When researching projects and project sites one finds lots of interesting things as well as interesting ways to find things. One way to look back in history is through the reference materials generated by the Historic American Buildings Survey. This resource is a wealth of historic information and especially relevant to architects since its the main focus is buildings.
Found the above house while browsing through the online collection. This house was photographed in February 1983. A quick google and bing maps search revealed nothing on Belcaro Road in Knoxville that looks remotely like this. Probably have to do some foot work and a bit more research to find out what happened to this amazing house.
The estate also included a formal garden on the back lawn.
The Knoxville Parade of Homes is just around the corner, literally! Beginning today, October 1st, and running the next three weekends, Friday through Sunday of each weekend, 26 homes around town will be open for viewing from noon until 5pm each day. The event is completely free and showcases some of the newest homes and latest interior design trends in the area. Jonathan Miller Architects is pleased to have three homes from our studio included in the Parade this year (if you get the Parade guide, they are homes 2, 12 & 14).
We hope you get a chance to visit some of the homes while they are open to the public. This is an exciting opportunity for the general public to see some of our latest projects as they come to fruition. We are honored that they are included in this year’s Parade.
As always, the builders are the real heroes. They are the ones out on the site every day making sure all the little details are in, from foundation to finishes. A big thanks to Charles Atkins of Charles R. Atkins, Inc. and to Mike Dulin of Ethics Construction. They make it happen.
One of our homes that is currently under construction was recently featured on WBIR Channel 10. This home is expected to gain LEED Gold Certification. Watch a clip from that broadcast below…
Simply put… Home. What is there not to love about white clinker brick, steel windows, slate roof, old towering oak trees and whistling radiators, all filled with children laughing and lots of love. Living in a “lovable old home” there is much I gripe about, but in the end my affection for it always wins out.
The home is a simple arts-and-crafts inspired English Tudor built by a father-son/builder-architect team in 1927. The concept is classic Tudor: side facing gable ends with a single dominant front facing gable, and of course, the well proportioned entry turret. It is on an up-hill site, has a wonderful walled courtyard in the back to retain the terrain above. Some fascinating details include the use of teak wood for the interior paneling and trim, no interior wood casings on the windows, self-supporting precast concrete spiral stairs, and no exposed exterior wood – truly a low maintenance home.
The architect (the son) Edwin Peckinpaugh was 24 years old when he designed the home, a recent graduate of Penn University. He went on to design some of our city’s great homes before moving to Sacramento, CA in the 1940’s – he was a real talent. You can read more about Edwin at the now Stafford King and Wiese Architects.
