Radical houses of the last century

Architectural Digest showcases groundbreaking residences of the past century and their innovative architects, including Frank Lloyd Wright and Philip Johnson.

Maison à Bordeaux, Floirac, Gironde, France
Architect: Rem Koolhaas/OMA

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Equipped with an open hydraulic platform that rises through the core of a complex three-story building, the powerful, provocative Lemoine dwelling — completed in 1998 by architect Rem Koolhaas’s OMA studio — is a startling construction that resulted from a moving précis: to build a home for a family whose father was a paraplegic.

Newspaper magnate Jean-François Lemoine (who died in 2001) was adamant that the house commissioned by him and his wife, Hélène, address his disability as discreetly as possible, hence the idiosyncratic platform. Measuring about 11 1/5-by-10-feet wide, it served as Lemoine’s office, a virtual command center that allowed wheelchair access to each level of the five-bedroom structure while passing along a towering wall that incorporates a library, wine cellar, and art display.

The house’s glass-wrapped main level and porthole windows on the third floor offer views of the nearby city of Bordeaux and the Garonne River. Photo: Hans Werlemann