Rafael Viñoly may be ultra-hip these days—he's the architect behind the Western Hemisphere's future tallest skyscraper and a London building that's so hot it's literally melting cars—but this private Connecticut commission, finished in 1993, has had a really rough go on the market. The place was first listed for $10M in 2008 by its late original owner, but when it failed to sell she gave up and, in 2010, donated it to Fairfield University. About a year later, the school put the home on the market for $3.2M, at which point the Times called the place "a bit of a curiosity in tradition-bound Ridgefield." In March 2012, it finally sold it to a Manhattan LLC for only $2.7M.
Summer's over, the market is "exciting," as brokers are saying, and, let's face it, this place cost $20M to build, so why not try and make some money? The home was hoisted back on the market yesterday for a whopping $25M—that's more than 925 percent more than what the buyer paid last year. To be fair, the newly redone lower level has been expanded the square footage from about 10,000 to 16,000 and added a bedroom, but the grand total is still a bit ridiculous for this price range: three. Otherwise, Viñoly's design appears intact; he created two separate wings—one for guests and another for the homeowners—conjoined by a sleek concrete-and-glass indoor pool area. The minimalist manse has views of the countryside from its five-acre hilltop, but the real selling point will likely be the pedigree here, and appreciation for the unique architecture. What the listing agent told the Times in Jan. 2012, a couple of months before it sold, probably still holds true: "It's definitely for someone who appreciates the house as an art form, as opposed to for its total functionality," she said. "It won't be bought by someone who just wants to live in Ridgefield."
· One of a Kind [Sotheby's International Realty via Zillow]
· Modernist Rafael Viñoly Creation For Sale in Connecticut [Curbed National]
· A Tough Sell, in Concrete and Glass [NYT]
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