Vanna Venturi House
Robert Venturi · Philadelphia, United States · 1964
Robert Venturi’s house for his mother became a foundational critique of orthodox modernism. A seemingly simple gabled façade is complicated by an oversized broken pediment, off-center chimney, applied arch and deliberately ambiguous scale. Inside, stair, fireplace and circulation compete for space rather than resolving into functionalist clarity. Completed in 1964, the house gave built form to Venturi’s interest in complexity and contradiction and became an early landmark of what would later be identified as postmodern architecture.