The Last House: A Love Story About Architecture and Place

Description

THE LAST HOUSE tells the story of a Florida couple who build four beautiful homes over the course of their married life together, The first is along Cross Creek near Marjorie Rawlings' home. The second is in the Sarasota area on Siesta Key. The third, an art deco masterpiece on Biscayne Bay, and then their last house -- a beachside retirement home in Summer Haven near St. Augustine. Those who have worked with architects in the past to create their own homes will surely identify with this adventure. But anyone who loves architecture will enjoy the ride as well. Ron Haase returns to a theme he developed and taught at the University of Florida -- one of respect for architectural context and vernacular roots. In this new book he brings along the ghosts of Marjorie Rawlings, Paul Rudolph, Leonard Horowitz and Albert Manucy to help make the argument. The many architectural designs and pen & ink drawings in this book are by the author with the exception of House Two on Siesta Key which was designed by David Haase.

RON HAASE taught architecture for twenty years at the University of Florida. The old Cracker farmhouses of Florida were the focus of his academic research and the foundation of an active practice designing contemporary houses which have a strong identity with the climate and culture of Florida's small towns and rural lifestyle. In his book, CLASSIC CRACKER (Pineapple Press), he took us on an intimate tour of the utilitarian wooden structures built by early settlers in North Florida. These houses, raised high off the ground and surrounded by shady porches, respond both to the warm and sultry climate and to the very idea of living side by side with nature in such a beautiful environment. His new book, THE LAST HOUSE, returns to examine more fully the vernacular architecture of Florida and this time as a work of fiction. Haase has degrees in architecture from the University of Minnesota (BArch 1961) and civil engineering from the University of Wisconsin (BS 1955). Prior to moving to Florida he taught at Pratt Institute and Franconia College in New Hampshire where he was the Chairman of the Faculty. He travels and lectures extensively about vernacular architecture. He is a Fellow in the American Institute of Architects. Ron Haase lives and works in Gainesville, Florida. He continues to design homes "in the tradition of Old Florida" in partnership with his son, David. You can contact him at haase@ufl.edu