Photography by Jay Pigeon, Integrated Media Systems

Many from the Washington, DC, design community, including architects, builders, and interior designers, who gathered last Friday night for a luxurious party at Charles Luck Stone Center in Chantilly, VA, were wowed by the sophisticated showroom that greeted them. Unlike most stone warehouses that have huge slabs of raw stone with few refinements, this one is in a league of its own. This is the second bash Charles Luck, Integrated Media Systems (IMS), and Washington Spaces has hosted within two-and-a-half weeks to highlight their products and services.

Nancy Colbert of Design Partners LLC and Marilyn Burroughs of New Leaf Collaborative Architecture & Design PLC both commented that the clean-lined space, which looks as if it evolved over many years from one small red stone building that could have originally been an old factory, would be a wonderful resource to work with a client.

“I’ve seen some stones here that I’ve never seen before and I thought I’d seen everything,” Colbert says. “When you take a client to a granite yard, it’s overwhelming, really mind-boggling. To come here and see the same stone with different finishes – well polished stone or a honed stone or a stone that’s been flamed – is great.”

Laura Lim, sales and marketing manager of Morton’s The Steakhouse – Tysons Corner, gets the scoop on semi-precious gemstones held together with epoxy resin from William Shifflett of Charles Luck Stone. Great minds think alike, the same cool Bendant lamp by MIO Culture that is featured in the showroom graces the What’s New page in the current issue of Washington Spaces.

“People like to touch stone, it’s a very emotional buy,” says William Shifflett, director of operations of Charles Luck Stone, adding that the center can custom make just about whatever a client desires. “Someone can say, ‘I grew up in a house with a huge limestone fireplace,’ and we can replicate that,” he says, mentioning that people bring in paint chips and fabric swatches, and plan their projects in the showroom.

“It’s exciting to be here,” says Michael Roberson of Michael Roberson Interior Design, who has brought clients to Charles Luck Stone in the past. She and her husband, Rob Roberson, enjoyed the wine tasting provided by The Vintage Vintner, among other amenities.

Michael and Rob Roberson relax in a conference room with stone planking that looks like a hardwood floor.

A custom made limestone fireplace and intricate mosaic hearth are integrated into the Charles Luck Stone Center showroom.

Lynn and Mark Fernandes - he’s president of Charles Luck Stone Centers - exchanged ideas with Daniel Steinkoler, owner of Superior Home Services Inc., who says he had a “blast” that evening.

Left to right: Washington Spaces Senior Account Executive Emilia Philip, Associate Publisher Heather Heider, Greg Powell, sales manager and hardscape developer of Lewis Aquatech, Don Gwiz, vice president of Lewis Aquatech, and Beth Powell, enjoy the evening.

Susan Utley of Design Studio of Bethesda chats with Randy Gore of Charles Luck Stone.

Randy Gore of Charles Luck Stone escorted interior designer Susan Utley of Design Studio around the showroom, while her friend, Lisa Tureson of Faux Creations Inc., a decorative art firm, explored and looked for particular stones. John Kiernan of Blue Line Studios, which also specializes in glorious decorative finishes and murals, enjoyed the many luxurious elements of the evening, including the Lamborghini, Maserati, and GranTurismo from Ferrari Maserati of Washington that were parked just outside the building. IMS provided six Sharp LCDs placed around the showroom that played a continuous loop about luxury providers Charles Luck, Ferrari, Maserati, and IMS.

Lisa Tureson of Faux Creations Inc. examined the beautiful selection of stone.

Maureen Morris, co-owner of Morris Stone Inc., Tom Wells, president of Integrated Media Systems, and Heather Heider, associate publisher of Washington Spaces, shared a few laughs.

Many raved about the delicious jumbo shrimp and delectable crab cakes that Laura Lim and her crew from Morton’s The Steakhouse Tysons Corner served. Heather Heider of Washington Spaces ate one irresistible bite-sized cheesecake by Fresh Confections and said she thought she’d died and gone to heaven.

Lee Odess, director of marketing and sales for IMS, takes a tasty break with his fiancée, Jen Ingberg, owner of Fresh Confections.

Left to right: Front row, Jim Colbert and his wife Nancy Colbert of Design Partners LLC, Rebecca Hubler of Designed Interiors and her husband David, and back row, Paul Parker and his wife Jennifer Parker of Patera Home LLC enjoyed the festivities of the evening.

