Donald and Helen Olsen House
Encyclopedia
The Donald and Helen Olsen House, in Berkeley, California
, was built in 1954.
It is a Modernist, International-style
house designed by architect Donald Olsen. Olsen was a native of Minnesota who studied under Walter Gropius
at Harvard and established an architecture practice in Berkeley in 1953.
The house is situated on a slope in the North Berkeley Hills
near John Hinkel Park. The structure's main floor was built above ground level to maximize the site's views of San Francisco Bay
and the Golden Gate Bridge
. However, the view has been obscured over the years by the growth of mature trees on the property. The National Park Service
described the house's style as follows: "The house's design is specifically the International style popularized in Europe by architects Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
, Walter Gropius, and Le Corbusier
. The Olsen House displays the geometries, ethos, strict formalism and rigor that embody this utopian style." The house also includes a mural by artist Claire Falkenstein
.
The building was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
on October 1, 2010. The listing was announced as the featured listing in the National Park Service's weekly list of October 8, 2010. In its write-up, the Park Service called Olsen "an important mid-20th-century Bay Area architect."
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, was built in 1954.
It is a Modernist, International-style
International style (architecture)
The International style is a major architectural style that emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, the formative decades of Modern architecture. The term originated from the name of a book by Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson, The International Style...
house designed by architect Donald Olsen. Olsen was a native of Minnesota who studied under Walter Gropius
Walter Gropius
Walter Adolph Georg Gropius was a German architect and founder of the Bauhaus School who, along with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier, is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modern architecture....
at Harvard and established an architecture practice in Berkeley in 1953.
The house is situated on a slope in the North Berkeley Hills
Berkeley Hills
The Berkeley Hills are a range of the Pacific Coast Ranges that overlook the northeast side of the valley that surrounds San Francisco Bay. They were previously called the "Contra Costa Range/Hills" , but with the establishment of Berkeley and the University of California, the current usage was...
near John Hinkel Park. The structure's main floor was built above ground level to maximize the site's views of San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
and the Golden Gate Bridge
Golden Gate Bridge
The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the opening of the San Francisco Bay into the Pacific Ocean. As part of both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1, the structure links the city of San Francisco, on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula, to...
. However, the view has been obscured over the years by the growth of mature trees on the property. The National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
described the house's style as follows: "The house's design is specifically the International style popularized in Europe by architects Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was a German architect. He is commonly referred to and addressed as Mies, his surname....
, Walter Gropius, and Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
. The Olsen House displays the geometries, ethos, strict formalism and rigor that embody this utopian style." The house also includes a mural by artist Claire Falkenstein
Claire Falkenstein
Claire Falkenstein was an American sculptor, painter, printmaker, jewelry designer, and teacher, most renowned for her often large-scale abstract metal and glass public sculptures.-Early life and education:...
.
The building was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on October 1, 2010. The listing was announced as the featured listing in the National Park Service's weekly list of October 8, 2010. In its write-up, the Park Service called Olsen "an important mid-20th-century Bay Area architect."