D.7.0 - 4509 Balcones Dr — original pdf

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HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION OCTOBER 26, 2020 DEMOLITION AND RELOCATION PERMITS GF-20-140200 4509 BALCONES DRIVE D.7 - 1 PROPOSAL Construct an addition to a ca. 1959 residence. PROJECT SPECIFICATIONS 1) Partially demolish exterior at north side of house. 2) Construct a single-story addition. The proposed addition features a flat roof, stone veneer and horizontal wood siding, a flat roof with exposed rafter tails, fixed and casement windows, and sliding glass doors. 3) Add casement and fixed windows at the west and north elevations. ARCHITECTURE RESEARCH Split-level house with horizontal and vertical wood siding; fixed and sliding undivided full- height and ribbon windows; a cross-gabled roof with gable-end detailing, exposed rafter tails, deep eaves, and triangular brackets; and Japanese-inspired decorative wood details at railings, roofline, and fenestration. The site is terraced with masonry retaining walls that follow the contours of its topography, softening the transition between house and landscape. The building at 4509 Balcones Drive was constructed in 1959 by architect David C. Graeber as his personal dwelling. Graeber, who moved to Austin to attend the University of Texas School of Architecture after building homes with his father’s lumber business in San Antonio, joined Kuhne, Brooks, and Barr in 1957. He became a firm partner in 1961. When the firm began consulting for the University of Texas in 1962, Graeber led the design teams for all new UT buildings for the next four years. He established Graeber, Simmons, and Cowan in 1978. Notable projects throughout Graeber’s career include the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library, the All Faiths Chapel of the Austin State Supported Living Center, the Johnson Space Center in Houston, the U.S. Consulate in Mexico City, numerous high-tech firms in Austin, and pro-bono work at the Paramount Theater, the Long Center, and the Austin Convention Center. Graeber also participated enthusiastically in the revitalization of Austin’s downtown. Through a philosophy of “continuity, not conflict,” (Austin-American Statesman, 1965) he championed urban living and moved his family to Sixth Street in 1967, restoring and landmarking a nineteenth-century stone building where he lived for the next forty years. Since then, his vision of a skyscraper-filled residential downtown has come to fruition. He served on the boards of the Texas Society of Architects, Old Pecan Street Association, and other civic-minded planning and architecture organizations. In 1969, he chaired the Governor’s Conference on Urban Affairs, and later initiated Austin’s street tree planting program along Congress Avenue. STAFF COMMENTS Designation Criteria—Historic Landmark 1) The building is more than 50 years old. 2) The building retains high integrity. The rear deck and pool do not appear to be original but have not irreversibly altered the building’s form. D.7 - 2 3) Properties must meet two historic designation criteria for landmark designation (LDC §25-2-352). The property may demonstrate significance according to City Code: a) Architecture. The building is constructed in the Contemporary style (McAlester, 2017). Its use of natural materials, its low-slung form that blends into the hillside, its continuous expanses of glass, and its Japanese-inspired detailing—deep roof overhangs with exposed rafters, styled wood railings and gable ornamentation, “panelized” walls and windows, and the building’s overall orientation around a semi- interior courtyard—exemplify the style. This is a rare example of Graeber’s residential design; his well-known projects are primarily commercial, institutional, and civic buildings. b) Historical association. The building is associated with Austin architect David C. Graeber. As the home he designed for himself during the era of his ascension in Texas architecture, 4509 Balcones Dr. appears to be the most closely associated residential property extant in Austin. (Graeber’s work on the commercial building at 410 E. 6th Street was limited to interior changes and restoration of the 19th-century exterior. Graeber chose to nominate the building for designation in 1974). c) Archaeology. The house was not evaluated for its potential to yield significant data concerning the human history or prehistory of the region. d) Community value. The house does not possess a unique location, physical characteristic, or significant feature that contributes to the character, image, or cultural identity of the city, the neighborhood, or a particular demographic group. e) Landscapefeature. The property is not a significant natural or designed landscape with artistic, aesthetic, cultural, or historical value to the city. The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation are used to evaluate alterations to historic properties. Applicable standards may include: 2. The historic character of a property shall be retained and preserved. The removal of historic materials or alteration of features and spaces that characterize a property shall be avoided. A minimal amount of historic fabric at the north elevation, which includes a character-defining gable end, will be removed to accommodate the new addition. 9. New additions, exterior alterations, or related new construction shall not destroy historic materials that characterize the property. The new work shall be differentiated from the old and shall be compatible with the massing, size, scale, and architectural features to protect the historic integrity of the property and its environment. The proposed addition’s flat roof, fenestration pattern, and stone veneer cladding differentiate it from the historic portion of the building. Its use of natural cladding, its overall fenestration patterns, and its single-story horizontal massing are compatible with the existing building. The addition’s position on the site may alter the building’s relationship to the landscape. 10. New additions and adjacent or related new construction shall be undertaken in such a manner that if removed in the future, the essential form and integrity of the historic property and its environment would be unimpaired. If the proposed addition were removed in the future, some work would be required to restore the original form at the north elevation. The remainder of the building would be unimpaired. