Inside the guest house, the cone creates an intimate yet soaring space with windows and a glass ceiling, giving a heady view of the sky. Magazine article on Gehry and thought his innovative spirit might mesh well with John- son's. The rectilinear and strictly proportioned Johnson house became a foil for Gehry's intri- cately designed guest house, a village -like collection of shapes: a tall metal -covered cone, a curved limestone hump, a smaller metal -clad shed, a brick cube that match- es the Johnson house, a garage covered in Finnish plywood and an aluminum -covered cube poking up above the ga- rage. The house won House and Garden magazine's design award for 1987. Martin Filler, author of the article, predicted that Gehry's future public work would build on the bril- liance of the house. Given Gehry's Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and other land- marks under way, the remark' — and the Winton guest house — were prophetic. . — Linda Mack is at lmack@startribune.com. (NOT BAD FOR A SUNDAY.) More jobs and career opportunities than ever before. REGISTER TO WIN A $2500 CAREER WARDROBE. Look for the contest entry form in the Employment Classified section for details. StarTribune www.startribune.com