Geller I

Demolished

Geller I

Aerial photo of Geller House and grounds.

Credit

Jones, Cranston. Marcel Breuer: Buildings and Projects 1921-1961. Frederick A. Praeger, Publisher. New York. 1962.

Site overview

Commissioned just after World War II, architect Marcel Breuer designed the house for Bertram and Phyllis Geller to meet the needs of their growing American family. The house was the first built by Breuer incorporating his influential concept of the “binuclear” house, in which living and sleeping areas of the house are separated into different formal elements. The concept consisted of two elements which have been joined, roughly in the shape of an “H.” The center of the “H” divides the daytime and nighttime uses: separating “…presentable spaces from the necessarily chaotic domain of children.” 

Geller I is one of only four homes designed and built on Long Island by Breuer, another being a second home for the Geller family in Lawrence.  Geller I was also home to custom cutout plywood chairs that were made specifically to fit the interior aesthetic, which have been considered a representation of "a new direction in his furniture design" (Herzig). As both the start to his accomplishments in designing binuclear homes and a landmark in his career as a furniture designer, Geller I has both cultural and historical significance in the world of architectural design.

Geller I was demolished on January 26, 2022 despite our efforts.

Geller I

Geller House I living room.

Credit

Maxwell Lent, 2021.

Site overview

Commissioned just after World War II, architect Marcel Breuer designed the house for Bertram and Phyllis Geller to meet the needs of their growing American family. The house was the first built by Breuer incorporating his influential concept of the “binuclear” house, in which living and sleeping areas of the house are separated into different formal elements. The concept consisted of two elements which have been joined, roughly in the shape of an “H.” The center of the “H” divides the daytime and nighttime uses: separating “…presentable spaces from the necessarily chaotic domain of children.” 

Geller I is one of only four homes designed and built on Long Island by Breuer, another being a second home for the Geller family in Lawrence.  Geller I was also home to custom cutout plywood chairs that were made specifically to fit the interior aesthetic, which have been considered a representation of "a new direction in his furniture design" (Herzig). As both the start to his accomplishments in designing binuclear homes and a landmark in his career as a furniture designer, Geller I has both cultural and historical significance in the world of architectural design.

Geller I was demolished on January 26, 2022 despite our efforts.

Geller I

Geller House I living room, dining area.

Credit

Maxwell Lent, 2021.

Site overview

Commissioned just after World War II, architect Marcel Breuer designed the house for Bertram and Phyllis Geller to meet the needs of their growing American family. The house was the first built by Breuer incorporating his influential concept of the “binuclear” house, in which living and sleeping areas of the house are separated into different formal elements. The concept consisted of two elements which have been joined, roughly in the shape of an “H.” The center of the “H” divides the daytime and nighttime uses: separating “…presentable spaces from the necessarily chaotic domain of children.” 

Geller I is one of only four homes designed and built on Long Island by Breuer, another being a second home for the Geller family in Lawrence.  Geller I was also home to custom cutout plywood chairs that were made specifically to fit the interior aesthetic, which have been considered a representation of "a new direction in his furniture design" (Herzig). As both the start to his accomplishments in designing binuclear homes and a landmark in his career as a furniture designer, Geller I has both cultural and historical significance in the world of architectural design.

Geller I was demolished on January 26, 2022 despite our efforts.

Geller I

Geller House I bathroom.

Credit

Maxwell Lent, 2021.

Site overview

Commissioned just after World War II, architect Marcel Breuer designed the house for Bertram and Phyllis Geller to meet the needs of their growing American family. The house was the first built by Breuer incorporating his influential concept of the “binuclear” house, in which living and sleeping areas of the house are separated into different formal elements. The concept consisted of two elements which have been joined, roughly in the shape of an “H.” The center of the “H” divides the daytime and nighttime uses: separating “…presentable spaces from the necessarily chaotic domain of children.” 

Geller I is one of only four homes designed and built on Long Island by Breuer, another being a second home for the Geller family in Lawrence.  Geller I was also home to custom cutout plywood chairs that were made specifically to fit the interior aesthetic, which have been considered a representation of "a new direction in his furniture design" (Herzig). As both the start to his accomplishments in designing binuclear homes and a landmark in his career as a furniture designer, Geller I has both cultural and historical significance in the world of architectural design.

Geller I was demolished on January 26, 2022 despite our efforts.

Geller I

Geller House I, N-NW facade exterior.

Credit

Maxwell Lent, 2021.

