Famed Architect Charles Gwathmey Designed This $8 Million Connecticut Home
This striking home in a bucolic Connecticut setting was designed and built in 1981 by the important late architect Charles Gwathmey, the same man behind the renovation and expansion of Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic Guggenheim Museum in 1992. The meticulously maintained residence, known as The Falls, has recently come for sale at $8 million with Kathryn Clair of William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty.
Gwathmey’s much less ballyhooed, albeit equally eye-catching residential project in the Connecticut countryside sits on over 40 acres on the rural outskirts of Litchfield County’s picturesque town of Kent. The Falls was snapped up over two decades ago in 2002 by philanthropists and modernist architecture enthusiasts Donna and Ben Rosen. The relatively young age of the home and its location—somewhere other than the Hamptons—were key to the couple’s decision to buy it.
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“We both realized we were interested in the pastoral aspects of Litchfield, but we were not interested in getting involved in a major renovation of a Colonial house, which is what was popular up there,” the New Orleans natives told Mansion Global. Newly married at the time they acquired the home, the couple is now looking to downsize.
Hidden out of sight down a long, tree-lined lane shared with only a couple other secluded homes, the abode at 23 Mauwee Brook Way comprises four bedrooms and five full bathrooms across its 4,500 square feet. Similar to the Guggenheim, the structure embodies the tenets of organic architecture, favoring sweeping curves that seamlessly blend into its lush, wooded surroundings.
The Rosens commissioned landscape designer Deborah Nevins to spruce up the site, which is protected by a conservation easement that ensures future development. The manicured grounds include a tranquil stream and an active waterfall, broad sweeps of lawn, and a flourishing wildflower meadow. There are sculptures sprinkled across the property.
The couple also hired Israeli-American architect Michael Arad, best known for being the designer of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in lower Manhattan, to create an addition that connects to the main home via a glass-and-stone pathway. Elsewhere, the revamped Japanese-esque interiors were thandled by the acclaimed New York-based designer Stephen Sills.
Despite the extension and cosmetic tweaks here and there, many of the home’s original elements remain unchanged, including the double-height glass atrium-like living room with a curved wall of glass that overlooks the waterfall—hence how the house got its name. The living room leads out to a sprawling stone terrace. Other highlights include a living green roof, planted with perennials.
The estate also counts bocce and tennis courts, a swimming pool, and a hot tub as recent additions. “It’s a place to enjoy nature in the privacy of your own world,” Donna told Mansion Global. “I really hope that a family will embrace it and enjoy it the way we loved it.”
Click here to see more photos of The Falls.
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