Originally commissioned in 1939 and built for $7,000, the Pope-Leighey residence exemplifies Wright’s Usonian period and subsequent post-Word War II trends in American home design: strong horizontal lines, unified living/dining area, connectivity between inside and outside, and carport. Wooden sandwich walls, radiant-heated slab-on-grade, and cantilevered flat roofs are among the construction innovations of the design, some of which also proved to be design trouble spots. When QUINN EVANS | ARCHITECTS became involved with the house, it had been relocated twice and was poorly sited on Woodlawn Plantation, 16 miles from its original site. Working with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, QE|A developed design solutions to ensure future conservation of the historic house museum and its collections. QE|A evaluated the conditions of the deteriorating structure, developed a comprehensive restoration program, and helped manage the restoration work, which included dismantling the house, moving it uphill 75 feet, and pouring new foundations and slabs before reassembling and restoring the house. |
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