Site overview

Commissioned just after World War II, architect Marcel Breuer designed the house for Bertram and Phyllis Geller to meet the needs of their growing American family. The house was the first built by Breuer incorporating his influential concept of the “binuclear” house, in which living and sleeping areas of the house are separated into different formal elements. The concept consisted of two elements which have been joined, roughly in the shape of an “H.” The center of the “H” divides the daytime and nighttime uses: separating “…presentable spaces from the necessarily chaotic domain of children.” 

Geller I is one of only four homes designed and built on Long Island by Breuer, another being a second home for the Geller family in Lawrence.  Geller I was also home to custom cutout plywood chairs that were made specifically to fit the interior aesthetic, which have been considered a representation of "a new direction in his furniture design" (Herzig). As both the start to his accomplishments in designing binuclear homes and a landmark in his career as a furniture designer, Geller I has both cultural and historical significance in the world of architectural design.

Geller I was demolished on January 26, 2022 despite our efforts.

Primary classification

Residential (RES)

Terms of protection

The house was eligible for the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing site in the Rockaway Hunt Historic District.

Designations


Author(s)

Gillian Connell | | 3/5/2009
Josie Moran | | 12/15/2021

Location

175 Ocean Avenue
Village of Lawrence, Town of Hempstead, NY, 11559

Country

US

Designer(s)

Other designers

Herbert Beckhard

Related News

Related Sites

Commission

November 1944

Completion

September 1945

Current Use

Residential home

Technical

Construction: Both the main house and the garage/guest house were constructed using Western framing. Some of the main house façade was constructed using masonry although stained redwood panels were used for the majority of the exteriors of both the garage and main house and also for the interior garage walls. The sills, posts, plates, and braces were also constructed from wood (fir) and were all, with the exception of the exterior garage wall bracing (which was 1”x6”), were 4”x4.” The main house interior walls were constructed of weld board while the interior of the garage was constructed of wood. The studding of all interior walls was 2”x4” on 16” centers. The wooden walls were protected from the pipes with rock wool insulation. The foundation of the main house was constructed of 8” thick concrete which was sunk 4’ below grade. The footing for the main house foundation walls was earth. No piers were used for construction of the main house. The garage foundation was constructed of concrete and stone. Because the garage was set on a sand base, concrete footings and piers in addition to stone walls were used in foundation construction. The floors of the Geller house are constructed of 6” thick concrete. the garage floor was reinforced with ½” rods set 6” on center. All roofs are flat and were constructed using asphalt and gravel. Rafters are 2”x10” and are spaced 16” on center. The main house was constructed to use dry wells to dispose of roof water, while the garage was designed to use a copper leader to do the same. The main house has one chimney, which was constructed of tile. Until 1974 when the property was connected to the Village sewer system, the Geller house had one cast iron cesspool, the diameter of which was 5” and which fell ¼” per foot. The cesspool was situated 15’ from the main house. The Geller house was also constructed with two cast iron soil pipes, three of which extended above the roof. Corresponding to the 1967 addition of the swimming pool, a dry well was installed on the property. In 1992, a one story pool cabana was erected on the property. Technical: Marcel Breuer paid great attention to all details of the Geller House. One of the most prominent technical features that Breuer incorporated into the home’s design was the butterfly-pitched roof, which eliminated gutters and drains at the roof edge. This roofline also addressed the technical problems with flat roofs which, by the late 1940’s were common. The design incorporated a new edging detail “…made with standard metal coping sections applied on the job without soldering or welding…” and that would keep the edge much more watertight than earlier designs. The roof also incorporated tar and gravel to allow for inside drainage. The layout of the home was designed, similar to many of Breuer’s residential homes, with the potential for its expansion: in this instance, the garage could eventually become an additional bedroom and bathroom. The full-height windows on both sides of the living area were frosted on the lower sections so that both light and privacy could be incorporated into the space. These glass walls were double thickness, providing insulation and eliminating heat loss. Outside the house, horizontal louvers in front of the upper panels further reduce glare inside the living room from glare from the sky and helped to create a more even distribution of daylight. Smaller technical details that Breuer incorporated into the Geller house were a dishwasher, washing machine, gas dryer, and a television-radio-phonograph console. Breuer even designed the dishes and linens. The walls, doors, and any uncarpeted floors were lacquered so that they would be washable and resilient to any damage the children may cause them. The garage was designed so that there would be a two-foot space between the sidewalls and the ground so that snow that blew could also be blown out. There is a wall grille in the rear of the garage which provides ventilation to the adjacent storage room. Unlike many residential mechanical/electrical systems during the 1940’s, Marcel Breuer designed the Geller House to have a centralized mechanical/electrical system. The “mechanical core” of the home was located in a small 4’ x 7’ room situated directly off of the children’s playroom. The home was warmed using radiant heat. Floor coils were grouped in four sections of the home and could be adjusted using a thermostat. Automatic controls helped to adjust heat based on the penetration of sunlight and to shifting winds.

