One of my favorite Christmas presents this past year is a book from my dear friend, Carol Parlett, which she discovered at a book fair in Philadelphia. I was immediately enchanted by this diminutive book with its black and white cover of a stone bridge surrounded by a rural English scene. The book’s author, Philippa Lewis, is an architectural historian and was intrigued by “gates, stiles, windows, bridges & other crossings” described in these and twenty-four other categories that are the subjects of this delightful book.

Each category is briefly described in two pages, with one page divided between the text and the featured picture(s) along with other illustrations on the opposite page. The exquisite black and white miniature illustrations are either historical references or original drawings by the British artist Miles Thistlewaite.

Like the author, I also had four years of Latin so I was not surprised by her selection of “portals” for her book’s title. She explains “portal” derives from the Latin “carry” (portare) and in her view we are transported elsewhere though harbors, airplanes and railway stations and other means of transport that are the subjects of the book. In the age of the Internet, “portal” now means a gateway to other websites where one has instant access to an infinite amount of information from diverse resources.

The “portals” category includes airports, harbors, and railway stations that the author considers to be “gateways” for travel. Illustrations includes the Berlin Friedrichstrasse station and the Swedish port of Stockholm.

In contrast to man-made portals, the category of “natural portals” includes canyons, gorges and valleys that are natural geographic passes by which we cross mountain ranges. One of the illustrations was the waterfall between rock walls in Snowdonia, Wales. Being an ardent fan of the Sherlock Holmes series, I thought of the famous final confrontation between Holmes and Moriarty at the edge of the Reichenbach Falls, over the Reichenbach, a tributary of the river Aare.

As an architect, her categories of “thresholds” and “doors” were familiar so I was interested in the illustrations she chose. The striking ancient gateway in the wall surrounding Beijing is all that remains of this remarkable edifice. The beautifully drafted sketch of a design for a Parisian ornamented and studded door probably opened onto an interior courtyard. I was intrigued by her reference to the metal “snuffers” for extinguishing a torch before one entered a building in the days before streetlamps and I was charmed by sketches of door handles and knockers.

Perhaps my favorite of her categories was “stairs” since they include such diverse examples as modern treads with open risers, steep steps of the step-form Mayan temple of Teotihuacan which I climbed once, or the illustration of the plan and perspective of the wooden staircase with two graceful turns.

What would a room be without windows? The author devotes one category to “large windows” which were made possible by the development of techniques in glass-making. Sizes and shapes of windows changed forever by this technical breakthrough and made possible the penetration of even more daylight into interiors. I was mesmerized by the exhibit at the National Gallery of “Vermeer and his Contemporaries” where the subjects of the paintings looked out through the frames of large open windows that broadened their view of the world outside as the sunlight filtered in. Two famous houses in the US, Philip Johnson’s Glass house and Mies van der Rohe’s design for the Farnsworth House, windows become full exterior walls entirely of glass.

Several categories dealt with rural life and I was intrigued by the “fences for animals” category. The illustration for a “ha ha” showed a masonry wall next to a wide ditch at the bottom of an embankment that was a clever way to separate the house’s garden and landscape from the grazing areas for livestock.

Several categories were devoted to various “styles”. “Styles Over” were breaks in a fence with protruding stone steps or wooden cross steps that allowed people to cross over but animals could not. “Styles Through” again allowed people to cross over via a bridge style with horizontal planks at each end to deter animals. Another option in metal was the “squeezer style” that resembled an open arced tweezer attached by horizontal iron bars to a masonry or stone fence. The category “Kissing Gate” certainly caught my attention. It was a variation of a turnstile which flapped back and forth in a fence that maintained a barrier to animals but allowed humans through.

Bridges were another category that appealed to me as an architect. The cover of the book shows the 19th century Eltham Bridge at Eltham Palace in Kent, England, with its Gothic styled arches and thick piers. The author noted that the Romans invented stone arches which made it possible to join multiple spans of arches for the aqueducts that delivered water to an empire. The Incas invented the suspension bridge hand woven from natural fibers that had to be renewed or replaced annually for safety.

“Magical Portals” have enchanted children of all ages and I still treasure my childhood copies of “Alice in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking Glass” with their original illustrations. When I first read these books as a child, I was entranced by Alice’s ability to follow the White Rabbit down the rabbit-hole and pass through the looking glass to meet live chess queens and endure a most unusual tea party.

The last category is “The Rainbow”, a bridge or portal in many myths and religions worldwide. It a symbol of the pact of peace between heaven and earth to Christians and Jews. My Scotch-Irish ancestors believed that leprechauns hid pots of gold at a rainbow’s end. The author believes rainbows “remind us of journeys yet to be made”. Great books expand one’s horizons and I am so grateful to the author for my journey through this enlightening and charming book.

