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There’s a piece of Modernist architectural history on the market in Framingham
This rare listing was designed by Bauhaus architects Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer.
Home buyers on the hunt for architectural gems often start their searches in towns like Lincoln and Lexington, where pioneering architects built houses with clean lines and angles in the years after World War II. But a rare International-style Modernist home just hit the market in nearby Framingham, and it has some extraordinary architectural cred.
This three-bedroom home at 325 Winter St. in Framingham was designed by Walter Gropius, the founder of the Bauhaus, a German art school, and Marcel Breuer, a student of the Bauhaus and a famous designer in his own right. The philosophy of the Bauhaus, which prioritized a geometric, minimalist style that fused craft with practicality, is evident in this home, built in 1940.
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Even at first glance, the house shows similarities to the Gropius House in Lincoln, Gropius’ 1938 private residence that is now a museum operated by Historic New England. They share a white clapboard exterior, a large glass block window, an angled covered entryway, and a tall fieldstone chimney. Inside, there’s a similar curving stairway and turned wooden railing, as well as vertical interior siding.
The home, which has been owned by the same family for 30 years, is listed for $1,050,000 by Bill Janovitz and John Tse of ModernMass/Compass. A 2004 renovation expanded the kitchen, which is outfitted with striking Fisher & Paykel appliances, and created a new open-concept family room with cork floors. You’ll find three bedrooms and two full bathrooms upstairs, as well as a third bathroom and a home office on the ground floor. There’s also an attached two-car garage plus a finished lower level with a laundry room.
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Outside, the landscape design also received the Modernist treatment. There’s a patio off the primary suite, a three-season room overlooking the backyard, and a stone garden designed by Gropius. The leafy one-acre property is situated along the Framingham Reservoir, with trails leading to the waterfront.
“At this time of year, my favorite feature is the inviting, angled three-season porch and its seamless connection to the living room and patio, with flagstone floors that extend to the latter,” said Janovitz, the listing agent, with windows overlooking the reservoir coming in at a close second.
It’s a sentiment shared by the wife of the home’s original owner, Dr. Virgil Abele, who commissioned it. “There’s not enough wall space to hang pictures,” said Mrs. Abele in a Boston Globe article titled “Framingham Woman Tells Why She Enjoys Living in Her Modern House” from June 6, 1946. She recalled the “gloomy” apartment she lived in beforehand, adding, “I’d much rather have all these windows.”
You can see the full listing here.
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