I recently had the pleasure of talking with Sam Ferris (whom I connected with via iittala products) about the incredible home where he grew up in Spokane, Washington. Ferris’s parents, Mary Jean and Joel Ferris, owned a home accessories, art and furniture store in Spokane back in the 1950s, and it was a hub of mid-century design right at the height of the movement.
After having a little trouble getting neighbor approval for the type of modern house they wanted to build and live in, a family member hooked them up with some property that had been in the family since the early 1900s, and they hired on-the-rise, local modern architect Bruce Walker to build them their dream house.
The Ferrises were passionate about nurturing designers and promoting modern architecture and design, and they lived and worked to spread the word. “There were very few modern houses in Spokane back then, and sometimes my friends would tease me that my house looked like a post office!” says Sam Ferris. “The privilege of growing up in this house impacted the way I see the world.”
Since the passing of their parents, the Ferris children have preserved their legacy by fixing the house up, preserving it and documenting the story of the house on a website called Spokane MidCentury. They attained historic landmark status in Spokane, which will preserve the integrity of the architecture. It is one of only two modern houses locally to achieve this status. They are also applying for National Landmark Status for the home.
“The house and yard are too big for any of us, so we are ready to pass it on,” says Ferris. “It was such a gift to have this house in the family for so long; we want to leave it in great condition for an active family to enjoy.”
The Ferrises were the first store to carry work by artist Harold Balazs who created the bronze sculptural piece on the left. Balazs went on to do many large public art projects and is just one example of the couples’ passion for nurturing designers. “Balazs was kind enough to come by the house late last year and re-attach 2 pieces of the screen. My parents enjoyed having parties and well . . . these things happen,” says Ferris. “HB is in his eighties now but still has very happy memories of the people who believed in him as a gifted artist in his early twenties.”
Ferris’s parents were pioneers whose tastes were influential all over the Northwest, and their children have done an exquisite job of paying tribute to them via their care for this home. “The house is timeless, and so is the positive energy my parents sent out to the world in their life’s work,” he says. Thanks so much to Sam Ferris for sharing all this positive energy with us!
Today I had the pleasure of getting to know more about Evan Stoller of Stoller Works. I sent him a list of questions and he answered me with a the fascinating story of his career path and all of these beautiful photographs. Take it away Evan!
Stoller with his Rail Table
My mother was a painter and my father photographed modern architecture. Modernism was kind of a religion in our home. Living with the works of family friends such as the Eameses, George Nakashima and Alexander Calder was an education in design.
After studying architecture at Pratt Institute I began doing sculpture in NYC. My friends and I rented an abandoned cheese factory in what was to become Tribeca. For five years I had a fabulous skylit studio and produced a series of animal sculptures that culminated in a 9’ x 9’ frog that was designed to jump in the rain. To me, The Frog was my first real-world study in architecture. Organic systems were interpreted, organized and overlaid within an aluminum and spring steel skeletal system. The concept of a moving animal developed along an architectonic path of questions and creative solutions.
Stoller’s Frog Sculpture
My wife Phyllis and I moved out of the city to an abandoned airport, and then to a disused gas station. I began making larger sculptures that were influenced by the lattice construction of cranes and the structural purity of bridges. I completed works that appeared more functional – things that looked like organic lifting devices and sculptures such as ‘Ramp’:
Ramp
‘Ramp’ is a 30’ long incline topped with asphalt. I called them ‘standing structures’ and they developed from, and as an expression of, the environment in which they were displayed. Some stood on long skids for optimal ground support or had pod-like feet to resist sinking into the turf. My sculptures were becoming supporting structures, close relatives of the tables I’m doing now. I completed a huge environmental sculpture in NYC that brought me back into the world of architecture. ‘Maya Station’ was an array of 40’ tension trusses spanning six 20’ tall towers and 10’ tall gates. My inspiration were the forms and spaces of a Mayan city. The sculpture defined an environment on an architectural scale, and after it’s completion I became an architect.
Maya Station
Architectural commissions are a real ‘through the looking glass’ experience. The thrill and complexity of architecture is always a voyage through the unexplored, an arduous but incredible experience. We built our own home and I began designing a series of houses, studios and more recently a medical clinic and a theater.
Stoller’s Home
A painting studio by Stoller
My most recent sculpture seems like both an architectural model and a huge piece of exterior furniture. ‘Hudson Ecliptic’ is a modular 40′ diameter circular form that floats over rough terrain. It’s constructed from 120 cellular units that each display a tiny painting. Seeming like a chain of galleries, the sculpture becomes a miniature museum.
