Hope’s Windows Part of Award- Winning Restoration Project
RAUH HOUSE CAPTURES DESIGN AWARD OF EXCELLENCE FROM DOCOMOMO US
The newly restored Frederick and Harriet Rauh House in Cincinnati, updated with Hope’s University Series™ solid hot-rolled steel windows, recently garnered a Residential Design Award of Excellence from Docomomo US.
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The Rauh House, built in 1938, is considered an icon of International Style Modernism in the United States. Docomomo US is the United States chapter of the international organization dedicated to the documentation and protection of architecture, landscape and urban design of the Modern Movement.
The restoration team included the Cincinnati Preservation Association (CPA) and its executive director, Paul Muller, AIA; Andrew Schaub, AIA, and Rick Koehler, AIA, Architects Plus; and Emily Rauh Pulitzer, who grew up in the house.
“The windows were a critical part of the restoration of the Rauh House,” says Muller. “Hope’s windows were chosen for the project because of their ability to achieve the exact opening sizes while providing thermal performance we expect today.”
One of the first International Style residences in Ohio, the house was designed by Modernist architect John Becker for insurance executive Frederick Rauh and his wife, Harriet.
The CPA website says, “Both architect and client were part of a dynamic community that advocated for the arts, civil rights, the benefits of contact with nature and the thoughtful treatment of food. In fact, later in life Becker retired from architecture and joined his wife, Marion Rombauer Becker, as an editor of her best-selling cookbook, ‘The Joy of Cooking’.”
In 2010, Emily Rauh Pulitzer, daughter of the original owners, donated the house and land to the CPA with funds for the restoration. She worked closely with the restoration team and encouraged educational events such as the “Preservation of Modern Architecture in the Midwest” symposium.
Though it is once again a private residence, tours and lectures continue to be held at the site that help raise awareness of the issues surrounding the preservation of modern architecture.
The Jury Chair for the Residential Design Award of Excellence, Frederick A. Bland, FAIA, A/CP, said this of the project, “An unusual example of the International Style of Modernism in Ohio, this scholarly and holistic approach to the preservation of this severely deteriorated house and site will provide future generations a rich example of the full spectrum of many components of modernism. Not only will the building itself be preserved but also the landscape, furnishings, and art. A laudable added feature, a public outreach program including tours and symposia, is intended to engage and instruct the public.“
In 2015, the Rauh House became the first Modernist residence in Ohio to receive the Preservation Merit Award by the Ohio Historic Preservation Office (OHPO). The Rauh House also received a 2013 Residential Rehabilitation Award from Heritage Ohio.
In addition, the Rauh House has just been added to the National Register of Historic Places.
For more information about the project and the full project team visit:
https://cincinnatipreservation.org/rauh-house-restoration/
Docomomo International was founded in 1988 in The Netherlands. It now has national chapters in 69 countries.
During the 100-year history of Hope’s Windows, Inc., its custom, solid hot-rolled steel and bronze windows and doors have graced preservation projects and other high-profile buildings all over the United States.
Hope’s University Series steel window profiles were designed for projects requiring historic replication of putty glazed steel windows. The fixed and operable configurations accommodate either monolithic or insulated glass. The unique window profiles and very narrow sightlines are ideal for renovation projects or new construction.
Photos courtesy Cincinnati Preservation Association
