Hugo Victor Neuhaus, Jr. House
Houston, Harris County, Texas
Marker Inscription
A significant example of the International style of architecture, the 1950 Neuhaus House has a strong horizontal emphasis and expression of private and public space, as well as an integration of living space and landscape. Architect and Houston native Hugo Victor Neuhaus, Jr. (1915-1987) designed the home for himself. He graduated from Yale University in 1938 and then attended the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, where the faculty included noted European modernists Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer. Following graduation in 1941, Neuhaus served in the U.S. Army Air Force, and he returned to Houston and wed Mary Wood Farish, widow of his cousin William Stamps Farish, Jr. Neuhaus joined the office of C. Herbert Cowell where he partnered from 1949 until the firm dissolved in 1962. During his early years with Cowell, he became the local associate architect to renowned designer Philip Johnson, who had strong ties to Mies van der Rohe, a preeminent innovator of the International style. Neuhaus' design for his own home shows a strong reflection of the modern styles he was exposed to at Harvard and to the work of van der Rohe. The house features planes of solid brick and glass walls. Through the large windows, the indoor rooms share visual space with a plunge pool and terraced outdoor living areas, designed in collaboration with Houston landscape architect C.C. "Pat" Fleming. The Neuhaus home, one of several celebrated Neuhaus designs, was frequently represented as a shining example of Houston's modern architecture, a legacy that continues today. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2005
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Houston architect Hugo Neuhaus designed this 1950 house for himself as a showcase of the International style, all horizontal planes of brick and glass merging indoor rooms with a plunge pool and terraced gardens. Trained at Yale and Harvard under European modernists Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer, Neuhaus went on to serve as local associate to Philip Johnson, a link that tied his work directly to Mies van der Rohe. His own home became a celebrated emblem of Houston's embrace of modern design.
Why it matters
The Neuhaus House marks the arrival of European modernism in postwar America, where a new generation of architects reshaped how the country imagined the private home.
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Related people
- · Hugo Victor Neuhaus, Jr.
- · Philip Johnson
Themes & tags
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