With its proximity to the cultural hub of New York City and its quieter suburban and rural landscapes, Connecticut was fertile ground for artists and writers in the period of Modernist movements between 1913 and 1979. Many of these cultural figures are well known through biographical and critical studies. Creative Places seeks to show how place played a significant role in creative work, and how in turn the artists and writers influenced communities in Connecticut.
43 Marshall Ridge Road, New Canaan
- Durisol House
- Risom House
- Jens Risom
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The Durisol House was Risom's home from 1950 to 1959. He designed built-in furniture for the house, which had been built as a speculative project by developer Robert Jahn.
- Description of Significance/Historical Narrative
- In 1950, Jens Risom, the renowned Modern furniture designer from Denmark, bought a three-bedroom house from Robert Jahn. The house was designed by architecture firm Sherwood, Mills and Smith and was completed in 1949 by contractors Tudisco and Diehl. It was built as a showcase for a construction material known as 'Durisol.' According to the New York Times, the Risom house was the first house to be built entirely of Durisol, a material described as a 'light-weight pre-cast concrete employing chemically mineralized wood shavings for its 'aggregate,' and formed in modular slabs, blocks and tiles, over which various surfaces can be applied if desired' (New York Times, 6 November 1949). The article states that the blocks used for the walls of the house were laid in staggered rows, interlocking at their ends and laid without pointing mortar. The voids within the blocks were filled with concrete to form load-bearing walls. The corner units were reinforced with steel bars. Stucco was applied directly to the units' surfaces for an exterior finish. Durisol was also used for the roof sheathing, which was left exposed at the interior for a ceiling finish and for acoustical ceiling tiles. Featured in articles in the New York Times (1949), the New York Times Magazine (1954), House and Garden (1955), and the Herald Tribune Magazine (1958), the house was acclaimed for the use of Durisol, its efficient layout, and the prominence of its owner, Jens Risom. In 1959, Risom sold the house.
- Date of Construction
- 1949
- Historic Designation(s)
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- National Register Individual