New York's 'Love Island house' is a bit of all Wright: helipad puts £11m mansion designed by world-famous architect within 15 minutes of the Big Apple

Sitting on a heart-shaped island in the middle of a lake, Massaro House has been the subject of controversy. It was built 48 years after Frank Lloyd Wright's death and does not adhere exactly to the famous American architect's design.
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Becky Davies24 August 2017

A heart-shaped island featuring a jewel of a house originally designed by one of the world’s most famous architects has gone on the market for £11m.

Petra Island, a 10-acre wooded outcrop in the middle of Lake Mahopac, 50 miles north of New York City, is home to the Massaro House, originally designed by famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

The island includes two guest houses, a tea house and a dock for your boat. There is even a rooftop helipad, which puts New York City within 15 minutes of the property.

The seven-bedroom, 5,000sq ft main house perches on a slab of rock that has been incorporated into the structure of the building and provides stunning features in many rooms.

Wraparound windows provide breathtaking views of the lake and the surrounding area near Carmel in New York state, while there are several decks and a wraparound balcony to enjoy the views unhindered by glass.

AN ISLAND HOME SHROUDED IN CONTROVERSY
Just over 300 of the structures built in Lloyd Wright’s lifetime survive. Massaro House was completed in 2007, 48 years after Frank Lloyd Wright’s death, and since then has been the subject of controversy because it does not follow Lloyd Wright’s original design exactly.

Although most of Lloyd Wright’s drawings were adhered to, the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation has refused to recognise the building as one of the architect’s works.

They say that the rock formations intrude into the house beyond Lloyd Wright’s principles, that the domed skylights should be of flat glass and that he abhorred chimneys. They also baulked at the installation of air-conditioning and radiant heating.

The house was commissioned from America's most renowned architect in 1949 by the island’s then owner A. K. Chahroudi. Lloyd Wright's organic style of architecture, seen at least in part in this building, reflected his belief that man should live in harmony with the environment.

His most famous work is Fallingwater, built over a waterfall in rural Pittsburgh in 1939 and hailed today as one of the most beautiful houses in the world.

Chahroudi is reported to have baulked at the $50,000 construction estimate for his home and instead asked Lloyd Wright to build a small cottage on the island.

However, sheet metal contractor Joe Massaro decided to resurrect the plans after buying the island in 1996. Construction is said to have taken four years because of the need to wait for the lake to freeze every winter to bring over the building materials.

Authentic or not, the house — which after a lawsuit by the foundation is only allowed to described as “inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright — and its island would make a perfect getaway from the big city for one lucky multimillionaire.

Massaro House is for sale through Chiltern & Chadwick for $14.92million.

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