OUT OF THE TWISTER

BY NANCY COHEN

When an EF-4 tornado tore through North Dallas in October 2019, its destruction scarred the landscape as well as the psyches of those affected by it. Over the past few years, as whole neighborhoods are being rebuilt, the conundrum is whether to recreate what was there or completely shift course. With a blank slate, what would you do?

One couple, for whom this was not hypothetical, turned to architect Cliff Welch to help them rebuild. Welch has a longstanding working relationship with the clients’ interior designer, Robyn Menter of Robyn Menter Design Associates. The homeowners’ preference for something warm but modern aligned with Welch and Menter’s aesthetic, making the pair ideal for the project. Welch and his team brought fresh ideas to the project, including reorienting the house. With glass walls surrounding it on three sides, the pool courtyard became the focal point of the home. From inside, the view offers an evolving kaleidoscope through different times of the day and seasons of the year. Its dynamic beauty dissipated the homeowners’ initial, and understandable, concern about being enveloped in glass. It also realizes Welch’s vision of organically connecting the outdoors with the indoors.

For Welch, the swimming pool and reflecting pool also provide surfaces upon which light can play, creating a shifting panorama against the Florim porcelain facade. By giving the structure a lift, the architecture appears to float on the surface of the swimming pool. The landscaping and architecture interplay, giving the home what Welch refers to as a kinetic energy. That the landscaping became an active part of the design was intentional. With landscape architect John Armstrong of Armstrong Berger serving as an essential part of the design team, Welch notes, “The landscape, architecture, and interiors are all seamlessly integrated.”

Embodying the guiding principles of the International Style while exemplifying sustainability and timeless design, the retained exterior pallet includes split-faced Coldspring granite laid in a linear coursing that grounds the home and provides weight and permanence. The custom-fabricated louvered screen composed of aluminum airfoils provides subtle texture against the porcelain panel, glass, stone, and steel, as well as light control and privacy.

The exterior facade, with its nod to International Style, is welcoming to the street while still maintaining a sense of privacy. Its angular lines are balanced by the roundness of Gino Miles’ sculpture, Aura . A sunscreen softens the upper story windows from the exterior. The harmonious balance of glass, wood, stone, and porcelain on the exterior carry through into the interior, which emanates a feeling of warmth as patterned light casts dramatic shadows throughout the day.

Vertical louvered screens of walnut and steel are used effectively throughout the home. “In different areas they can create a sense of space, provide a background for art, provide privacy, and manage light, sunlight, and glare,” describes Welch. “The natural wood balances the materials of steel and glass, both visually and acoustically,” he adds.

It was important to Welch that the home be used and enjoyed on a daily basis. To accomplish this, he says, “We opened the main room and walkway so that the homeowners could look up and see art.” In addition to infusing the space with light, this open walkway also affords views of the work installed on the second floor by artists such as Edward Burtynsky, Vik Muniz, and Jon Sonsini.

Working together, Welch and Menter have succeeded in designing a comfortable, livable environment. While the Bulthaup kitchen features crisp, clean lines, it also provides plenty of room for casual gathering. Similarly, the living room, with its classic de Sede sofa, is a welcoming space reflective of the homeowners. “The blue sofa is a part of their personality. It adds warmth and anchors the space,” explains Menter. The blue extends into the work of Leonardo Drew on the wall behind. The sofa’s organic shape is echoed in a sculpture by James Surls on an adjoining table ringed by Vladimir Kagan–designed chairs. A wall niche that serves as a visual axis point holds beaded works by Marigold Weavers as well as by William Kentridge. They are balanced by the symmetry and vibrancy of paintings by Xiaoze Xie and Charles Arnoldi.

The duo meticulously planned for the couple’s art collection, which, for the most part, they collect on their own. As Welch notes, “They enjoy everything they have, and they have a great eye.” When they first saw Alice Aycock’s work at Marlborough

In the foreground hangs Mel Bochner, Head Honcho, 2011, monoprint in two parts with collage and embossment on hand-dyed Twinrocker handmade paper. Tolla Inbar’s bronze sculpture Aspiration (Large), 2004, hangs adjacent to the staircase.

Gallery in New York, for example, they were immediately drawn to it. But Twister in the title of many of these sculptures felt inauspicious. Instead, they commissioned her to do a work for the reflecting pool that she titled Maelstrom for Infinity Pool, referencing turbulence on water rather than in the air. The art and architecture are effortlessly complementary. The entry hall is animated by Ori Gersht’s photograph of shattering flowers. In the glass-enclosed dining room facing the front yard, Steve Mills’ Art Everywhere brings a buoyancy to the otherwise straight lines of the room. That energy is echoed in David Bates’ Storm Tide. Eric Zener’s colorful Slicing Through

It All brings momentum to the wall above the breakfast table in the kitchen.

The couple first saw the life-sized sculpture by the Japanese artist Takeshi Haguri at Art Basel Miami, leading to the commission of Statue of Monmon Rikishi-A The camphorwood sentinel anchors the office against the backdrop of the lush Japanese garden behind him. Works by artists such as Patrick Hughes, Cayce Zavaglia, and Liu Bolin offer surprising details when viewed closely. Others, including a monoprint by Mel Bochner and a hanging bronze sculpture by Tolla Inbar, miraculously survived the storm, as did Li

Hongbo’s Bust of David.

Throughout the home, the architecture includes unexpected details. Since the homeowners enjoy large family gatherings, they needed a dining room that could accommodate a crowd. Rather than creating a cavernous space that might only be used a few times a year, the team designed a moveable louvered screen on tracks. Pushed back, the room combines with a sitting area, expanding it by several feet. In the adjoining wine cellar, visitors may literally and figuratively cool their heels watching a video installation by Gregory Scott. “This house has a personality, and it’s not my personality or the architect’s; it’s theirs,” states Menter.

Stephen Hardy of Hardy Construction completed the team of Welch, Menter, and Armstrong. Even at the conclusion of such a big project, the homeowner still enthuses, “We had the best team ever.” Those behind it are also pleased. As Menter adds, “The most rewarding thing is that any time I see [the homeowner] they say, ‘I just love my house.’”

Welch takes the long view, stating, “We hope that our projects can be there for generations. It’s nice to see these things last.” The care and thoughtfulness poured into this home are sure to make it a timeless classic. P