Hamptons 20th Century Modern House Tour Is August 11

The Hamptons 20th Century Modern House Tour returns for its third year on Sunday, August 11, with an exclusive look inside five homes as well as talks with renowned architects.

The house tour is presented by Hamptons Cottages & Gardens with the nonprofit organization Hamptons 20 Century Modern, which was founded in 2020 by Southampton interior designer Timothy Godbold to advocate for the preservation of modern architecture on the East End in the face of redevelopment pressure.

The oldest houses on the tour, both built in 1957, are the Frisbie House in Amagansett, by Andrew Geller, and the Russell House in Water Mill, by Peter Blake and Julian Neski.

Julian and Barbara Neski’s namesake house, built in 1965, is also in Water Mill. The Renny and Ellin Saltzman House in East Hampton was built by Richard Meier in 1969, and also in East Hampton is a 1970s house by Don Chapell that was renovated by the Bridgehampton firm Oza Sabbeth Architects.

Godbold said he wanted to include the house redone by Oza Sabbeth because it demonstrates that rather than demolishing older homes, homebuyers can bring them back and update them. “These houses are very cool, and design-wise they have a lot of integrity,” he said. “And they’re just not another boring cookie-cutter Hamptons house.”

He said he gets upset when he sees “really ugly spec houses” being built with no architectural merit that all look the same. “And I think it would be a real shame if the Hamptons just ended up turning into a suburb, because it’s kind of going that way,” he added.

His nonprofit works to turn the tide.

According to Godbold, there has been unnecessary bashing of modernist architecture in the Hamptons that fails to recognize its history. Modernist architecture was part of the art community from the 1930s until the 1980s when the “faux English mansion” style came into fashion, he said.

“I really come from a place where there’s enough room for everyone, and there’s enough room for modernist architecture, and there’s plenty of room for traditional architecture,” he said.

Because many of these little modern houses were built in prime locations, with an ocean, bay or field vista, they are ripe for redevelopment, he pointed out.

He wants homebuyers and builders to realize that little modern houses make great guest houses and pool houses, and “they can keep that house and go build their massive new house somewhere else on the property.”

“They don’t have to tear it down. They can keep it as a charming anecdote to the area and to their property,” he said.

Modern houses, by virtue of being less than a century old, don’t benefit from the preservation laws that protect historic homes from demolition or the kind of alterations that would make them unrecognizable. Hamptons 20 Century Modern works to publicize modern homes to attract future owners who will be sensitive to their architectural merit and want to save them.

“We’ve had houses written up around the world,” Godbold said of the nonprofit’s successful publicity efforts. “So it’s really important, honestly, to get people aware of what we have. That’s our first priority, is really getting the word out.”

He said he wants Hamptons 20 Century Modern to become akin to Palm Springs Modernism Week — the annual February event in California that celebrates modern architecture with tours and talks.

“They’ve really embraced modernism in Palm Springs as a cultural part of their heritage,” he said.

He said when he’s delivered talks about modern architecture in the Hamptons, people are surprised to learn what the East End has to offer.

“If we can bring awareness to these houses, get people excited about them, get people buying them, then they become coveted,” Godbold said. “And then people will fight over buying them. I would love a bidding war over houses out here.”

The nonprofit has hired people to write up houses for New York State’s Cultural Resource Information System. Godbold said when builders punch in a house’s ID number they will learn the importance of the house’s architectural history. He said that may not be enough to save a house, but it will raise a red flag and encourage more consideration.

Godbold said modern architecture speaks to a time and place in history and his fear is that in 10 years there will be a resurgence in interest, but when young architectural students come out to see these houses, they will all be torn down.

“It’s an important part of the history of the Hamptons, to keep these houses,” he said. “It’s the same as, why do we keep captain’s houses in Sag Harbor? Because it’s all part of the history of the area. And modernist architecture is integral in the history of the Hamptons.”

The tour will include three half-hour sessions with speakers: Oza Sabbeth partner Nilay Oza will lead a conversation with the owners of the Chapell house; filmmaker Jake Gorst will discuss the work of his grandfather, Andrew Geller; and Susan Horowitz, the director of preservation projects for Hamptons 20 Century Modern, will deliver a talk on the Neskis based on an interview she conducted with Barbara Neski last year.

The tour weekend will also include a VIP event the day before the tour itself. On Saturday, August 10, VIP ticketholders will be welcome to the Georgie Nelson House in Montauk, designed by George Nelson and his partner Gordon Chadwick. The home is notable for being composed entirely of hexagonal rooms and also for being a replica.

The original house was completed in 1962 and later demolished and replaced. This house was built in 1989 on a neighboring lot, according to Hamptons 20 Century Modern.

Architect Lauren Rottet, who purchased the George Nelson House in 2012 and set about restoring it, will host a limited number of people for a tour at 4:30 p.m. concluding with a discussion with Rottet and George Smart, the founder and CEO of USModernist, a nonprofit educational archive dedicated to modernist residential design.

The Hamptons 20th Century Modern House Tour is Sunday, August 11, from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tickets start at $193.92 for general admission and $97.88 for students. Wristbands and booklets will be handed out starting at 9 a.m. at the East Hampton Lumber Lane parking lot, and ticketholders will drive themselves between stops. The VIP event is Saturday, August 10, from 4:30 to 7 p.m. VIP tickets are $300.62, which also includes admission to the tour. Visit hamptons20centurymodern.org/events for tickets.