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Refer the applicant to the Architectural Review Committee, and consider initiation of historic zoning based on the house’s architecture and association with David C. Graeber. Should the Commission choose instead to release the permit, suggest that the addition be refined to reduce visibility, then require completion of a City of Austin Documentation Package.  LOCATION MAP D.7 - 3  PROPERTY INFORMATION Photos D.7 - 4  D.7 - 5 Source: Zillow.com, 2020  D.7 - 6  D.7 - 7 D.7 - 8 Source: Applicant, 2020 Occupancy History Note: post-1959 research unavailable due to facility closure  Biographical Information D.7 - 9 David Graeber. David Graeber, architect, age 81, died peacefully at home on February 28, 2010. Survived by his wife of 39 years, Jean Graeber; two sons, Terry and Larry Graeber; daughter-in-law, Sharon Graeber; and granddaughter, Aiyin Graeber. David was born in Amarillo, Texas on September 14, 1928 the son of Hazel and Calvert Graeber. Preceded in death by his parents; sister, Charis McAllister; brothers, Keith McAllister and Peter Graeber; daughter, Jeeta Lynn Graeber; and stepdaughter, Kelly Donovan. Raised in San Antonio, Texas where he attended Brackenridge High School, a member of the Boy Scouts, a flying enthusiast working at Stinson Field and hauling lumber for his dad's lumber business, Graeber Lumber. At the age of 19, partnered with his dad to form a home building business, building what they called Ranchita homes. Married Jeeta Friend in 1949. In 1950 David enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin, built houses during the summer to pay tuition, and graduated with honors receiving a bachelor's degree in architecture in 1955, having already passed the State Board of Architectural Examiners test in 1954. Following school he joined the firm of Kuehne, Brooks and Barr, becoming a partner of the firm in 1961 when it was called Brooks, Barr, Graeber and White. Acknowledging numerous mentors who guided and influenced his participation in and leadership of many notable projects some of them being the University of Texas medical schools in Houston and San Antonio, research labs and dormitories for the University of Texas, the United States Embassy in Mexico City as architectural representative of the project, assistant to the project manager and director of architecture for the Johnson Spacecraft Center, Houston. His firm became consulting architects for the University of Texas system in 1962 and he was responsible for leading teams for the design of buildings on all UT campuses for a four year period, and in the spring of 1979 and 1980 did adjunct teaching for the Center of Middle Eastern Studies at UT, an experience he enjoyed very much. David also worked in association with other firms such as Skidmore, Owens and Merrill, building the LBJ Presidential Library and School of Public Affairs. Because of work done with Brown and Root on the Johnson Space Center he was often consulted for design solutions, one of which led to one of his favorite projects, crew quarters for British Petroleum at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, referring to it as the most intriguing project of his career. After much work in Saudi Arabia for 3-D International he formed the firm of Graeber, Simmons and Cowan in 1978 with one University of Texas job which evolved from a three-man firm into a 110 employee firm at his retirement. Graeber, Simmons and Cowan designed high-tech projects, helping to bring such companies as Sematech, Motorola, Advanced Micro Devices and Applied Materials to Austin. Not neglecting pro bono work that included the Paramount Theater, The Long Center, master plans for the site selection of the Austin Convention Center, among others. Socially responsible, David served on boards from the Texas Society of Architects, Children's Museum, the Real Estate Commission, The Old Pecan St. Association and acted as Chair of the Governor's Conference on Urban Affairs, 1969. In 1967, elevating his commitment to the city of Austin and the renewal of the inner-city, he bought an old building on run down east 6th Street, refurbishing it into a town home where he and his wife Jean lived until his death. This instigated the revitalization of 6th Street making it an integral part of downtown Austin where David planted the first tree on its sidewalk and initiated a program called, Street Trees for Austin which resulted in the planting of trees on major streets including Congress Avenue.  D.7 - 10 In 1970 he married Jean Donovan and together they involved themselves in community service. David played hard. As a young man he belonged to a mountaineering club making many climbs. Later his interests evolved into racing automobiles and then sailing, crossing the Gulf of Mexico on two occasions and often sailed in the Caribbean, finally barging the canals of France. In retirement he found time for his love of books, spending months in England and hours in the Bodleian Library of Oxford reading and theorizing on pyramid construction and resource management, a time he referred to as ‘total freedom’. When traveling became difficult he and Jean bought a condominium in San Antonio to be closer to their granddaughter and family, spending weeks and months at a time there. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the maintenance fund of The Chapel, designed by David Graeber, on the campus of the Austin State Supported Living Center, which when erected in 1961 was referred to as The Chapel for the Children, now The Chapel for the State Supported Living Center. . . https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/statesman/obituary.aspx?n=david-graeber&pid=140282941 The Austin American-Statesman, 2010:  D.7 - 11 San Antonio Express-News, 2010: https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Graeber- who-led-Johnson-Space-Center-architects-789487.php  D.7 - 12  D.7 - 13 Austin American-Statesman, 2012: https://www.statesman.com/article/20120901/news/309012375 The Austin American: Nov 10, 1957  D.7 - 14 The Austin Statesman: Dec 8, 1961 The Austin Statesman: May 9, 1962  D.7 - 15 The Austin American: Jan 31, 1965  D.7 - 16  D.7 - 17 The Austin Statesman: Jul 10, 1965  D.7 - 18  D.7 - 19 Texas Architect, March/April 1979, p. 19-20: https://usmodernist.org/TA/TA-1979-03-04.pdf  D.7 - 20 DOCOMOMO, 2016: https://docomomo-us.org/event/a-house-of-prayer-for-all-people-david-graeber-s- all-faiths-chapel  D.7 - 21 Curbed.com, 2019: https://austin.curbed.com/2019/6/20/18693465/austin-homes-for-sale-midcentury- modern  D.7 - 22 “Graeber House at 410,” 2020 (venue website: https://www.410e6th.com/ )  Building Permits D.7 - 23 Water tap permit, 7-13-59 Sewer tap permit, 5-14-59 Building permit, 5-19-59