“Portals” is a book in “ The Wooden Books Series” and was published by Bloomsbury USA, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. “Portals” first US edition was in 2018..

Jennifer Martella has pursued her dual careers in architecture and real estate since she moved to the Eastern Shore in 2004. Her award winning work has ranged from revitalization projects to a collaboration with the Maya Lin Studio for the Children’s Defense Fund’s corporate retreat in her home state of Tennessee.

The Spy is pleased to announce that Simon Jacobsen will make a presentation of his firm’s work over the Martin Luther King holiday weekend on Saturday, January 19th, from 5:00 to 6:30 at the St. Michaels Inn in St. Michaels. Simon is the son of Hugh Newell Jacobsen and they formed Jacobsen Architecture in 2007.  Tickets can be purchased here.

Our Habitat Jenn Martella, summarized their work recently in the Spy and we have re-published it here: 

My second job as an architectural intern was with Gini L. Pettus & Associates in Atlanta. The focus of her practice was interior commercial architecture but we both enjoyed discussing residential architecture and soon discovered our mutual admiration for the work of Hugh Newell Jacobsen.

After I moved to the Eastern Shore in 2004, I was delighted to discover two of his houses from excursions with friends on the water. After visiting the firm’s website, I learned that Jacobsen had designed several houses in Talbot County and his Bachelor of Arts degree was from the University of Maryland. I like to think that on breaks from his studies he made sojourns to the Eastern Shore to enjoy the peaceful pre-Bay Bridge rural architecture and landscape.

What I admire about Jacobsen’s work is how he drew his inspiration from the distinctively American vernacular rural architecture-sheds, smokehouses, detached kitchens and barns. The essence of his iconic style were series of pavilions devoid of ornamentation that evoked Shaker architectural design. His contemporary interpretation of the “telescope” houses of the Eastern Shore, became, in his gifted hands, simple geometric plans with gable roofs and chimneys that rose through the steep roof planes to become sculptural elements. His unique style set him apart from his fellow second-generation Modernists peers.

He also designed houses ranging from Jackie Kennedy Onassis’ home on Martha’s Vineyard to the “1998 Life Dream House,” Life Magazine’s promotion of houses designed by famous architects whose plans were made available to the public.

His son Simon is the Founding Principal of Jacobsen Architecture and explains his firm’s design philosophy as “…our detailing is deliberately sparse and linear in order to enhance the spaces within and without … the site is the dominant factor. The quality of the light upon that particular area of earth is always unique and determines the path the architecture will take.” The firm’s houses on the Eastern Shore embody that design philosophy and my favorite of the Eastern Shore houses is the original Green Residence that as of 2017 has a new owner.

The Greene Residence was built on the Wye East River close to the Chesapeake Bay. The client, a New York advertising executive, retained Hugh Newell Jacobsen in 1971 to design a year-around house. On one of his first visits to the site, the client sprinkled cedar seedlings along the shoreline that have matured into a tall grove to protect the house from the winter storms off the Bay and to frame and shade the exquisite house.

Like the older houses of the Tidewater, the Green house has white walls and steep roofs but the similarity ends there. Unlike historic Tidewater houses, this plan’s massing and functions are organized into pavilions defined by the function within. Some of the pavilions are linked by connections with walls of frameless panes of glass resting on brick sills for a striking solid/void juxtaposition of wall and glass. Other pavilions are slightly shifted from each other with just enough space for construction workers to accomplish their tasks. The lack of exterior soffits, gutters and trim is a careful and deliberate abstraction of traditional detailing.

Many of the pavilions have floor to ceiling glass panes at the main level to create an “outlook” to the landscape and water beyond. Above the large glass panes are two levels of multi-paned transoms. The bottom row is open to the main floor of the pavilion and the upper row becomes windows for the second floor. The lack of interior trim allows the wall and floor planes to seamlessly merge and the steep pitched roofs with dormers creates delightful spaces for the guest suites or the loft for the Owner’s artistic endeavors.

The Green house consists of six pavilions. There are two center pavilions with the front pavilion being the entrance hall and support functions. Behind the entry pavilion a short hall leads to the rear sitting room pavilion that faces the water. The rear corners of this dramatic room are floor to ceiling glass panels and the massive chimney rises through the pitched ceiling. At the front corners, glass walled connections on each side lead to two pavilions that are set on a diagonal to the entry and sitting room pavilions. The kitchen/breakfast and dining room pavilion is on the right and is slightly shifted from the garage pavilion by a solid connection. Off the kitchen pavilion, the long pool reaches out to the water and a fence hides the motor court of the garage pavilion. On the left, another sitting room pavilion and the master suite pavilion complete the composition. Terraces off the sitting rooms offer expansive views of the water.

