Rare midcentury-modern home designed by Twin Towers architect lists for $2.89M
A rare Michigan home designed by Minoru Yamasaki, the visionary architect behind New York City’s original World Trade Center, has just been listed for $2.89 million.The late Yamasaki, best known for creating the original Twin Towers, which tragically fell during the 9/11 terror attacks, designed this gem in 1957, well before his career-defining project in Lower Manhattan.
The 3,700-square-foot home, located at 5280 Brookdale Road, features six bedrooms, three bathrooms and sits on a 2.64-acre lot.With its flat roof, expansive windows and open layout, this ranch-style house embodies Yamasaki’s signature modernist style, showcasing the same clean lines and understated elegance he later employed in the creation of the Twin Towers.
The home, located in Bloomfield Hills near Detroit, has been owned since 1988 by Sameer Eid, the restaurateur behind Birmingham’s Phoenicia and Forest restaurants, as well as Leila in downtown Detroit.Eid bought the house after a serendipitous conversation with a friend at one of his restaurants.
For more than three decades, he raised his family in this architectural treasure, cherishing its simplicity and tranquility.“It’s perfect, easy living,” Eid told Crains Detroit, pointing out the home’s spacious, single-story layout.
Beyond the home’s historical and architectural significance, it sits in a sought-after area where new development is booming.The property is listed by Dylan Tent of Signature Sotheby’s International Realty.
Tent speculates that the property could appeal to a buyer looking to preserve Yamasaki’s design or potentially build a new estate.“You could put a massive, beautiful estate on that lot,” Tent suggested, hinting at the growing trend of tearing down mid-century homes for new construction in the neighborhood.
The home’s backyard once boasted over 50 trees, including a centuries-old oak tree believed to be the oldest in Oakland County, which fell after years of decay.Removing it, Eid said, ...