SHANK HOUSE
Photo during construction, circa 1940
View looking east (photo Carl Schwarz)
This is the house Isadore Shank designed for his family. Built in 1940, it was one of the first modern houses in Saint Louis. His design became the prototype for most of the following contemporary houses in his repertoire.
The rectilinear bedroom wing to the east is intersected at right angles by the “great” living-dining room wing with large fenestrated openings. Each room’s windows face multiple directions affording every space light and exterior views. Designed from the inside out, the form is shaped by necessity and the exterior envelopes the interior spaces. The wood deck and low roof-line accentuate the horizontal structure. It nests into the environment. Used brick and wood served as the materials for all of his later homes.
