Kevin Rose

There are numerous ways of classifying house museums preserved and interpreted for their architectural merit, although none capture the essential distinction that separates these museums from other interpreted residential sites. The architecture house museum is a residential work of architecture, usually designed by a noted architect, whose primary function is no longer for habitation, which is open to the public on successive occasions, and whose interpretation focuses primarily on aesthetics, analysis of style, and the biography of the architect. As walk- through works of art, these houses are presented and understood in primarily aesthetic ways. This typology is at odds with the antiquated historic house museums nomenclature, a term that limits our ability to fully understand the diverse nature and multiple identities of house museums. Architecture house museums are often unfurnished and when furnishings are present, they are characteristically designed by the architect or relate to the architecture of the house. It is conventional for these museums to completely exclude the accoutrements of daily life and ephemeral objects from display. Regarding restoration and period of significance, these museums typically favor the architect and architecture as well, striping away more history than they preserve, presenting the house as an unlived-in realization of the architect’s original design. The development and growth of this museum typology is inextricably linked to the growth and global preservation movement, the iconic building craze of the 1980s and 1990s, and modernism’s coming of age. These factors, along with localized factors at each individual site, propelled this typology forward.

In my 2010 Master's dissertation, I examined the growth and development of the architecture house museum and proposed a paradigmic shift in the way these museums are approached. Here is an excerpt from that study:

"Some buildings are distinguished from the moment they are finished, and the future may destroy them only at great loss. Some buildings achieve importance by withstanding the assaults of time and so gaining values that they did not have while in company with many of their kind. Other buildings have greatness thrust upon them by acts of man that create hallowed associations.

– Laurence Vail Coleman, Historic House Museums, 1933

These words, which open Laurence Vail Coleman’s seminal 1933 book on house museums, hint at three categories of interpreted residential sites – beautiful, representative, and historic. This paper examines the first, buildings distinguished from the moment of creation, or, more specifically, houses preserved and interpreted as works of art. The latter of Coleman’s three demarcations, historic, has always defined the entire genre of house museums, as the traditional label historic house museum implies. This paper seeks to not only break from this accepted nomenclature, but to define and identify houses preserved and interpreted principally as works of art and establish a new museum typology – the architecture house museum. While this type of museum has existed for over fifty years, albeit unclassified, our understanding of its development, characteristics, and interpretive framework is still in its infancy.

Categorization is the first step towards a more complete understanding of this museum typology. It will facilitate comparisons between analogous museums and allow practitioners to establish consistent interpretation standards and strategies for the field. Categorization will also allow professionals to identify model museums, highlighting best practices and unique approaches that apply specifically to architecture house museums. We will, for the first time, be able to evaluate new museums against the field, determine redundancies, and evaluate the typology for areas of possible development and growth. Visitor studies at these sites are sure to reveal distinct characteristics of the architecture house museum visitor, which I would expect to be at odds with the needs and expectations of the typical historic house museum visitor. In short, categorization will increase professionalism in the field by creating standards, establishing dialogue between sites, and promoting collaboration.