Norman F. Carver, Jr.'s Japanese-Inspired Masterpiece

‘A Nice, Quiet Place’

John Hill | 29. January 2025

If Norman F. Carver, Jr. is a familiar name, it is most likely due to his books rather than his houses. Carver wrote and photographed numerous books on vernacular around the world, from Italian hilltowns and Greek island villages to North African villages and the “silent cities” of Mexico and the Maya. His most famous book is Form and Space of Japanese Architecture, which he wrote following a Fulbright Scholarship, was first published in the 1950s, and was updated a few decades later. The influence of traditional Japanese architecture on the residential designs of Carver is clear when seeing the Judy House, one of approximately 150 houses the Kalamazoo native designed from the 1950s until his death in 2018.

Tim and Vanessa Hills own several Carver-designed homes in Kalamazoo, but they live in the Judy House, named for the family that commissioned the house in the early 1970s. In the 11-minute film from Open Space, we learn about the Judy family, Carver's career, the design of the Judy House, and what the Hills have done to preserve and live in it. Their appreciation of Carver's architecture is deep, apparent in their words in the film but also in Norman F. Carver, Jr., Architect of Form and Space, the book that Tim wrote and his modern design company, Trystcraft, published on Carver's long and prolific career in Kalamazoo.

Watch “Exploring a Japanese-Inspired Masterpiece by Norman Carver Jr in Michigan” below or on the website of Open Space.

See also: “The Glass House – A film by Open Space,” our first feature with a film by Elias Tebache and Mick Aure of Open Space.

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