Hanna House rises from
rubble with Frank Lloyd Wright’s vision preserved
BY ELAINE RAY
For nearly a decade, Hanna
House was a gem in the rough. After the Loma Prieta
earthquake severely damaged the Frank Lloyd Wright
masterpiece, the structure lay fallow while architects,
archeologists, engineers, seismic experts, government
officials and others searched for the resources and the
right approach to its renovation. Their deliberations
have paid off. The jewel's glory has been restored.
On Wednesday, April 14, at
5:15 p.m., the university will celebrate the reopening of
this Wright treasure with a symposium at Annenberg
Auditorium. Presenters for the session will include
Stephen J. Farneth, of the Architectural Resources Group;
Bret Lizundia of Rutherford & Chekene, Structural
Engineers; Stanford Architect David Neuman, and Paul V.
Turner, professor of architectural history and chair of
the Hanna House board of governors. Each will offer
background on the various aspects of the restoration.
Hanna House was designed
in the mid-1930s after Paul Hanna, a professor in
Stanford's School of Education, and his wife, Jean, asked
Wright to develop plans for an inexpensive house for
their family of five. The final product was a
glass-fronted collection of hexagons with a brick chimney
at its core. The structure's honeycomb shapes are
mimicked in many of the home's details -- from the
flooring to the bathroom tiles. Its thin redwood walls
were designed to add to the adaptability of the space. In
the kitchen, for instance, these walls can open like
louvers onto an expansive living room. A graceful sloping
roof reflects both the architect's and the original
owners' affinity for Japanese aesthetic. According to
Turner, the house was Wright's first foray into designing
non-rectangular structures. Many of the furnishings,
built-in and freestanding - were designed by Wright as
well.
"It's the geometry
here," Turner said during a recent walk through the
home, adding that Wright had been seeking clients who
would let him "destroy the box," and that the
Hanna's went along with the idea. Wright would later
design other non-rectangular structures such as the
Guggenheim Museum in New York.
Wright and the Hannas
maintained lasting ties: The architect even helped
redesign the house's interior after the Hanna children
left home. However, their relationship was tested a
number of times during the house's original construction.
The home that the Hanna's thought would run them about
$15,000 ended up costing $37,000 -- a daunting sum in
Depression-era dollars. Archival materials chronicle the
Hanna's battles with Wright over the pace and details of
the project. The original floor plan was designed for
flat terrain, but the property the Hannas acquired on
what is now Frenchman's Road is a hilly 1.48-acre
stretch. To make matters worse, the Hanna's discovered
that a branch of the San Andreas fault ran through that
hill. Wright's confidence was unshaken in the face of
this revelation. After all, his Imperial Hotel had
withstood the 1923 earthquake in Tokyo
Unfortunately, Hanna
House, which was home to the Hanna family from 1938 until
1975, and later to four Stanford provosts and their
families, was no match for Loma Prieta. While experts
acknowledge that the underlying -- and inactive -- fault
had not caused the extensive damage, poor structural work
had. Wright had designed a building in which the
foundations and chimneys were essentially unreinforced.
 "They think if the earthquake had been
just a few seconds longer, the whole house would have
come down," Turner said. Fears of further tremors
forced the university to evacuate the building after the
1989 quake.
The restoration took 10
years and more than $2 million to complete. Those
involved in the revival were faced with several thorny
questions. Should they reconstruct the building to such
an extent that it would be only a replica of itself?
Could they maintain the original design and add
sufficient seismic reinforcement? There also were
surprises. Engineers discovered, for instance, that the
connection between the chimney and the roof was not as
sound as they had thought. In the end the house was
restored with some seismic reinforcement while
maintaining the integrity of Wright's vision. Much of the
concrete slab floor was replaced with a new one, designed
to replicate the original with its hexagonal detail.
Underneath that floor, engineers installed a system of
concrete beams that connect the central chimney and
retaining walls. Each of the home's three chimneys was
reinforced with steel beams and concrete. Plywood was
used to strengthen the roof and some of the walls. Ties
now connect the roof to the walls and the chimneys.
The restoration was
financed largely with private contributions. Interest
from a $500,000 gift donated by the Nissan Motor Company
USA in 1977 to endow the property also was used, as were
funds secured from the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA).
"The work was greatly
complicated by circumstances: the unique nature of the
house, the complexity of analyzing its structural
properties, the challenge of finding means of seismic
strengthening compatible with the preservation of the
building, and more mundane problems such as fundraising.
Turner wrote in a recent essay on the history of the
house, "The fact that Stanford University and the
many individuals who have supported this project have
persisted in the endeavor, throughout the difficult
process, reveals an awareness of the importance of this
architectural masterpiece and a resolve to preserve it
for future generations."
The building now will be
used for non-residential purposes such as seminars and
receptions. Public docent-led tours will be offered
beginning in May. Pets and children under 12 are not
permitted on the property. Visitors must wear soft soled
shoes, no high heels. Disabled access is limited. In
addition to the April 14 symposium, the Stanford
Bookstore is displaying a special exhibit through April
18. The house will be available for viewing by the
Stanford community at an open house in the near future.
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