The intriguing architecture of the building, designed by Andrew Moore of Glavé and Holmes Associates, impressed Architect John Burroughs of New Leaf Collaborative Architecture & Design, the most. “You would really want to bring clients here,” Burroughs says.

John and Marilyn Burroughs admired the architecture of the Charles Luck Stone Center, which he says reminds him of an old mill.

Mark Fernandes had the last word as he pointed out that the red stone at the core of the building was hand-tooled Chinese sandstone from the same province where Confucius was born. Now that’s impressive.

Down in the dumps? Do you come home alone, not wanting to show anyone inside? Do you stare at the walls a lot? Can’t sleep at night in your sad little room?

Forget romance. This is a case of unrequited house love. And Architect Bruce Wentworth wants to help. He’s got a new advice column called Ask the Architect, in which he describes the most popular architectural styles of homes in the DC region and answers your questions about the best way to remodel to suit a home’s basic style.

The homes he portrays in his textbook-worthy essays on architectural styles don’t look like they need any help. The implication here is that your house – the house NOT of your dreams – could look like these:

Under the site’s Q&A Section, Wentworth offers advice to people who send in their remodeling questions. You can submit your own question by clicking “Contact” on the site’s home page and watch for your answer to appear in the Q&A.

And as they say on TV, that’s not all! Starting next week, Wentworth will introduce a blog containing his architectural observations, such as a green kitchen remodel he recently completed or the New England architecture he’s witnessing this week during his vacation in Maine.

Don’t despair, homeowners. Unlike a bad boyfriend, whom you’ll never be able to change, a frustrating home is eminently changeable. Just ask the architect.

So, would you pay almost $600 for a stock pot?

I had to wonder when I noticed this new line of cookware by British architect John Pawson.

After some clicking around, I quickly realized the cachet behind his name. He is credited with bringing the minimalist look into public consciousness. His architectural commissions include Calvin Klein’s flagship store in New York,  a monastery in the Czech Republic,  and the renovation of a London car dealership into a retail temple for B&B Italia, among many other celebrated works, including homes, museum galleries, restaurants, and stage sets. He literally wrote the book on minimalism, called Minimum. 

The new line for Belgian cookware manufacturer Demeyere is Pawson’s latest homewares design, introduced on the occasion of Demeyere’s 100th anniversary in May.

This is what Pawson has to say about it on his Web site:
“A museum director once said of my work, ‘Everything starts with the kitchen.’ What he meant was that houses are the heart of the work and kitchens are the heart of the houses. My collaboration with Demeyere started with the idea of providing these most important of contemporary living spaces with a set of core equipment which would combine functional sophistication with the highest design values.”

Need another reason to be outside on a cool morning, a sunny afternoon, or a velvety summer evening? I think we may have found one! Garden Architects in Annapolis stocks an array of outdoor furniture that Jennifer pithily described as “so unusual” – in the best possible way, of course. We’re talking beautiful unusual, envious-neighbors unusual, spend-hours-on-their-Web-site unusual.

The first thing that caught my eye was the Frank Lloyd Wright Stonework.

Frederick C. Robie Residence Vase

Johnson Wax Building Vase

These pieces have some power, right? They’re strangely primitive-yet-futuristic, blending noiselessly into the scenery, making a statement when you take the time to examine them. The beveled edges of the Johnson Wax Building Vase have me swooning! So strong, so refined…

This heading had me intrigued as well: Party Gear! No sense in mincing words, right?

It was so exciting to see the piece in Sunday’s Washington Post about modern architecture in DC, which includes profiles on the work of Simon Jacobsen and Travis Price. It’s great to see other publications celebrating DC’s modernist gems.

Our current issue’s Best of Remodeling competition awarded Simon Jacobsen for  “Washed in White," a breathtakingly spacious, light-filled, and thoroughly modern interior.

Remodel by Simon Jacobsen

In 2006, we showcased his work on a Watergate condo, where he reorganized the awkward floor plan to create a clean and streamlined space.

Watergate condo design by Simon Jacobsen

In 2005, we examined the very house where Simon spent his childhood, which was designed by his father, architect Hugh Newell Jacobsen.

