William L. Slayton House
Encyclopedia
The William L. Slayton House located in the Cleveland Park
neighborhood in Washington, D.C.
, is a house that was designed by I.M. Pei in the International Style
. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
on October 2, 2008, and was the 14th property listed as a featured property of the week in a program of the National Park Service that began in July, 2008.
The house's distinguishing feature is a poured-in-place concrete
roof with three arched vaults
. The front and rear elevations of the house are all glass, resulting in a largely transparent house. The side walls are pale red brick.
The owner, William Slayton, met Pei in 1958 when they were both working in the office of William Zeckendorf
. Zeckendorf developed rather utilitarian buildings such as parking garages, apartment complexes, and office buildings, but he had developed a love of architecture. In 1948, he wanted to become the patron of "the greatest unknown architect in the country", so he consulted with Nelson Rockefeller
and embarked on a search which ended in his hiring I.M. Pei, who was then an assistant professor at Harvard University
. Slayton was the vice-president in charge of the redevelopment of Washington
's Southwest Urban Renewal
Area. Slayton asked Pei in 1958 to design a home for him. Slayton recalled in his memoirs, "...on Ieoh Ming's and my next flight together, I asked if he would design us a house... He said he would be honored...but that I had to understand that it would have a major design feature that would be expensive." Slayton later served as the commissioner of the Urban Renewal Administration's Housing and Home Finance Agency during the John F. Kennedy
administration.
Pei was known mostly as an architect of corporate buildings, municipal buildings, and art museums. He only designed three houses in his career. Besides the Slayton House, he designed his own residence in Katonah, New York
, in 1954 and the Tandy House in Fort Worth, Texas
, in 1969.
Cleveland Park
Cleveland Park is a residential neighborhood in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C.It is located at and bounded approximately by Rock Creek Park to the east, Wisconsin and Idaho Avenues to the west, Klingle and Woodley Roads to the south, and Rodman and Tilden Streets to the north...
neighborhood in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, is a house that was designed by I.M. Pei in the International Style
International style (architecture)
The International style is a major architectural style that emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, the formative decades of Modern architecture. The term originated from the name of a book by Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson, The International Style...
. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on October 2, 2008, and was the 14th property listed as a featured property of the week in a program of the National Park Service that began in July, 2008.
The house's distinguishing feature is a poured-in-place concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
roof with three arched vaults
Vault (architecture)
A Vault is an architectural term for an arched form used to provide a space with a ceiling or roof. The parts of a vault exert lateral thrust that require a counter resistance. When vaults are built underground, the ground gives all the resistance required...
. The front and rear elevations of the house are all glass, resulting in a largely transparent house. The side walls are pale red brick.
The owner, William Slayton, met Pei in 1958 when they were both working in the office of William Zeckendorf
William Zeckendorf
William Zeckendorf, Sr. was a prominent American real estate developer. Through his development company Webb and Knapp – for which he began working in 1938 and which he purchased in 1949 – he developed a significant portion of the New York City urban landscape.-Career:Zeckendorf's...
. Zeckendorf developed rather utilitarian buildings such as parking garages, apartment complexes, and office buildings, but he had developed a love of architecture. In 1948, he wanted to become the patron of "the greatest unknown architect in the country", so he consulted with Nelson Rockefeller
Nelson Rockefeller
Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller was the 41st Vice President of the United States , serving under President Gerald Ford, and the 49th Governor of New York , as well as serving the Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower administrations in a variety of positions...
and embarked on a search which ended in his hiring I.M. Pei, who was then an assistant professor at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. Slayton was the vice-president in charge of the redevelopment of Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
's Southwest Urban Renewal
Urban renewal
Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
Area. Slayton asked Pei in 1958 to design a home for him. Slayton recalled in his memoirs, "...on Ieoh Ming's and my next flight together, I asked if he would design us a house... He said he would be honored...but that I had to understand that it would have a major design feature that would be expensive." Slayton later served as the commissioner of the Urban Renewal Administration's Housing and Home Finance Agency during the John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
administration.
Pei was known mostly as an architect of corporate buildings, municipal buildings, and art museums. He only designed three houses in his career. Besides the Slayton House, he designed his own residence in Katonah, New York
Katonah, New York
Katonah, New York is one of three unincorporated hamlets within the town of Bedford, Westchester County, New York, United States.-History:Katonah is named for Chief Katonah, an American Indian from whom the land of Bedford was purchased by a group of English colonists...
, in 1954 and the Tandy House in Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
, in 1969.