Loewenstein Family House

Edward Loewenstein designed and built his own family's house in 1954, and this structure stands as testimony to the architect's idea of Modernism. On a three-acre lot, Loewenstein envisioned a horizontal house with wings that spread into and captured the landscape, locking building and land into an integral composition. Loewenstein positioned the structure, dominated by outwardly leaning fixed panel windows, to take advantage of the picturesque views on site and shaped landscape features accordingly to receive the structure. Jane Levy, Loewenstein's daughter reports that Loewenstein recounted strong influences in the work of well-known Modern architects and designers. Loewenstein's design for his own residence resonates with Frank Lloyd Wright's masterful landscape-building connections, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's glass boxes, and the clean-line Bauhaus tendencies of Walter Gropius. These same design sensibilities could be observed in any number of Loewenstein's mid-century Modern residences throughout Irving Park.