Hanna house
N 37° 24.949 W 122° 09.813
10S E 574017 N 4141330
"Honeycomb" Usonian house built for a Stanford University professor and his family.
Waymark Code: WMJ3A
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 07/23/2006
Views: 195
Located on the Stanford Univesity campus, Paul Hanna was a new faculty member when he and his wife Jean contacted Wright about designing them a home.
The Hanna house was Wright's first in the San Francisco Bay Area and first using a hexagonal or "honeycomb" module which created a remarkable openess to the plan. Wright wrote in the Architectual Record describing the hexagon as "a pattern more natural to human movement."
The interior vertical space is complex, with a two story vault upon entering from the low, main carport entrance. A high clearstory in the central long and narrow workspace/kitchen is played off low roofs and ceiling which defines the perimeter of the building.
Red brick, concrete, redwood and glass are the primary building materials and the house utlizes a unique and unconventional thin-walled structural system also based on the hexagonal module. Interestingly, the screwheads used in the wall system are exposed with all the grooves oriented horizontally.
Most remarkable about the design is the anticipation and execution of modifications to the house to met the changing family and professional needs over time that include the conversion of the original dining room to music room, children's play area to new dining room, children's bedrooms to master suite, and master bedroom to office and retreat.
The site also includes extensive terraces, a "falling water" feature, a guesthouse and workshop added in 1953, and garden house and pool designed by Wright apprentice John Howe, and built in 1960 under the supervision of William Wesley Peters. The house was lived in by the Hannas until 1974 when it was bequethed to the University. The house was then used as the residence for four Stanford Provosts, continued to be utlized for entertaining, and was opened for public tours.
Ironically, a two-ton lava rock urn from the Imperial Hotel that survived the Tokyo Earthquake, obtained by the Hannas prior to its demolition, was removed from its perch due to damage sustained from the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and is stored crated up on the site. The house itself suffered major settlement and structural damage and was closed to the public for a decade.
While the house has re-opened for public tours by appointment only, the resoration work continues periodically. The Hanna house is one of the 17 structures by Wright designated by the American Institute of Architects as most worthy of preservation and exemplifys his contribution to American culture.
Year Completed: 1937
Commissioned By: Paul R. and Jean S. Hanna
Nearest City or Town: Stanford, CA
Public/Private: Public
Tours Available?: yes
Website: [Web Link]
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Visit Instructions:
There are no specific visit requirements, however telling about your visit is strongly encouraged. Additional photos of the building or house to add to the gallery are also nice, but not required. Pictures with a GPS or you in them is highly discouraged.