Porsche 356, house of Maximilian E. Hoffman, Rye, 2018, Porsche AG

Marc Jacobs bought this house (but the car didn’t come with it)

Nevertheless, Jacobs’ Frank Lloyd Wright house in Rye, NY State, is still a mid-century modern masterpiece

The designer Marc Jacobs obviously has exquisite taste. So, it shouldn’t surprise us to find that when picking a new home to live in with his husband Char Defrancesco, he chose a house by the father of American modernist architecture, Frank Llloyd Wright.

Jacobs has purchased a Usonian-style house by Wright, which, as Sam Lubell explains in Mid-Century Modern Architecture Travel Guide: East Coast explains, is characterized by “open plans, large expanses of glass, and integration of interior and exterior spaces.”

 

Porsche 356, house of Maximilian E. Hoffman, Rye, 2018, Porsche AG
Porsche 356, house of Maximilian E. Hoffman, Rye, 2018, Porsche AG

However, this particular dwelling, in Rye, Westchester County, comes with an additional design pedigree; it was originally commissioned from Wright by another 20th century aesthete, the Vienniese-born luxury car importer, Max Hoffman. Hoffman, who fled Austria during WWII, was one of the first people to introduce New Yorkers to the delights of the Porsche.

Max died in 1981, but Porsche has maintained its relationship with the Hoffman House, shooting these images of a classic Porsche 356 last year.

 

Porsche 356, house of Maximilian E. Hoffman, Rye, 2018, Porsche AG
Porsche 356, house of Maximilian E. Hoffman, Rye, 2018, Porsche AG

Marc and Char have selected a different vehicle for their new place; they’ve just picked up a brand new Mercedes 2019 G63. Excellent choice fellas; afterall, Mr Hoffman also imported high-end Mercs.

 

Char Defrancesco and Marc Jacobs with their new Mercedes 2019 G63. Image courtesy of Jacobs' Instagram
Char Defrancesco and Marc Jacobs with their new Mercedes 2019 G63. Image courtesy of Jacobs' Instagram

For more on Marc Jacobs’ life and work, order a copy of Marc Jacobs Illustrated here; for more on mid-century architecture, get Mid-Century Modern Architecture Travel Guide: East Coast and Mid-Century Modern Architecture Travel Guide: West Coast.

 

Marc Jacobs Illustrated
Marc Jacobs Illustrated