Currie House
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
The Currie House, also known as the "Pagoda House," is a historic home in Blacksburg, Virginia. This International-style dwelling was built in 1961 by Charles Pascoe. It was designed by Leonard J. Currie, a student and colleague of Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer, for his own personal use. Currie was the head of the Architecture School at Virginia Tech from 1956 to 1966. Both the award-winning home and contributing carport are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and are designated on the Virginia Landmarks Registry.
Images
The Currie House was designed by Leonard Currie, head of the Architecture School at Virginia Tech from 1956 to 1966
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
The Currie House is a residential structure built of wood, glass, and brick. It is located in the mid-twentieth century Highland subdivision of Blacksburg. This example of 1960s Modernist architecture is distinguishable by its prominent, sweeping hipped roof. The roof is pyramidal in design and covered by cedar shakes. When it rains, the water is directed into concealed gutters and falls from copper-lined scuppers on each side of the roof, finally splashing into four ornamental basins. Underneath the roof's overhang is a deck which encircles the one-and-a-half story square house.
Other than the unique roof, the structure's design is indicative of the International Style, such as the minimal use of ornamentation. The interior of the home is organized in an open-plan room arrangement, which surrounds a central brick chimney and service core. The Currie House won the American Institute of Architecture "Test of Time" Awards in 1962 and 1982.
Of particular interest is that the house was designed by architect Leonard J. Currie for his own family. Currie, a protege of the founders of the Bauhaus movement, was a faculty member at Virginia Polytechnic Institute at the time he designed the home. Prior to moving to Blacksburg, Currie has studied under Walter Gropius at Harvard. He had also apprenticed under Gropius and Marcel Breuer in Cambridge. After receiving Harvard's Wheelwright Traveling Fellowship, Currie worked on the reconstruction of the Mayan Ruinas de Copan before joining the Allies in Europe during the Second World War. After the war, he worked as a faculty member at Harvard and then became a professor and head of the Department of Architecture at Virginia Tech. Currie sold the house in 1966. In 1994, it was designated a Virginia Historic Landmark and added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Other than the unique roof, the structure's design is indicative of the International Style, such as the minimal use of ornamentation. The interior of the home is organized in an open-plan room arrangement, which surrounds a central brick chimney and service core. The Currie House won the American Institute of Architecture "Test of Time" Awards in 1962 and 1982.
Of particular interest is that the house was designed by architect Leonard J. Currie for his own family. Currie, a protege of the founders of the Bauhaus movement, was a faculty member at Virginia Polytechnic Institute at the time he designed the home. Prior to moving to Blacksburg, Currie has studied under Walter Gropius at Harvard. He had also apprenticed under Gropius and Marcel Breuer in Cambridge. After receiving Harvard's Wheelwright Traveling Fellowship, Currie worked on the reconstruction of the Mayan Ruinas de Copan before joining the Allies in Europe during the Second World War. After the war, he worked as a faculty member at Harvard and then became a professor and head of the Department of Architecture at Virginia Tech. Currie sold the house in 1966. In 1994, it was designated a Virginia Historic Landmark and added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Sources
"Currie House." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Accessed March 7, 2017. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Currie_House.
Loth, Calder. The Virginia Landmarks Register. Charlottesville: Published for the Virginia Dept. of Historic Resources by the University Press of Virginia, 1999.
"National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: Currie House." National Park Service. Last modified April 1994. http://www.dhr.Virginia.gov/registers/Counties/Montgomery/150-0019_Currie_House_1994_Final_Nominatio....
The Currie House; image by Kenneth Novy - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21844568.
Loth, Calder. The Virginia Landmarks Register. Charlottesville: Published for the Virginia Dept. of Historic Resources by the University Press of Virginia, 1999.
"National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: Currie House." National Park Service. Last modified April 1994. http://www.dhr.Virginia.gov/registers/Counties/Montgomery/150-0019_Currie_House_1994_Final_Nominatio....
The Currie House; image by Kenneth Novy - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21844568.