![]() ![]() For three weeks Lewis arrived at early evening and worked till the early morning hours. When the glass arrived on the truck, the driver took one look down our steep driveway, looked at the steel frame structure, dropped off the glass, said something about “crazy,” and drove away quickly. Along with John, he badgered and pleaded the glass company until they agreed to build the immense sheets of glass. He accepted our house for the challenge it provided him rather than the financial profit. Enter Lewis the glass man, or rather, the glass artist. ![]() No one would make glass that large and, even if they did, no one would install it. One by one glass companies scoffed at our house, stating that it couldn’t be done. With the steel erected, the framing complete, and the wires run, only one item was left to complete the exterior - glass. Each day we continued our quest to build the impossible. Whoever knew how helpful it could be to have a dad with a backhoe, a friend who could weld, and a brother with electrical know how? Each day John and I learned new skills, from carpentry to electrical to painting the color red (No one ever warned us of the trouble this color could cause!). The encouragement of those who believed in our dream enough to participate in it cannot be underestimated. Of course, we can’t deny the help of friends and family who helped us build our dream. We were participants of the building process, rather than mere spectators. We began building in March 2003, married in May 2003 and in November 2003 we moved into 2803 Manitou Drive as residents of our glass house.įrom forming the foundation to erecting steel to framing walls to painting walls, we truly built our house. In the process, John’s vision of a bachelor pad expanded to accommodate our new life. ![]() A friendship quickly turned to a relationship, a relationship to engagement and engagement to marriage. As I grew to know and love John I also grew to understand and embrace his philosophy of a house – a functional dwelling that expresses personality and practicality. John never considered his house a faraway dream rather he always believed in its reality.Ī novice to architecture, especially modern architecture, John’s house intrigued me as well, as his resolution to build it. ![]() Inspired by the contemporary styles of Phillip Johnson, Mies van der Rohe and his Boy Scout days of camping, John set out not only to design, but also to build his own expression of modern architecture that invited the outdoors indoors. He envisioned a home surrounded by the natural greenery of the Texas hill country and animated by the brilliant sun. While many viewed his rugged and steep lot as “unbuildable,” John viewed it as the ideal setting for a glass house. John originally designed our house as his bachelor pad. In the process of building our house, we proved that with imagination, persistence and resolution the impossible idea becomes an achievable reality. However, others’ pessimism only increased our determination. We heard “impossible” more than once when it came to building our house. Impossible – It’s a word that would discourage many people, but for John and me the word invigorates, motivates and inspires. Our glass house stands as proof that the impossible is possible. Our Glass House (2003 – 2007) by Suzanne G. ![]()
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