Built in 1946, three years before his famous Glass House, Philip Johnson's Farney House in Sagaponack, New York, helped define Long Island Modernism, and is seen as an important precursor to that iconic and well-situated design. After selling in 2008 for $22M, it spent several years on the market before being picked up last year by hedge funder Zachary Schreiber and wife Lori for $24M. The couple soon made it clear that they had something else in mind for their 3.4-acre oceanfront plot, proposing to demolish the home back in March, to make room for a new one designed by large-looming traditionalist and Hamptonite favorite Robert A.M. Stern. Now, 27 East reports that, barring the intervention of some eleventh-hour savior seeking to have the home moved, it will be taken apart shortly after Labor Day.
Architect Roger Seifter of Robert A.M. Stern Architects paints a grim but not entirely hopeless picture:
"I wouldn't say it was too late, but given the logistics of what it takes to move a house, it is unlikely it can still happen... As far as I know there were very few inquiries, one that I know of and I was told there was one other. The owner decided to put off the actual demolition until after the summer to give that attempt an opportunity." The move has been lamented by members of the Sagaponack Village Architectural and Historic Review Board, who were unable to find a legal avenue for blocking it. Seifter notes that the "distinctive cedar paneling" will definitely be worth saving. So there's that.
· Effort To Save Philip Johnson House In Sagaponack Fails [27 East via Curbed Hamptons]
· All Philip Johnson coverage [Curbed National]
· All Sagaponack coverage [Curbed National]
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