Swan house - a visit to Atlanta to see Shutze's masterpiece.
I recently had the pleasure of visiting Atlanta, Georgia, for the first time with my friend, designer Michael Hampton , and of course the number one place on my list to visit was Swan House , one of the most famous houses in the world designed by Classical architect Philip Shutze . I remember first falling in love with this house in the 1980s in the pages of Architectural Digest - not as a feature but the house was used as a backdrop in an ad campaign. I'm buying what they're selling! We're all familiar with this famous facade but did you know this is actually the back? This is the view from the street; an impressive classical Italian facade floating above formally terraced garden. Shutze studied in Italy after wining the Rome Prize in 1915 and that shows clearly in this commission as well as in much of his other work. The front is very different but no less impressive. A classical Palladian porte cochere welcomes one into the house. This was designed in 1928, the age of...