September 2010 » book review

Past as Prelude

Ike Kligerman Barkley Houses
foreword by Robert A. M. Stern, text written in collaboration with Marc Kristal
The Monacelli Press, New York, NY; 2010
265 pages; hardcover; 200 color illustrations; $60
ISBN 978-1-58093-269-1

Reviewed by Lynne Lavelle

In his foreword to Ike Kligerman Barkley Houses, Robert A. M. Stern praises his former students John Ike, Thomas Kligerman and Joel Barkley (Kligerman and Barkley are also former Stern employees) for their command of “new traditionalism.” Lauding the comparatively young firm for its consistent quality and eclecticism, he writes, “As designers they build upon what went before to extend the trajectory of architecture. Commenting on the past, they say new things.”

Ike Kligerman Barkley’s many points of view are the result of the varied backgrounds, educations and interests of Ike, Kligerman, Barkley and John James Toya, a partner since 2007. Ohio-born Ike’s particular interests are interior design – he established Ike Kligerman Barkley Interiors – and Italian and Scandinavian precedents. Kligerman, on the other hand, was raised in Connecticut and New Mexico and specializes in domestic architecture, gardens and landscapes. And as a keen watercolorist, Chattanooga, TN, native Barkley brings a painter’s eye to the design process.

In close to 250 projects over the past 25 years, the firm, which has offices in New York City and San Francisco, has embraced just about every conceivable style of “the uniquely complex, endlessly enriching object known as a house.” From Arts & Crafts, Shingle Style and Classical villas to minimalist Modern apartments, tropical beach houses and more, the 21 houses and apartments featured in Ike Kligerman Barkley Houses represent America’s architectural heritage, more often than not with a twist. A “Shinglish” hybrid in New Jersey, described as “simultaneously earthbound and airborne,” combines a sloping Shingle Style roof with English Cottage style brick; a Polynesian longhouse in Hawaii incorporates a Shingle Style eyebrow dormer; and a typical New England beach house conceals a Modernist glass-and-steel pool house to the rear.

As most defy easy categorization, the residences are organized by topography: “countryside,” “seaside” and “cityside.” Most of these designs, however, borrow from each to unique effect. Rustic elements such as handcrafted Tuscan columns, a wood-burning fireplace and a Douglas fir floor soften the industrialism of a New York City loft. In one of many nods to Europe, a San Francisco apartment for an antiquarian could pass for the interiors of a grand 19th-century country estate, and a cliff-top Italianate villa in New Jersey could overlook the Mediterranean rather than the Atlantic.

While much of the work featured is historical, the firm does not shy away from Modernism – dependent on the context and client of course. A spare contemporary pool pavilion on the New Jersey shore recalls West Coast Modernism, and an addition in Connecticut utilizes contemporary materials including bamboo, bluestone and glass tile in a strong pyramidal shape. The firm is justifiably proud of its flexibility, and cites a mixed bag such as Sir Edwin Lutyens, Harrie T. Lindeberg, George Howe, Bernard Maybeck and McKim, Mead & White as major influences.

But above all, the true departure point for each Ike Kligerman Barkley project is the client: “Working in the styles of the past does not preclude personal expression. Just as novelists and filmmakers gravitate toward genres that suit the themes they choose to explore, we look for the historic style that represents the best vehicle for the architectural story we wish to tell.” The outcome is far from predictable.  

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