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back to article Blade Runner house yours for $15m

Fans of Blade Runner with very, very deep pockets are directed to Frank Lloyd Wright's 1924 Ennis House, which featured in the movie and is up for grabs for a modest $15m. The Ennis House. Pic: The Ennis House Foundation The last of the architect's four "Textile Block" abodes, the 6,000-square-foot Mayan-inspired pad was …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Genius...

    Falling Water had structural issues as well didn't it?

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  2. Chris Paulson
    Thumb Down

    Ugly

    Designed by a blind architect like all modernist rubbish!

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  3. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    His homes might be a work of art

    but it's a pity he didn't attend the 'how to build a house structually' class.

    Mine's the one with a slide-rule in it...

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  4. tony
    Happy

    Rain damage,

    for the authentic blade runner experience

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  5. Dave The Cardboard Box

    The myth of the architect

    Yet another "genius" architect who knew nothing about his materials. As a piece of failed design it should be pulled down. You could rebuild it properly 5 times over for that money.

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  6. frank ly

    @JonB re. Genius....

    "Falling Water had structural issues as well didn't it?"

    Yes, but that is not the architect's fault. It is never the architect's fault. It is the fault of philistine builders, who use imperfect material and techniques; and ignorant occupiers who fail to understand the special maintenance requirements of such wonderful designs.

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  7. Spiracle
    Thumb Down

    Not a location

    As I remember they used castings from the wall reliefs on the soundstage set of Deckard's apartment, they didn't film in the house itself.

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  8. Haku

    The Thirteenth Floor

    In the 1999 film The Thirteenth Floor (pretty good underrated sci-fi if you ask me), the main character's apartment looks like Deckard's from BR, the unique patterned tiles being the giveaway.

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  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    @JonB

    'Falling Water had structural issues as well didn't it?'

    Yup, some of the reinforcement was left out of the concrete cantilevers and they became deformed. It was also unbelievably noisy until double-glazed. FLW - awesome architect, but never buy a flat roof from him.

    Oh and the mighty Reg left out 'The Rocketeer' from the house's list of guest appearances.

    Now if only I had a spare $15m lying around.

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  10. Dave in the States
    Paris Hilton

    Genius Architect not necessarily = engineer...

    There's a FLW home (the May house) in my home town (city). Way ahead of its time and wonderful to look at, but structurally not up to par. After much reinforcing and restoration it is a joy to tour the home. Many times genious' aren't bothered by the details (like structural engineering), unfortunately.

    Paris, 'cause she's better looking than the other icons.

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  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    @ Haku

    That's because TTF was filmed there too. It's also been used in: Predator 2; Black Rain; Rush Hour; and Karate Kid Part III.

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  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Leaking Water

    Wikipedia claims a structural engineering consultants report was buried in the walls, I'd love it to be true but that sounds extreme even for Lloyd Wright.

    A triumph of form over function. I actually really like Falling Water (actually most of his output) but I wouldn't want to own any of it.

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  13. Dana W

    one other movie

    It was also the house used for exteriors in "the house on haunted hill" The Vincent Price one.

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  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    @frank ly

    I hope your comment is sarcastic. My father worked in the construction industry for forty years, and had nothing good to say about architects. The civil engineers did the real work, taking totally impractical sketches from architects and trying to make them buildable. It's an interesting comparison to software engineering, where managers make the same kind of impractical design decisions that should be left to qualified system architects.

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  15. Hollerith 1

    Where I'd like to live

    Just opposite Falling Water, to see the house AND the water. Then I could have the best view and no damp.

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  16. matt beard
    Coat

    I'll take it

    I just need your bank account number and sort code and i will transfer the monies immediately

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  17. Random Coolzip
    Alert

    Re: Falling Water

    I recently read[1] that FLW made the mistake of telling his client that he had the design for Falling Water "done" -- as in, he'd thought it all through and was satisfied that it would all work together. The client assumed that "done" meant "ready to go" and told Wright that he was in Milwaukee on business and would drive over to Wright's Oak Park home and pick up the drawings. So FLW had to whip up a set of design (if not actual construction) blueprints in about three hours. Which would go a ways towards explaining why the actual engineering details were a bit...sparse.

    [1] _Frank Lloyd Wright Revealed_, IIRC

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  18. Anonymous Coward
    Flame

    Not the worst looking building

    I have to see this building everyday at work:

    http://www.empsfm.org/aboutEMPSFM/index.asp?categoryID=157

    At least they are putting alll the atrocities to good desgn in one place... Next to the 'Space needle' and serviced by the Seattle MonoFail...

    I just wish Paul Allen had more sense than to sign off on this expense.

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  19. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    "...it still needs an estimated $5-7m of TLC to restore it to its original glory."

    A little HGTV and DIY probably wouldn't hurt either.

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  20. Anonymous Coward
    Happy

    I know I'm just a philistine

    but it really really looks like it's made out of lego to me. He'd never get a job at Barrat homes

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  21. AndrewG
    Paris Hilton

    "My Father Designed homes to be lived in"

    Obviously he wasn't designing homes to be structurally sound.

    Paris becasue like all FLW's creations, beautiful to look at, but dosn't work outside parties

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  22. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    FLW

    Classic case: Emperor's new clothes syndrome!

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  23. Pascal Monett Silver badge

    If it can't stand on its own . . .

    then it deserves to crumble.

    We're talking about a construction that is less than 50 years old, right ? It's not a medieval castle, or some architectural wonder of the first millennium that deserves millions to be spend on its restoration and maintenance.

    This is a building that was conceived and built with modern techniques, modern tools and modern materials. If it can't stand alone for a hundred years without continuous and expensive treatment, then it should most definitely die.

    A tribute website can be made, with lots of pics and, at some point, a 3-D tour. That will be more than this thing deserves anyway.

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  24. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    BIG surprise

    Never EVER let a Ingeneer design a building and never EVER let a designer ingeneer a building.. Waite a minute... Hmm i guess thats why we have designers and ingeneers.

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  25. deshepherd
    Coat

    twin peaks

    intrigued by the comment about it being in Twin Peaks and wondered which bit it was ... quick bit of googling revealed that it wasn't just in TP ... it was the location for "invitiation to love" - the TV soap which was in TP!

    Mines the anorak

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  26. John A Fotheringham
    Joke

    Is it just me?

    Or does that photo not make it look like it's built from Lego>

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  27. Marvin the Martian
    Alert

    Wow! Our HRH prince of Wales comments!

    "ugly rubbish like all modernist buildings."

    Hahahaha.

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  28. MarkMac
    IT Angle

    Not all architects...

    ... are hopeless engineers. Visit the Gaudi apartment buildings in Barcelona sometime to see a beautiful /and/ functional building thats still a joy to live in 100 years later.

    I quite agree however with the comment about it being pretty shabby that a less-than-50-years-old building made with modern techniques takes more looking after than a 1000 year old castle. But then FLW was an artist, not a practical person.

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  29. treladormin
    Paris Hilton

    Genius Architect not necessarily = engineer, part 2

    Tis a thing of beauty that brings much pain...

    I too live down the street from a FLW house. Most everyone who lived there over the last 50+ years has complained bitterly about the maintenance, the cold, the dampness, the roof leaks, etc, etc. A few years ago it was re-hab'd, again, and sold for housing bubble big $$. As a result, the property taxes in the neighborhood skyrocketed (most of the houses in said neighborhood were old and very modest), thus spreading the misery...

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