Bavinger House Explained

Eugene Bavinger House
Location:730 60th Ave., NE, Norman, Oklahoma
Coordinates:35.2278°N -97.3528°W
Built:1950
Demolished:2016
Architect:Bruce Goff
Architecture:Organic
Added:December 13, 2001
Delisted:February 28, 2017
Mpsub:Bruce Goff Designed Resources in Oklahoma MPS
Refnum:01001354

The Bavinger House was completed in 1955 in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. It was designed by architect Bruce Goff. Considered a significant example of organic architecture,[1] [2] the house was awarded the Twenty-five Year Award from the American Institute of Architects in 1987.[3] It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001,[1] and was removed from the National Register in 2017 after being demolished the previous year.[4]

History

The house was constructed over the course of five years by Nancy and Eugene Bavinger, the residents of the house, who were artists, along with the help of a few of Eugene's art students, volunteers, and local businesses. The Bavingers moved into the house in February 1955, and Life magazine featured the house in its September 19, 1955 issue.[5] Despite its remote location, the house became an attraction; the Bavingers first tried to limit visitors by charging a dollar per guest. Life reported that the tours had yielded over $4,000, and eventually (according to Goff) they raised over $50,000 before finally deciding they didn't want to be disturbed by the constant flow of tourists.[6]

The house was vacant for more than a decade and had fallen into disrepair before it was reported in 2008 that the house would be renovated and reopened for tours.[7] Fundraising efforts, however, ran into difficulties.[8] [9] The house was damaged and its central spire left broken at a 45-degree angle after a powerful windstorm in June 2011.[8] The official website for the house stated that the house "will not be able to re-open",[9] [10] [11] [12] which was later changed to "Closed Permanently", and in August 2012 further edited to say "The House will never return under its current political situation".[12] The official website was taken offline in August, 2011, and its domain license was allowed to expire.[13]

In April 2016 The Norman Transcript reported that the house had been demolished and completely removed, leaving only a vacant lot, as confirmed by the president of the Bruce Goff-focused preservation organization Friends of Kebyar.[14]

Architecture

The wall of the house was a 96-foot long logarithmically curved spiral, made from 200 tons of local "ironrock" sandstone dynamited (by Eugene) from a piece of purchased farmland near Robin Hill School, a few miles away from the house and hauled back on Eugene's 48 Chevy flatbed truck. The structure was anchored by a recycled oil field drill stem that was reused to make a central mast more than 55 feet high. The house had no interior walls; instead there were a series of platforms at different heights, some with curtains that could be drawn for privacy. The ground floor was covered with pools and planted areas.[1] [15] [16] [17] [18]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Form prepared by Arn Henderson. . Accessed May 6, 2015.
  2. Book: Philip. Steadman. The Evolution of Designs: Biological Analogy in Architecture and the Applied Arts. Taylor & Francis. 1979. 239. 978-0-415-44752-2. Excerpts available at Google Books.
  3. News: Saving Bruce Goff . The Architectural Review . Michael . Webb . June 2005 . October 9, 2013.
  4. .
  5. Space and Saucer House: Oklahoma family lives in suspension in a unique new structure . September 19, 1955 . . 155–156 .
  6. Book: Welch, Philip. Goff on Goff: Conversations and Lectures. 996. University of Oklahoma Press. 978-0-8061-2868-9. 193–194.
  7. News: Foundation hopes to restore and open Bavinger House for tours . https://archive.today/20120905120225/http://www.normantranscript.com/columns/local_story_328025808/resources_printstory . dead . September 5, 2012 . November 23, 2008 . The Norman Transcript . 2009-08-13 .
  8. News: Tearin' Down the House?. Oklahoma Gazette. June 29, 2011. September 3, 2001. November 13, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20111113092830/http://www.okgazette.com/oklahoma/article-12199-tearin%E2%80%99-down-the-house.html. dead.
  9. News: Russell . Cobb . Continuous Present . November 21, 2011 . . 2013-02-25.
  10. News: Andy . Rieger . Bavinger House's future uncertain . June 22, 2011 . https://archive.today/20120718201526/http://normantranscript.com/headlines/x1521798676/Bavinger-House-s-future-uncertain . dead . July 18, 2012 . . 2011-06-23 .
  11. News: Richard . Mize . Bruce Goff-designed Bavinger House in Norman apparently has met its demise . June 23, 2011 . . 2011-06-23.
  12. Web site: The Bavinger House official website . 2013-02-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110728092644/http://thebavingerhouse.org/ . July 28, 2011 . Closed due to storm damage . . . Due to severe storm damage we will not be able to re-open.
  13. Web site: http://www.thebavingerhouse.org/. https://web.archive.org/web/20110728092644/http://thebavingerhouse.org/. dead. 28 July 2011. thebavingerhouse.org. 8 November 2016.
  14. News: Slinkard . Caleb . Goff-designed landmark demolished . . April 28, 2016 . 2016-04-30 .
  15. News: It's SOMEBODY'S Dream House: Oklahoma Couple Are Happy in a Home Which Is Like Nothing on Land or Sea FAMILY Living. https://archive.today/20120713050506/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/517797542.html?dids=517797542:517797542&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Jan+06,+1957&author=&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=It's+SOMEBODY'S+Dream+House&pqatl=google. dead. July 13, 2012. Barry . Edward . January 6, 1957 . Chicago Tribune. H23 . 2009-08-13.
  16. News: Lynette . Lobban . Goff's Historic Houses: The talk of the town when first constructed, the signature works of a master architect are being added to the National Register. . Spring 2002 . Sooner Magazine . 2011-06-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110523232240/http://www.oufoundation.org/sm/spring2002/story.asp?ID=29 . May 23, 2011 . dead .
  17. News: Bavinger House. GreatBuildings.com. 2009-08-13.
  18. News: Bavinger House (Norman, USA) . https://web.archive.org/web/20100310231655/http://www.strangebuildings.com/bavinger-house-norman-usa/ . dead . March 10, 2010 . strangebuildings.com . February 24, 2010 . 2011-11-10 .

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Bavinger House".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.