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Rachofsky House 

Photographer: Scott Frances 

Architect/Designer: Richard Meier & Partners

Client: Richard Meier & Partners

Location: Dallas, TX

Shoot Date: 
January 01, 1996 
The Rachofsky House is both a continuation and departure in relation to the thirty year history of Richard Meier houses. The house is a clean geometric volume wedded to its surroundings by views from the inside. What is new is the attenuated physical separation of the house from the earth, effected here by a black granite podium extending from the apex of the sloped driveway to a sculpted pool terrace on the house's rear face. At the entry, a wall and an art gallery stand as a protective layer from a major thoroughfare to the subsequent space which fronts the main residence. The main structure is comprised of three elemental parts. A cubic solid houses the private and service areas. The remaining primary element is a suspended vertical plane which serves as a buffer between public and private zones. The living room on the second level commands a view of the sculpted podium and the landscape to the west. Also located on the second level are the library and guest bathrooms. The third level houses the master suite including bedroom, wardrobe, and bath, as well as a small study and exercise area which open to the living room below.Raised one meter above the ground, the podium underscores and deepens the relationship between the house and the natural setting. It is difficult to view the Rachofsky House as anything but a finely machined object, yet the abstraction of the Texas earth into a composition of black stone and water allows one to fully appreciate the formal elegance and complexity of the architecture, independent of its relationship to the natural realm. It is a gesture at once bold and diplomatic, simultaneously interpreting the ground and acknowledging its primacy. 
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