Hudson Ecliptic
Stoller Works furniture started as custom pieces for architectural clients. I strive to express structural clarity and demonstrate an efficiency of of materials and fabrication. Working with big beams I invented a system to reinforce thin beam slices with tension rods and bolt them into extremely strong and rigid trestle assemblies. With remainders of deep rolled structural sections I make standing desks and podium tables.
My tables combine high-tech trestle structures with the warm surface of wood tabletops. We use walnut and ash from known sources and avoid the use of pollutants in manufacturing our products. All our plywood is FSC certified and coated with UV-cured finishes.
Let’s be honest here for a moment. As a modern-design fiend I personally spend a lot of my “down” time on the internet, googling what essentially equates to tons of pretty pictures of awesome modern architecture and design. When I find something super cool – I love to share it with our team here at Design Public so that we can all oooh and aaahh over it together.
So recently when we had the opportunity to partner with the folks at Modern Home Tours we knew, based on our history of fawning over well-designed things and our commitment to sharing those things with you, that we simply had to do it. So we did – and we’re proud to announce that our first tour as a sponsor is happening this weekend in Denver, Colorado.
The photos in this post are actual photos from some of the 8 homes that will be on display this Saturday, June 2nd. If you’re in the Denver area, you should be sure to go and check it out. The self-guided driving tour features 8 homes, all of which will open their doors for 6 hours – from 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM on Saturday, June 2, for viewing.
Wanna save a bit of moola? As a friend of ours, you get 5 smackeroos off of the price of each Denver Modern Home Tours ticket – just use code DESIGNPUBLIC at checkout!
And ooh – are you in the Denver area? We have 3 pairs of tickets to give away to a commenter here on Hatch. Leave a comment and make sure you leave an email address for us to reach you – we promise not to spam you. You must comment by 2 pm PST on Thursday, May 31st to be eligible. We will choose a winner at random. Good luck!
What are you clicking this week? My colleague Janet shared this video with me and now I’m dreaming of treehouses and visiting Whistler.
I’m also dreaming about fantastic topiaries, because The Aestate rounded up a fantastic group of them. Also, I watched a whodunit show this week where the culprit was a topiary gardener, SPOILER ALERT! I think it was on Bones. Anyway, here’s a favorite from her collection:
Do you subscribe to Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle newsletter, GOOP? I totally dig it, and this week’s feature on Food Hero Seamus Mullen has me dreaming of chowing down on some shellfish this summer. Just curious – what do you think of GOOP?
What are you pinning this week? I haven’t had a spare second to Pinterest much this week, but I did find my pal Leah Hennen’s amazing Indigo Board and now it’s the only hue on my mind. It’s making my beige walls bum me out, in fact, so know that might happen if you have beige walls and you happen to check it out.
Note: In trying to track down the credit for this image, I ran into a dead end, so if you happen to recognize where it originated and who the photographer was, please let me know in the comments section so that I can add it.
What caught your eye online this week? Please share a link with us in the comments section. Have a great weekend everyone!
With Spring in full swing and all of us looking forward to summer, I thought now would be an ideal time to daydream about floating our cares away in some of the most amazing modern pools that the world has to offer. I definitely have pool envy after seeing all of these – how about you?
The Shaw House
I can imagine relaxing after a long day at The Shaw house, located in Vancouver, Canada, on a narrow slice of waterfront property on English Bay. The house affords amazing views of the mountains as well as the city itself. The lap pool, shown below, is located above the bedroom, study, and music room and stretches along the entire west side of the home.
I’m sure I’d be more than at home at Villa Midgård in Stockholm, Sweden. Finished in 2011, the incredible 3-story home includes an infinity pool that is made from dark concrete to match the lush green surroundings. Walk downstairs and you’ll get a surprise – the pool also features an aquarium-like bonus! Human goldfish for the win!
Can you imagine if your public pool looked like this? If you’re a resident of In La Havre, France, it actually does. The notoriously gritty area has been undergoing a revitalization process in the last few years, especially in the area surrounding the city’s docks – and Les Bains des Docks, a $29 million dollar project, is a part of those efforts. Designed by architect Jean Nouvel, Les Bains offers it’s swimmers the options of recreational pools, an aqueous spa, and dry cardio-fitness areas. I was only going to include a few pictures, but I couldn’t resist including the only pop of color in the entire building – the children’s play area.
Did this leave you wanting to refresh your own outdoor area? Check out all of the amazing modern design that we have that is suited to creating the perfect outdoor space for entertaining, or simply for you to enjoy!
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