LRyIrue LnuINATEI USS CoruSrIruTION SNIM I ... - Wood Tools

The Gamble House
Architectural woodworking is always a bit more complicated
than furniture-making - the scale is larger, and the
demands of climate, setting, and sfucfural integTity require
an engineer's critical judgement as much as a designer's
imagination. As a tradeofl the detailed joinery common in
fine furniture is often simplified or absent in buildings.
The Gamble House, a 1908 futs and Crafts residence in
Pasadena, CA" is the definitive exception. It offers a look at
how two American architects - brothers Chades and Henry
Greene - managed to blend both fine joinery and living
space into one masterpiece.
Like their contemporaries, the Greene
brothers departed from overly ornamental
architecture, but their use of
organic forms, and of design ele- !Y)
ments from Japan and Switzerland,
softened the austere
geometry
of Mission-style woodwork. The result is 8,100 sq. ft. filled
with teak, mahogany, ebony, and other woods - all milled,
sculpted, and joined with the precision of a master cabinetmaker.
Built originally for David and Mary Gamble (of the
Procter & Gamble Co.), the house also features Greene
designed furnihrre, hardware, light fixtures, and glasswork.
Though once offered for sale by family heirs, who nixed
the deal upon hearing the would-be buyervoice intentions to
"paint all of this [woodwork] white," the house was later
deeded to a tust held jointly by the City of Pasadena and the
University of Southern California's School of Architecture.
Public tours - a must for any serious woodworker visiting
the Ins Angeles area - are offered year-round. For details,
call the Gamble House at
(818) 793-3334.