In Bellaire, a Houston enclave with multi-million-dollar new builds, a modest midcentury structure now sits under threat. Low-slung, with walls of glass and rough brick, the house is unassuming from the street, but inside, a staring studio that floods with Texas light once gave shape to the vision of architect Victor Lundy, a leading figure in American modernism.
The home and studio at 701 Mulberry Lane is now slated for demolition. Recently, the owners contracted Habitat For Humanity to dismantle the property piece by piece. A coalition of preservationists including Houston Mod, Preservation Houston, and Docomomo US have rallied to save the house, delivering a letter to the owners along with a $1.75 million offer to buy the house. The appeal was rejected.
The letter, written by the executive director of Docomomo US Liz Waytkus, opens: “The house is an important local landmark, as evidenced by the awestruck crowds during recent open house events there, but also so much more. It is a testament to the life’s work of an indispensable and innovative American architect of modern history who was beloved by those who knew him and also by those all over the country who have come to love his designs.”
Lundy’s Architectural Legacy
Lundy died in 2024, at 101. He was a pioneering voice in postwar American modernism whose work fused structural daring with artistic sensibility. A founding figure of the Sarasota School of Architecture, Lundy pushed the boundaries of wood and concrete to create buildings that seemed to defy gravity while remaining deeply humane in scale and spirit. Trained under Walter Gropius at Harvard after serving in World War II, he carried both Bauhaus rigor and Beaux-Arts artistry into his practice, designing churches, showrooms, cultural buildings, and homes that remain some of the era’s most expressive works of architecture. From the soaring rooflines of the Unitarian Meeting House in Hartford, Connecticut, to the delicate sculptural bends of his Texas and Florida projects, Lundy’s designs embodied his lifelong belief that architecture could be both a technical feat and an act of poetry.
Lundy’s Bellaire residence, completed in 1988, exemplified that sensibility. Built on a half-acre lot, the two-bedroom, two-bath home combined his signature use of wood, meandering forms, and natural light. It features high beamed ceilings, stone floors, built-in cabinetry, and expansive glass walls that open to surrounding trees. A curved wall defines the main living space, while clerestory windows and skylights bring daylight from multiple directions. Alongside the house stands a large studio Lundy built in 1985 for his wife, artist Anstis Lundy. The structure is notable for its roof of seven elliptical glue-laminated arches.
Reversed Course
The property was sold to its current owners in October 2024. According to the Houston Area Realtor’s website, it was listed at $1.7 million and sold within 33 days for between $1.43 and $1.64 million. At the time, the buyers expressed interest in both the house and studio, according to Houston Mod president Steve Curry; listing agent; and seller Nick Lundy, the architect’s son. They have since reversed course, deciding the house is too small and opting to build a larger one in its place. Because the property lies in a flood zone, raising the existing structure would be required before adding onto it.
The owners told Curry they have engaged Habitat for Humanity’s Deconstruction Program to dismantle the house and studio, salvaging materials for resale or reuse. Unlike traditional demolition, the program removes usable elements such as hardwood floors, doors, cabinetry, lighting, lumber, and architectural details, which are then sold through Habitat’s ReStores or repurposed in housing repair projects.
Their decision reflects a broader trend in Bellaire, where land values have surged over the past two decades. Large lots are increasingly occupied by expansive new builds, replacing the modernist ranches and bungalows that once defined the neighborhood. Bellaire’s strong schools, central location, and leafy streets have made it one of Houston’s most desirable addresses at the cost of erasing architectural heritage. Larger, newer houses in Lundy’s neighborhood typically sell in the $2.5 to $3 million range.
For now, Lundy’s home stands with a construction fence around it. Its fate echoes a broader tension in American cities, where modernist landmarks, once considered too recent to merit protection, now meet the wrecking ball amid development pressures.
“Victor Lundy was a leader in the modernist movement when he moved to Houston in 1976, and I was fortunate to know him as my fifth-year design professor at the University of Houston Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture & Design,” Curry told AN. “The ensemble of his home and studio, built separately and completed in 1988, stands as a Houston landmark, a signature Lundy work of spatial grandeur and structural expressiveness. A singular masterpiece, strategically planned with modesty to the street and a remarkable exuberance beyond, it has a cultural and historical significance like no other Houston residence.”
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