Frank Lloyd Wright Hoffman House renovation, Rye NY

Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Frank Lloyd Wright originally designed this house in Rye, NY in 1953 for Max Hoffman, the importer of Porsche and Mercedes cars in the US. Wright had previously designed Hoffman’s car showroom on Park Avenue and was then commissioned to create this “seashore cottage” for his client.

The new owner who bought the house from Hoffman added a third wing to the original L shaped floorplan in the 70s under the direction of the architects at Taliesin .

The third owner hired EFM Design with the mandate to renovate this architectural masterpiece and make it into a living home for a young family with four children and a busy entertainment schedule. The brief can be summed up in this statement: “We do not want a museum or fawning reverence!”

The renovation respected Wright’s rigorous 4-foot grid layout, removed superimposed materials from previous interventions and brought the house back to the palette of the original intent of Wright’s organic architecture: stone and natural woods, complemented by primary colors in paints and textiles which were inspired by Wright’s paint collection. Furniture was selected from designers that were contemporaries of the original house.

A total design solution as conceived by mecanoo, encompassing custom furniture, graphics, art and wayfinding beyond the functional workplace design requirements.

A total design solution as conceived by mecanoo, encompassing custom furniture, graphics, art and wayfinding beyond the functional workplace design requirements.