Walter Smith Pierce (February 10, 1920 – February 27, 2013) was an American

modernist architect Modern architecture, or modernist architecture, was an architectural movement or architectural style based upon new and innovative technologies of construction, particularly the use of glass, steel, and reinforced concrete; the idea that Form f ...

, best known for designing post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

suburban homes.

Early life and career

Pierce was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and graduated from the

Virginia Polytechnic Institute Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

in 1941. He served in the

United States Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

during

doing reconstruction work in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. After the war, Pierce studied architecture at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

. Following graduation, he formed a partnership with a former classmate, Danforth Compton. In 1951, Pierce and Compton purchased 45 acres of land in

Lexington, Massachusetts Lexington is a suburban town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is 10 miles (16 km) from Downtown Boston. The population was 34,454 as of the 2020 census. The area was originally inhabited by Native Americans, and was firs ...

which had once served as a dairy farm and peacock sanctuary. They began creating a subdivision of affordable but aesthetically pleasing split-level homes that were intended to improve people's lives by "improving their relationship to the land".Yardley, William, p. A24. The houses were designed to accommodate the wooded and hilly terrain on which they were constructed. The subdivision, which was built between 1952 and 1958, was named

Peacock Farm Peacock Farm is a residential neighborhood and historic district of mid-century modern houses in Lexington, Massachusetts. Description Peacock Farm is a residential neighborhood located in the southeast corner of Lexington, Massachusetts. Mos ...

. Pierce's designs feature open floor plans, asymmetrical roofs, walls of glass, and raised basements. Seven homes had been built at the time of Danforth Compton's death in 1955.Survey from Lexington Historical Society
/ref> When construction was finished in 1958, the

subdivision consisted of 52 split-level homes selling for $20,000. Pierce formed a new firm in 1964, producing designs for custom homes, public schools and the Marine Biological Laboratory at

Woods Hole Woods Hole is a census-designated place in the town of Falmouth in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. It lies at the extreme southwest corner of Cape Cod, near Martha's Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands. The population was 781 at ...

, Massachusetts. He has said that he was influenced by modern

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

n design as well as Japanese and

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

n architectural styles. His split-level design took first place in the 1957 standard-plan competition held by the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...

and '' Better Homes and Gardens''.Yardley, William, A24 In November 2012,

was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

as an early example of Modernist architecture. Pierce was a fellow of the

Personal life

Pierce was married to Marianne Fisker until her death in 2006. They had two sons, Stefan and Christian. Pierce lived in the Peacock Farm house he designed for 55 years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pierce, Walter 1920 births 2013 deaths 20th-century American architects Virginia Tech alumni MIT School of Architecture and Planning alumni