frank lloyd wright's rare usonian automatic house joins US national register of historic places

"The United States Secretary of the Interior has officially listed the Kalil House in Manchester, New Hampshire, , in the National Register of Historic Places, a rare recognition for one of only seven Usonian Automatic homes ever constructed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The property, now owned by the Currier Museum of Art, stands as one of the best-preserved examples of the architect's late-career vision for democratic, high-quality housing accessible to the American middle class."

"Located on Heather Street in Manchester's North End, just three doors down from Wright's Zimmerman House, the Kalil House retains an extraordinary degree of authenticity. Since its completion in 1957, it has undergone no alterations or major restorations, preserving nearly all of its original Wright-designed furniture, lighting, fixtures, rugs, and textiles. Even the stainless-steel kitchen appliances remain largely intact, offering an almost time-capsule view into Wright's holistic design philosophy."

"The Usonian Automatic series, a variant of his earlier Usonian concept, aimed to combine affordability, simplicity, and beauty through modular concrete construction. Wright patented a system of interlocking blocks reinforced with horizontal and vertical steel rods, theoretically allowing homeowners to fabricate and assemble their own dwellings. In practice, the process proved far more demanding than envisioned. The Kalil House alone required 2,580 blocks weighing over 150 tons in total, and though its estimated cost was $25,000, the final figure tripled to $75,000."

Kalil House in Manchester, New Hampshire, has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is owned by the Currier Museum of Art. The house sits on Heather Street near Wright's Zimmerman House and retains an extraordinary degree of authenticity, with no alterations since completion in 1957 and nearly all original Wright-designed furniture, lighting, fixtures, rugs, textiles, and stainless-steel kitchen appliances preserved. The Usonian Automatic concept used patented interlocking concrete blocks reinforced with steel rods to enable modular, affordable construction, but the Kalil House required 2,580 blocks weighing over 150 tons and saw costs rise from an estimated $25,000 to $75,000. The house is one of only seven Usonian Automatic structures and stands as a well-preserved example of Wright's late-career residential vision.

Read at designboom | architecture & design magazine