Last year, the Kansas City-based firm Hufft Projects completed their challenging and intricate restoration of the Snower House, designed by famed architect Marcel Breuer in 1954. Located in the upscale neighborhood of Mission Hills, the 1,900-square-foot home is a Modernist gem. With its flat roof, archly rectangular structure, open living areas, and cantilevered first floor, it is a classic example of what Modernist architects were rightly renowned for: light-filled interiors, the use of industrial or readily available materials (in this case, cedar siding), and the creation of small, elegant spaces that were joyously livable. Robert Snower and his wife lived in the house until the former died in 2013 at the age of 90, almost sixty years after moving in. "It is determinedly minimalist," said architect Matthew Hufft, "right down to Breuer's use of color on the exterior." When Snower's family came to sell the house, aware that the lot value in the neighborhood now outweighed the actual value of the house, they found a couple, Robert Barnes and Karen Bisset, intent on preserving it.
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