In 1938, Theodore van Fossen, at 19 years old, received a commission for the design of a new home from Robert (Bob) and Mary Gunning for their property east of Columbus in what is now Reynoldsburg.
Fig. 1 > Conference just prior to client presentation of the Gunning House design. From left, Theodore van Fossen, Larry Cuneo, and Tony Smith.
The site, a wooded ravine, would provide an opportunity to make manifest what he had learned in his independent studies and the more formal curricula at the New Bauhaus in Chicago. Immediately, van Fossen contacted his friend, Tony Smith, to collaborate on the project.
Subsequent additions enlarged the home, including the 1963 Tower designed by van Fossen and constructed by Rush Creek Village builder Richard Wakefield.
Today's article in the Columbus Dispatch discusses the recent purchase of the Gunning House property, named "Glenbrow" by van Fossen, and its renovation, now in progress.
Fortunately for its new owners and for posterity, Bob Gunning was a talented photographer who documented his beautiful home as it grew over the years, beginning with these images in 1940.
Fig. 2 > Gunning House from ravine below
Fig. 3 > Sandstone throughout the house was quarried on site.
Fig. 4 > The western bedroom prior to a subsequent addition.
Fig. 5 > Detail of trellis element incorporated with adjacent existing mature maple.