Home of Hugh Newell Jacobsen

In fall 2006, we recognized the creative breadth of Travis Price, whose projects included a space that he “psychologically doubled” in size using glass and natural light.

A renovation by Travis Price

Washington Spaces always has its eye on modernism, noting local standouts such as the cool, colorful Arlington home of Jack and Cathy Gerstein,

… and the minimal-but-tactile Maryland Apartment of Irene and Alfred Roth.

Last night was a big night for us at Washington Spaces, as we helped host two events to celebrate fabulous design.

The Washington Spaces staff at Boffi Studio DC

We started at Morton’s The Steakhouse in Tysons Corner, where we honored the winners of this year’s Washington Spaces Best of Interior Design competition.  We presented them with framed layouts of their projects from our Spring issue and toasted them with free-flowing wine while enjoying delectable hors d’oeuvres.

Then we dashed over to Georgetown to Boffi Studio DC,  where we co-sponsored a reception to celebrate its first anniversary in Cady’s Alley. Paolo Boffi himself came from Italy for the occasion, where he introduced a new version of the Minikitchen, originally designed by his friend Joe Colombo in 1962.

Keep reading for a rundown of the Seen and Heard.

Now that it’s the summer tourist season, it’s timely to note the city’s major monuments, even for us natives. That’s where a gorgeous book that came out earlier this year can make your visits even more interesting: The Italian Legacy in Washington, D.C.: Architecture, Design, Art and Culture, edited by Luca Molinari and Andrea Canepari (Rizzoli International, $70).

Consider:

• The dome of Rome’s Pantheon can be seen in many incarnations at the U.S. Capitol, the Jefferson Memorial, the National Gallery of Art and Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello.
  
• An Italian sculptor and his five brothers carved the statue of Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial.
• The interior of the Capitol Rotunda (the famous “Apotheosis of George Washington,” which graces the book’s cover) and the Capitol’s many corridors and offices showcase the ornate paintings of the Italian-American Constantino Brumidi.
• The iconic curves of the Watergate Complex were designed by Italian architect Luigi Moretti.
  
  

I’m ashamed to admit it: I had never heard of architect Jean Nouvel before I went to hear him speak at the National Building Museum on Tuesday, one day after he was awarded architecture’s most prestigious prize, the Pritzker Prize, at the Library of Congress. I wasn’t sure what to expect. I am a fan of old architecture, the stories it tells, its position as a witness to history, its representation of the era that produced it. However, all of my preconceived notions about modern architecture were shattered like beams of light refracting through the mesh-like roof of Nouvel’s Louvre Abu Dhabi. His breathtaking work is symbolic, resonant, and at least as vocal as anything that came before it.

above: Arab World Institute, Paris

Alarm bells sounded in my head on Sunday afternoon – and no, it had nothing to do with the realization that my glorious mini-vacation was coming to an end. I had just spotted an article in the New York Times describing the plight of a modest little house in Connecticut with a design pedigree that belies its size. Designed by Philip Johnson, "the most celebrated architect of the last half-century," according to the Times’ Andy Newman, the house has been languishing on the market for a year at $3.1 million. Its owner, reluctant to lower the price, is now considering tearing it down, much to the horror of mid-century architecture enthusiasts.

The DC area is home to many modern residences with similar historical and artistic significance. Could such a thing happen in our neck of the woods? My fears were assuaged by Mike Shapiro, the mid-century modern maven behind Modern Capital, an excellent blog that focuses on residential modernism in the DC area. Shapiro’s blog attempts to dispel the “false perception” that the DC area has virtually no modern homes or communities. His site has seen a rise in traffic to nearly 5,000 visits per month after two years, which indicates the presence of a “growing niche” of people who love modernism, he says. Keep reading for a list of his favorite mid-century modern communities.

Photography by KENNETH M. WYNER

We all saw the forces of nature at work in the DC region last night, with the heavy rains, the thunder, the lightening…. So let’s pause today for a few words from a local architect who is internationally known for his embrace of nature, Travis Price.

“It’s great to see modernism emerging all over DC at last, but in the rush, how do we go seriously green , not token green,” he writes in an e-mail. “I think we are all tiring of green, green, green….and we may get more traction with a little purple!”

For more on Price, whose thoughts we’ve featured in the magazine,