Yale School of Architecture’s Dean, Deborah Berke, is an accomplished and decorated architect. The founder of the TenBerke firm, she is responsible for such notable projects as the Residential Colleges at Princeton University, the Cummins Indy Distribution Headquarters, the Rockefeller Arts Center at SUNY Fredonia, the Yale School of Art in New Haven, Connecticut, and the 21c Museum Hotels across the South and Midwest. She is the winner of the Topaz Medallion, the highest honor for architectural education, the Berkeley-Rupp Prize at the University of California at Berkeley, which is given to an architect who has advanced the position of women in the profession, and the AIA Gold Medal Award for a lasting impact on the theory and practice of architecture. In 2014, the venerable architect completed a bespoke renovation of a stunning mid-century-modern home in Rye, NY, winning the 2015 Hudson Valley Design Award. That home has now hit the market for $4.95 million usd/ $6.89 million cad.
Originally built in 1969 by notable architect Milton Klein, the 6,500-square-foot residence is a classic California-style modern with the walls of glass, steel-frame construction, stark lines, and an open floor plan characteristic of the coveted aesthetic. As described in her book, House Rules: An Architect’s Guide to Modern Life, Berke was primarily inspired by nature in her home renovation, a philosophy in keeping with the ethos of the modern design movement. She chose materials like warm mahogany to act as a deep contrast to the concrete and stucco features.