Two guest suites were located on the second floor. One suite is accessed by a “U” shaped cantilevered stair that floats above the floor of the diagonal sitting room pavilion and the other suite is accessed by a spiral stair in the kitchen pavilion. Since the two suites are separated by the main sitting room pavilion, they have total privacy.

The interiors are white to better reflect the light from the varied sources and the firm’s signature “Eggcrate” bookcases are found in the diagonal sitting room. The Mid-Century Modern furnishings include the leather and polished chrome Le Corbusier sofas and the wood Scandinavian dining room table and chairs. It would be very difficult for this architect to choose a favorite detail but the vista from one of the glass-walled connections through the glass corner of the adjacent pavilion to the water beyond was breathtaking.

The Green Residence is a masterpiece of a gifted architect’s vision of domestic architecture in the early 20th century. The photographs that accompany this article were taken last year and belie the age of this iconic house.

Jacobsen Architecture was founded in 2007 by Hugh and Simon Jacobsen and is the recipient of over 140 awards in architecture, design and interiors. The firm’s work spans from much of the US, Caribbean, Europe, and Asia. Besides many accolades and publications, the firm has been nominated for the AIA’s Gold Medal four times and is longest running recipient of Architectural Digest’s AD100, the magazine’s list of the top 100 design talents internationally. The Jacobsens are currently working on a new book to be published by Rizzoli titled “Jacobsen Architecture: 12 Houses by Hugh and Simon Jacobsen”.

If you are one of the lucky few on the Eastern Shore to own a Jacobsen house, please contact the Spy as we would welcome another opportunity to feature more of these unique American houses.

For further inspiration, visit the firm’s website . Photographs of the Green Residence courtesy of Sean Shananhan Photography, Sean@shanahanphotography.com, 703-582-9462. 

The Spy is pleased to announce that Simon Jacobsen will make a presentation of his firm’s work over the Martin Luther King holiday weekend on Saturday, January 19th, from 5:00 to 6:30 at the St. Michaels Inn in St. Michaels MD, 1228 S. Talbot Street. Click here for ticket sales.

Jennifer Martella has pursued her dual careers in architecture and real estate since she moved to the Eastern Shore in 2004. Her award winning work has ranged from revitalization projects to a collaboration with the Maya Lin Studio for the Children’s Defense Fund’s corporate retreat in her home state of Tennessee.

This is my second holiday card to Spy readers and I am delighted to feature the Easton home of Jeffrey Parker. Jeffrey is a native of Cambridge, MD and received an undergraduate degree in interior design and architecture from the University of Maryland at College Park. After working for a roster of international clients for prestigious firms in Washington D.C. , Muscat, Oman and New York City, he established his own interior design firm in New York city in 1998.  

After spending weekends in his East Hampton home for 20 years, the Eastern Shore beckoned and he bought a weekend house in Cooke’s Hope in 2012.  The two-story traditional brick house had a detached garage that was connected to the main house by a breezeway. Upon moving into the house Jeffrey then began his transformation. A second floor above the garage became a family room with guest bathroom, the screened porch became a French-doored sunroom and the two structures were united by a breezeway with French doors leading to the newly constructed swimming pool.

After solving other interior architecture issues, Jeffrey turned his discriminating eye to the interiors. Moldings and custom finishes added a layer of elegance and each of the bathrooms were redesigned. The dormant third-floor space became a proper third floor for the residence which now has two generous guest suites. What had been a large attic was transformed by the addition of three traditional dormers on the front façade and a shed dormer on the rear elevation to expand the space.  

The rear yard was then enclosed by a traditional brick wall with Napoleon caps and was enhanced by a pool and outdoor fireplace to become an outdoor room for entertaining and  relaxing with family and friends.

The entertaining spaces are important as Jeffrey is more than an occasional visitor to Easton. Passionate about the arts, he is currently a board member and president of the Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra and a trustee of the Academy Art Museum. He continues to also be active with the board of the Easton Choral Arts Society and at Christ Church Easton.

He is passionate about Christmas and his home, Boxwood Hall, is annually decked to the nines with festive holiday decorations including six Christmas trees which display an array of antique and 20th Century blown glass ornaments.  Jeffrey began this collection when he was 8 years old.  

For more information about Jeffrey, visit his website jeffreyparkerinteriors.com, or contact Jeffrey at jeffrey@jefferyparkerinteriors .com.

Many thanks to the sellers who have invited me into their homes, the agents and their administrative assistants who have shared their pictures with me and my fellow architects who shared their creative work.

Spy House of the Week is an ongoing series that selects a different home each week. The Spy’s Habitat editor Jennifer Martella makes these selections based exclusively on her experience as a architect.

Jennifer Martella has pursued her dual careers in architecture and real estate since she moved to the Eastern Shore in 2004. Her award winning work has ranged from revitalization projects to a collaboration with the Maya Lin Studio for the Children’s Defense Fund’s corporate retreat in her home state of Tennessee.