WALTER BURLEY GRIFFIN
Harvey B. Hurd Comstock House I - 1908
1416 Church St, Evanston, Illinois   

The Comstock Residence is one of a number of Walter Burley Griffin residences I have been able to visit. When compared to examples of contemporary Organic Architecture these early structures can be a little banal, but it is important to understand their context. Early Organic Architecture lets us understand the development of the ideas behind connecting people and buildings to their environment. In the Comstock Residence the upper floor takes up a cruciform shaped plan, with each axis cantilevering out into space. The eaves of the axis are even more exaggerated. This, combined with the extensive glass, helps to create a space that feels as if it is exploding out into the environment, blurring the definition between inside and out.