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History:
The Gryder House was designed in 1960 [1], and is located in Ocean Springs, Mississippi [2]. The house was built for the owner of a shoe-store chain and his wife. According to Goff, Mrs. Gryder’s favorite color was “glitz”. This may have led him to choose a bright lavender purple for the exterior, considering that purple is often associated with royalty and glamor [2]. Goff also claimed that Mr. and Mrs. Gryder wanted to abstain from “straight lines”, and incorporate curves into the geometries of the house [3]. When presenting the Gryder’s with their new house, Goff states that the couple was “alarmed”, but they have developed a liking for its unconventional style since then [3]. In 2005, the Gryder House survived hurricane Katrina [4]. The Gryder’s son, Bill Gryder, still resides in the house [2].

Architecture:
The bulk of the house is designed with curvilinear geometries. The roof is shaped like a concave curve, creating two upturned wings on the left and right side [1]. The house is encompassed by a moat-like lily pond. To enter the house, one would have to cross a bridge, covered by a convexly curved awning, and through a circular doorway [1]. The entryway serves as the axis of symmetry for the house [4]. Upon approaching, the viewer may observe upside-down cones perched on either side of the house. These unusual conical shapes are the balconies that stem from the primary bedrooms. The use of circular balconies provides the resident with a 360 degree view over the lily pond. Between the entryway and each conical balcony, Goff inserted large, teardrop-shaped windows on the facade of the house.

Inside the house, one would find a conical fireplace ornamented in turquoise tiles. Goff often connected his interior spaces to the exterior structure by using the same unusual shapes (in this case, cones). The fireplace lies directly in front of the entryway, which carries the essence of symmetry indoors. Behind this fireplace, two sweeping staircases carry the eye towards the ceiling. These staircases are bordered with an ornate, semi-circular gold railing. Each bedroom upstairs not only consisted of an exterior balcony, but an interior balcony as well. These balconies are another example of Goff’s ability to maintain harmony between exterior and interior spaces [4].

Sources:

 * 1) Henderson, Arn. Bruce Goff: Architecture of Discipline in Freedom. University of Oklahoma Press, 27 Apr. 2017, pp. 239-248.
 * 2) Fortini, Amanda. “The Man Who Made Wildly Imaginative, Gloriously Disobedient Buildings.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 10 Sept. 2018.
 * 3) Rosell, Thomas. Preservation in Mississippi, WordPress, 12 Feb. 2017, misspreservation.com/2016/06/17/bruce-goffs-mississippi-work-in-his-own-spoken-words/.
 * 4) Craig, M. Robert. “Bruce Goff Houses.” Mississippi Encyclopedia, Center for Study of Southern Culture, 25 Apr. 2018, mississippiencyclopedia.org/entries/bruce-goff-houses/.

History:
The Glen Harder house was commissioned for Glen and Luetta Harder [1]. It is located in a rural area of Mountain Lake, Minnesota [2]. Glen Harder was a turkey farmer who became familiar with Bruce Goff through a magazine article, and was fond of Goff’s unique style [1]. Harder was so intrigued by his style that he even asked Goff to design a home for his parents, Jacob and Anna Harder [1]. The Jacob Harder house still stands in Mountain Lake, MN, but the Glen Harder house was burned to the ground in 1994 [2]

Architecture:
The Glen Harder house was constructed to take advantage of the landscape; it was a lengthy house that paralleled the direction of the sowed cornfields. Ironically, some critics have stated that the body of the house resembles a bird, or moreover, a turkey [2]. Goff covered the structure with a bright, reddish-orange Astroturf roof, shaped like a convex curve with multiple sharp edges pointing towards the ground [2]. It is believed that the Glen Harder house was the first house in history to use indoor-outdoor carpeting as a roof [3]. Orange was said to be Luetta’s favorite color. Simultaneously, it is the complementary color of the dark green corn leaves that surrounded the structure [1]. Despite these coincidences, when Goff was asked why he chose to cover the house with this unusual material and color, he simply replied “well, I wanted that color and I wanted to try it” [3]. Three stone chimneys rose above this roof, each topped with a concave metal cap with sharp edges pointing towards the sky. The chimneys are somewhat lopsided, and become more slender as they go up [1]. Goff was often known for his organic architecture; he preferred to use materials that came directly from his surroundings. Supposedly, the stones used in these chimneys were all found in a nearby river [2].

Sources:

 * 1) Henderson, Arn. Bruce Goff: Architecture of Discipline in Freedom. University of Oklahoma Press, 27 Apr. 2017, pp. 239-248.
 * 2) Carroll, Heather. “Quirkiness: A Guide to the Architecture of Minnesota.” Weisman Art Museum, University of Minnesota Archives, 2 Jan. 2018.
 * 3) Rosell, Thomas. Preservation in Mississippi, WordPress, 12 Feb. 2017 misspreservation.com/2016/06/17/bruce-goffs-mississippi-work-in-his-own-spoken-words/.