Pierre Koenig's Scott House
By chance, they drove past Koenig’s Case Study House #1 in Glendale, which Koenig was using as his own residence at the time. The Scotts were so impressed by the house, that they rang the doorbell, met Koenig, and asked him to design their new home.
In 2014, Nikolaus Kraemer and Heather van Haaften, a couple that's passionate about midcentury-modern architecture and furniture, purchased the Scott House, originally designed in 1954 by Pierre Koenig. They sensitively restored the iconic house in a way that would reflect the property’s roots. "We knew of Koenig’s work when we first saw his iconic Stahl House. Heather and I were intrigued by his accurate rationale of steel being not just something you can ‘put up and take down,’ but a way of life," says Nikolaus, who compares their serendipitous acquisition to "owning an original Warhol, Lichtenstein, or Ruscha."
Edwin Scott and son Mike in front of Scott House in 1956. Though they were grateful to be able to purchase an iconic residence directly from its original owners—rather than one that had been altered by numerous people—the couple nonetheless had to invest a lot of time and effort in renovating and reviving the architectural gem. "Midcentury-modern homes can suffer from too many ambitious owners trying to improve their homes. Mostly, these attempts do more harm than good, and can even distort the original design," says Nikolaus.
The house's flat-roof structure had substantial damage that needed to be addressed. A few years after the house was built, a leak developed in the roof, so Edwin Scott had poured a four-inch layer of light concrete on the metal roof panels.
"By doing so, Edwin had hoped to 'seal' the roof from any further water leakage, but he overlooked the fact that metal and concrete result in an acid reaction. The surface of the roof then cracked and water came all the way through to the metal surface, causing hundreds of rusted holes to form over the decades. By removing the light concrete layer from the roof, we were able to save the original ceiling panels," says Nikolaus.
"Midcentury-modern homes can suffer from too many ambitious owners trying to improve their homes. Mostly, these attempts do more harm than good, and can even distort the original design," says Nikolaus.
Nikolaus and Heather hired Urban Innovations, Inc. and MIM Construction Inc. to work on the renovation. When the project began, they discovered that the electrical and plumbing systems were also in bad condition.
"The roof was in such bad shape that our contractor Meir Manor from MIM Construction suggested it might be cheaper to replace Koenig’s signature metal ceiling rather than try to fix it. That, of course, was out of the question. Eventually, Manor and his team found an effective and affordable way to save the original roof by gluing zinc patches on top of the hundreds of holes, filling them up with Bondo, a putty that's normally used as an anti-rust treatment for cars. He then sanded the entire bottom part of the ceiling to smooth it," says Heather.
The construction team then rust-proofed the roof by painting it with two layers of heavy-duty primer and a coat of white paint. They replaced all the electric and plumbing systems, as well as the glass panels. They also upgraded the kitchen, bathrooms, floors, driveway, and lighting.