Explore Architecture 101
The Midcentury Modern movement in America was an adaptation of two austere, straight-lined architectural movements in Europe: the International and Bauhaus styles. American mid-century architecture, which spanned roughly from the late 1930s to the ’70s, is warmer and more organic, often with wood elements — beams, columns, walls — where the Europeans employed concrete and steel.
Flat or vaulted roofs, large plate-glass windows, open floor plans and a feeling of the inside and outside blurred into one — thanks not only to walls of glass and large glazed doors that slide away but also to the continuation of the same materials outside as inside, especially flooring. (Think slate, terrazzo or travertine.) Other cues are carports, clerestory windows, atriums and large stone or brick fireplaces which anchor the whole house.
Midcentury Modern brings nature in via its walls of windows. It’s a refreshing way to live, harmoniously with the outdoors. The clean lines of Midcentury Modern architecture also allow the eye and mind to relax — leading to expansive thoughts.
The dramatically cantilevered Fallingwater in the Pennsylvania woods by Frank Lloyd Wright; the glass-walled house in rural Connecticut for himself by Philip Johnson; the long, low, see-through Stahl House by Pierre Koenig, which hangs over Los Angeles.
Movies with Midcentury houses in starring roles: North by Northwest, A Star is Born, A Single Man, The Fountainhead, The Big Lebowski, Diamonds are Forever.
Where to find it: Today, Midcentury Modern homes can be found all over North Texas. Your Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty agent can find the perfect one for you.
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