Social

Marcel Breuer’s Geller House is socially significant. The house is not only one of Breuer’s earliest American works, but it is his first realized building upon his split from Gropius, the architect with whom Breuer had previously designed many structures. As World War II came to a close, many architectural periodicals held design competitions to “…propose family houses that could be put up quickly and cheaply – also, to some extent, as a contribution to the potentially desirable aim of re-establishing ‘family values.’” Breuer’s bi-nuclear plan for the Geller house was built in response to such a competition held by California Arts and Architecture entitled ‘Designs for post-war living.” At the time the Geller House was constructed, there was a ban on residential construction on Long Island. Despite this ban, Breuer was permitted to build the house because it “…was regarded by the U.S. government as an experimental prefabricated house – one, conceivably, that could be adopted on a large scale after the war. Its bi-nuclear plan was seen to be ideal for the postwar family.” When it was constructed, “modern” houses did not exist in the suburbs. it paved the way for a wave of subsequent modern homes in suburban areas and, specifically, in Long Island. The Geller House was important because it was constructed of “brand new thinking, realized in wood and stone.” It has been planned so that two generations can live closely with each other, without getting in each other’s way. The Geller House is also socially significant for the dramatic impact that it had on Herbert Beckhard. Beckhard regards the Geller House as a catalyst for his chosen career as an architect and as an inspiration for the way that he thought about architecture.

Cultural & Aesthetic

Between 1925 and 1960 extensive residential construction occurred on Long Island. These homes, termed “Long Island Modern, “…preceded the post-1960’s wave of arrogant, showy construction.” A 1987 exhibit of Long Island Modern architecture at East Hampton’s Guild Hall displayed a compilation of this architectural type and served as a reminder that Long Island was once one of the country’s major incubators for modern architecture. One of the reasons that Long Island was an appropriate landscape for modern design was its open, horizontal stretches of landscape. Marcel Breuer’s Geller House, for its innovative bi-nuclear design, was a major contributor to the modern aesthetic which developed on Long Island during that time period. The Geller House represented “…an ideal – indeed, glamorous – the image of upper-middle-class modern life. Its success opened for Breuer a window on the possibilities of independence architectural practice in a postwar America rich with optimism and with fresh cultural and material prospects in a period of disappearing austerity.”

Historical

In 1947, House & Garden magazine awarded the Geller House “honorable mention” in a 1947 design competition and acknowledged it as “…one of the most successful modern houses built since the war.”

General Assessment

The Geller House, as one of the earliest executions of Marcel Breuer’s bi-nuclear design, helped set the stage for a trend in residential modern design on Long Island in the years following World War II. Its butterfly-pitched roof and its efficient design scheme that distinguished between daytime and nighttime uses became a prototype for how modern family living could be ideally achieved.

 

The interior of the house has been altered but it remains in good condiion.

References

Blake, Peter. Marcel Breuer: Architect and Designer. Architectural Record / The Museum of Modern Art. New York, 1949.

Driller, Joachim. Breuer Houses. Phaidon Press Limited. London, 2000.

Great Buildings Online: http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Geller_House.html.

Hyman, Isabelle. Marcel Breuer, Architect: The Career and the Buildings. Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers. New York, 2001.

Jones, Cranston. Marcel Breuer: Buildings and Projects 1921-1961. Frederick A. Praeger, Publisher. New York, 1962.

“Marcel Breuer: Design and Architecture.” Vitra Design Museum. Germany, 2003.

Masello, David. Architecture Without Rules: The Houses of Marcel Breuer and Herbert Beckhard. W.W. Norton & Company. New York, 1993.

“The Geller House, Lawrence, Long Island.” Progressive Architecture (41) 50-66. February 1947.

“Tomorrow’s House Today.” House & Garden (91) 60-67. 1947.

Village of Lawrence, Department of Buildings. Building Inspector, Daniel J. Herron. (516) 239-3987.building@villageoflawrence.org.

Wilk, Christopher. Marcel Breuer: Furniture and Interiors. The Museum of Modern Art. New York, 1981.