Callahan Residence
Project Title
Callahan Residence
Description
Alston and Elivor Callahan owned a piece of property atop Red Mountain overlooking Birmingham, Alabama. The Callahans requested a house that would give them the sense of living in a control tower, similar to the one at Dulles Airport in Washington, DC, to overlook the city. Safdie's proposal comprised of a series of intersected cubes rotated at 45 degrees with the horizontal. The unique geometry with an elongated rectangular plan suited this unusual site. The design approach resulted in an extroverted yet transparent building that commands its surroundings.

Images on this page: 1 Elevation view; 2 Ground level view; 3 Interior view; 4 Wall detail; 5 Building section

Birmingham, Alabama, United States of America

Timeline
between 1978 and 1981
Completion Date
Notes
Client: Alston and Eivor Callahan; Size: 724 sq m

Project Type
Creator
Safdie Architects
Rights:
© Safdie Architects. Explicit permission to use images is required. Contact the Communications Director at Safdie Architects (617.629.2100) for more information.