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

modernist architect Modern architecture, also called modernist architecture, or the modern movement, is an architectural movement and style that was prominent in the 20th century, between the earlier Art Deco and later postmodern movements. Modern architecture was ...

, best known for designing post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

suburban homes.

Early life and career

Pierce was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

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

and graduated from the

Virginia Polytechnic Institute The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

in 1941. He served in the

United States Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wo ...

during

doing reconstruction work in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. After the war, Pierce studied architecture at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

. 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, located 10 miles (16 km) from Downtown Boston. The population was 34,454 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The area was originally inhabited by ...

which had once served as a dairy farm and peacock sanctuary. They began creating a subdivision of affordable but aesthetically pleasing

split-level home A split-level home (sometimes called a tri-level home) is a style of house in which the floor levels are staggered. There are typically two short sets of stairs, one running upward to a bedroom level, and one going downward toward a basement a ...

s 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. 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 Peacock Farm 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 The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is an international center for research and education in biological and environmental science. Founded in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, in 1888, the MBL is a private, nonprofit institution that was independent ...

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 southwestern corner of Cape Cod, near Martha's Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands. The population was 78 ...

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

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

n design as well as

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and

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

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. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...

and '' Better Homes and Gardens''.Yardley, William, A24 In November 2012, Peacock Farm was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

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