EUGENE, Ore. -- (Aug. 2, 2011) - A house used for teaching and research by the University of Oregon's School of Architecture and Allied Arts has received a significant honor from Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. The Watzek House, designed by modern regional architecture designer John Yeon, is designated a National Historic Landmark.

The Watzek House in Portland is only the 17th site - and seventh building-- in Oregon to receive the national honor. The Watzek house has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1974.

National Historic Landmarks are nationally significant historic places designated by the Secretary of the Interior because they possess exceptional value or quality in illustrating or interpreting the heritage of the United States. Other Oregon sites include Pioneer Courthouse (Portland); Timberline Lodge (Mount Hood); and Deady and Villard Halls (University of Oregon).

The Watzek house is owned and maintained by the State of Oregon for use of the University of Oregon's School of Architecture and Allied Arts and the John Yeon Center. It was donated by Portland resident Richard Louis Brown, who lived in the house from 1973 to 2009.

The 1937 historic house was built for Aubrey Watzek, lumber baron, and features extensive use of native wood and other local materials. The house was designed by 26-year old John Yeon (1910-94), an Oregonian and pioneer of the Pacific Northwest regional style of architecture design. Yeon was also active in landscape conservation and museum exhibition design later in his career.

Yeon used materials found in the Northwest for the building and landscape design, integrated innovative double pane windows and passive cooling techniques into the house, and incorporated the natural landscape as integral with the building form.

The Watzek house was featured in New York's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in 1939 as one of 12 outstanding houses, including those designed by Mies van der Rohe, Frank Lloyd Wright and others.

For further information on the Watzek House, John Yeon, or other John Yeon Centers properties, please visit the website at aaa.uoregon.edu/institutes/yeon. Public tours will be advertised on the web or by contacting yeongrf@uoregon.edu.

About the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon is a world-class teaching and research institution and Oregon's flagship public university. The UO is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization made up of the 63 leading public and private research institutions in the United States and Canada. The University of Oregon is one of only two AAU members in the Pacific Northwest.

Contact: Karen Johnson, A&AA external relations and communications, karenjj@uoregon.edu, 541-346-3603

Source: Robert Melnick, rzm@uoregon.edu, director, John Yeon Center; Adam Fetcher (DOI) 202-208-6416, Kathy Kupper (NPS) 202-208-6843

Links:
http://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/AMERICAS-GREAT-OUTDOORS-Secretary-...

http://aaa.uoregon.edu/institutes/yeon

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