Richard Meier, International Architect

Modern Home Designed by Architect Richard Meier For Sale

Howard Rachofsky Announces Rachofsky House is For Sale

The Rachofsky House is a Dallas modern home that has made the greatest impact on Dallas over the last 25 years. According to the Dallas Morning News, Howard Rachofsky announced the Rachofsky House is for sale. There has not been a price placed on the home, but the presumed next owner, the The Dallas Museum of Art, has rejected the price offered to them for the house — and that price was FREE. It was reported by the DMN that the upkeep of the Rachofsky House would be too expensive for the Dallas Museum of Art to allow it to accept the gift of the house for free.

The Rachofsky House Might Be Able to be Purchased Inexpensively

This tells us two things: 1. The sales price of the Rachofsky House is not what is most important to Howard and Cindy Rachofsky, and 2. The Rachofsky House might be able to be purchased inexpensively.

My Recommendations to a Rachofsky House Buyer

I would recommend to any buyer of the Rachofsky House that they emphasize the terms of the sale versus flattering the seller with the price. If the Rachofskys were willing to give the home for free to the DMA so that the house and art could continue to be exhibited and seen by the public, then we know this is the Rachofsky’s priority. While I doubt that any individual buyer will be as generous with the home as the Rachofskys, a buyer could include in the sales contract conditions and restrictions that would allow the home to continue to be viewed by the public on a predetermined schedule. Again, the more the legacy of Howard and Cindy Rachofsky and the legacy of the house can be preserved, and the public good of the house as a piece of art can be promoted, presumably the less a buyer would have to pay for the home. Maybe even with the right conditions and restrictions the buyer of the Rachofsky House can negotiate a DMA-like deal: free.

At the very least, the home should have some deed restrictions so that it cannot be torn down. While tearing down the house might seem preposterous, one only has to remember the Robert Stern architect-designed home next door to the Rachofsky house was of similar size, acreage and cost to build and it ended up selling for land value. How many times have homeowners been told about the wonderful plans of a homebuyer to preserve their home only to have bulldozers show up on the property the day after closing.

The Rachofsky House has made a considerable contribution to people understanding modern architecture in Dallas. It also helped turn the tide from traditional homes being predominantly built in Preston Hollow in the 20th century to modern homes in Preston Hollow being predominantly built in the 21st century. The Rachofsky home is architecturally and historically significant in so many ways.

Thank you Howard and Cindy Rachofsky for your incredible generosity of sharing your home, time and money. May you find a buyer who shares even a tiny bit of your vision and innate generosity.

The Rachofsky House

Richard Meier – Preston House

Howard Rachofsky encouraged and allowed Richard Meier to explore and experiment in this 10,000 square foot home on Preston Road. The seemingly simple, effortlessly floating stark facade belies its massive and intricate structure that gives it its grace. As you move around this architecturally significant masterpiece, the home transforms itself from soaring planes juxtaposed with vertical cylinders, to a series of massive flat squares and horizontals protruding from the plane of glass responding to the vertical slabs of granite in the rear garden, to the compelling diagonals of the interior stairs that slice through the horizontal outline of the house.

Also, you will see strong vertical elements that are lined up with the open stairs that ascend from the garden to the second floor. The shadow lines and phenomenal engineering allow the home to appear to be a series of floating planes. The home, designed as a few open rooms, gives you the sensation of dozens of rooms from the sculptural quality of the home and the many architectural views it provides. While there is great order in the home, there is no aesthetic hierarchy. Every space resonates with grace and beauty.