Robert Daniel House by Fitzgibbon in Knoxville
We had the pleasure of visiting with the owners of the Robert Daniel house here in Knoxville. The house was designed and built by James Fitzgibbon in 1950. I won’t bore you too much with words. The house is incredible. The owners say they regulalrly find architects at their door dropping by to see Fitzgibbon’s master work. Often they are old friends of his.
The rock is all local from the Candora Marble company, which supplied a lot of what you seein Washington DC.
The lucite triangle coming out of the roof is where a tree used to grow.
Upper deck area that used to be a childrens play area.
Above to the left is where the master bedroom is.
Through the bookcase you can see the step down to a study. Bedroom above.
Looks out to a gardwn and fountain area.
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Wow! This house is amazing! Gorgeous stone and breathtaking arches. It’s hard to believe it is 59 years old. Looks like it was built in 2009.
Comment left on April 15, 2009 @ 9:25 am
Found a reference to this in Wikipedia. The steel for the frame was scavenged from WW II Quonset huts. I’d live there! :D
Comment left on May 1, 2009 @ 11:43 am
very cool, thanks for the photos. the flavor of this house strikes me as very similar to kentuck knob, in pennsylvania, by flw. highly recommend that tour - and you ought to visit fallingwater too while you’re at it.
Comment left on May 15, 2009 @ 9:33 am
[...] Robert Daniel house and was designed by James Fitzgibbon. Swanky recently toured the house and took pictures inside and out. I’m wild about that sunken study with the red [...]
Pingback left on June 12, 2009 @ 7:28 am
We visited this house while it was still on the market. At the time there were multiple offers on it, and we still had a house to sell so we gave up easier than we normally would have. It’s amazing to me that, while thousands of other houses stay on the market for many months or years, that more builders don’t venture out of the cookie cutter and build something unique someone might actually want to own, versus “settle for” because of a convenient location.
When we visited the home I couldn’t believe the kind of shape it was in. Wires everywhere, a house of glass without any of the windows looking like they had been cleaned in several YEARS. Irrigation issues and clogged gutters. The next time I saw new pictures of this home I was hoping to see all the stone pressure washed but I’m sure the new home owners are busy just trying to keep the water out right now.
The home is built into a hillside. While this helps with the cooling, as you can imagine, it leads to moisture and insect problems. It was renovated in the 1980’s and I’m not sure if I agree with the changes. There was a wall added to separate the living room from the bedroom/den/office area that really disrupts the flow, and is covered in cheesy 80s paneling. The kitchen is very outdated, but definitely has potential.
My mind went wild with all the ideas for the house. When I first saw it in the MLS my jaw dropped. To live in a mid-century modern is a dream of mine, and to see one for sale built with tons of marble, quonset hut beams, and glass was almost too good to be true. I’m very envious of the new homeowners, and I’m keeping my eyes open for other gems that may come on the market.
Comment left on July 1, 2009 @ 1:42 pm
Scott,
The new owners have pressure washed the marble, several times! It is a job that must be repeated several times a year. They have spent lots of time and money working on the irrigation issues and it is getting close. The covering of the old garage area was done very badly. The design causes water flow issues.
The paneling you speak of, is I think, actually wormy chestnut. Extremely rare wood. If they pulled it out and sold it, they could probably pay off the house and then some. But it part of the house design. And what do you replace it with? I don’t think the wall you speak of was added later. It has chnaged over the years, but really for the better. The old pictures show some ugly shelves there and it was changed to be more open. The biggest changes occured A) when HVAC was added to cover ducts and B) when Callandruccio(sp) renovated it and covered the car port area.
The current owners told the story you refer to. The windows were all covered when they saw the house. Imagine living there and tacking sheets over all the windows! And so filthy they had to hire a crew to almost shovel it out. They had no idea what the floor looked like! It has come a long way from there and is on it’s way back to 100% health. It is in good hands. I hope it stays healthy.
Comment left on July 5, 2009 @ 7:23 am
we’re moving to knoxville within a year. where can i find this house?! i’d love to see it. f.l. wright meets mark chagall in a quonset hut! fascinating.——jj
Comment left on July 16, 2009 @ 9:30 am
The house is at 2701 Woodson Drive. I saw the house several years ago and it has survived admirably. The stone was salvaged from local quarries. Considering the house is near the Smokie Mountains, with considerable rain and humidity, it has survived the moisture problems well. Today’s technology regarding drainage and retaining wall moisure barriers may help keep this interior dry.
Comment left on October 27, 2009 @ 9:33 am