Modernism Reborn: Mid-Century American Houses

In the first book of its kind, architectural critic Michael Webb and Esto photographer Roger Strauss III examine 35 extraordinary modern houses that have been restored, enhanced, or extended by new owners who see them as timeless classics. Built in the heyday of modernism, from the 1930s through the early 1960s, these houses were designed by exceptional architects for themselves or for adventurous clients. A few were lovingly preserved as time capsules, but most endured years of neglect or abuse and might easily have been torn down.

Webb explores how these houses were created--as daring experiments or as creative responses to site and climate--and here are villas that fuse craft and invention, machines for living, and residences that embrace the landscape. Here, too, are houses inspired by the purity of classical temples, and frugal dwellings that have been sensitively enlarged. After a long eclipse, these houses and the enlightened attitudes they embody are being rediscovered by creative individuals searching for distinctive, open, light-filled places to live. Modernism is a way of living, more than a style, and this book celebrates the architects and owners who respect its character and scale.

Also included are nearly 200 photographs taken by Roger Strauss, all of which were specially commissioned for this book.

Michael Webb began writing about architecture and design in London in the 1960s, and now does so in Los Angeles, working out of a classic Richard Neutra apartment that Charles and Ray Eames once called home. He is the author of sixteen books, which include Architects House Themselves, The City Square, New Stage for a City, and, most recently, Richard Sapper and Through the Windows of Paris. He also wrote Architecture + Design LA, and is executive editor of the series based on this innovative guide. An Architectural Digest contributing writer, he also writes for A+U, Domus, Graphis, and the New York Times.

Roger Strauss III, a photographer for the architecture photograph archive Esto, has had his work featured in the books US1: America's Original Mainstreet, Mississippi Currents, and Wright for Wright. He was the principal photographer for the official Fallingwater calendar from 1994 to 1999.