Projects by Name

In 1939, Robert and Cecelia Frank commissioned their luxurious house in Pittsburgh, PA. Their friends the Kaufmanns, owners of a local department store, had recently built Fallingwater, which was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The Franks chose Gropius and Breuer, who were viewed as representatives of European modernism, so that they would not appear to be imitating their friends. The house was an L-shaped box with an indoor swimming pool and elaborate, terraced gardens. A staircase viewed through curved two-story windows provided a striking focal point of the entrance façade, especially when viewed at night. The extravagant program of the four-story steel frame house included six bedrooms, three studies, nine bathrooms, two bars, multiple halls, among other rooms. Breuer designed all of the interiors, including over twenty lighting units and ninety pieces of furniture. Many of the furniture pieces were versions of his earlier cut-out plywood designs, but he also experimented with new materials such as Lucite. He clad the walls with travertine marble and wood paneling or covered them in fabrics, including a pink-copper fabric designed by Anni Albers in the master bedroom. Schmieg and Kotzian and Harry Meyers Co. manufactured the furniture.