Lundy House and Studio (1985–88) / by Benjamin Hill Photography
The home of visionary architect Victor Lundy has been saved. A pair of local preservationists have purchased the Bellaire property, securing the future of a remarkable work of modern design weeks before a previous owner was set to begin demolition.
When the house first went on the market last summer, Preservation Houston and Houston Mod worked together to raise awareness of its significance, hosting a virtual program with architectural historians Donna Kacmar and Stephen Fox and an open house that drew more than 100 visitors. Among them were Carol Price, a member of PH’s Board of Directors, and her husband, Dan, both of whom immediately fell in love with the house.
The property sold to another owner who initially expressed interest in preserving the home before deciding to replace it with new construction. In response, PH joined Houston Mod, Docomomo US and the Texas Historical Foundation to advocate for preservation and help bring national attention to the threat. The effort ultimately led the Prices to negotiate a private purchase. They plan to restore the property and explore possibilities for its continued use and preservation.
Lundy, who died last year at 101, was among the most inventive voices in postwar American modernism. Trained under Walter Gropius at Harvard, he brought a sculptor’s sensibility to his architecture, creating expressive churches, cultural buildings and finely crafted homes. His Bellaire residence, completed in the 1980s for himself and his wife, Anstis, embodied that spirit with sweeping curves, walls of glass and light-filled spaces paired with an elegant, elliptical-arched studio.
The Prices — longtime preservation advocates and recipients of a 2012 Good Brick Award for their own historic home — have ensured that one of the Houston area’s most distinctive modern landmarks will be saved. Their purchase stands as a powerful example of how advocacy, partnership and action can protect the places that shape our shared history and identity.