The Kenneth and Elizabeth Gregg Patterson House, designed by Robert Metcalf, is located on a steeply sloped wooded lot with excellent views of downtown Ann Arbor to the southwest. From the street, the wood and steel frame house appears as a simple two story, square volume or cube with a flat roof and attached carport. The home's entrance, in the center of the facade, is located under a slightly convex metal visor supported on thin posts. The entry door is louvered with a large fixed-pane sidelight. Above the door and sidelight a large fixed window extends from the door head to the eave. The walls of the house are clad with vertically oriented redwood boards. Upon viewing the south elevation it becomes clear that a portion of the front wall serves as a screen and that although the frame continues, the volume is not solid. A small addition to expand the kitchen and dining area, also designed by Metcalf, is tucked in behind the carport and blends seamlessly with the original architecture. A spiral staircase provides access from the porch of the addition down to grade a story below. At the rear of the house, a large, two-story screened porch cantilevers above the sloping hill and serves as a sun-shade for the living room and bedrooms. A room on the lowest level of the home that originally housed a billiard table is exposed beneath the screened-in porch.
The original program for the Patterson home called for a series of "gay and inspiring," yet informal, spaces for the couple to live and entertain in. Additionally, the Pattersons requested that the bedroom and study spaces be separate and that the project include a variety of outdoor activity spaces. Billiards and gardening, hobbies of the Pattersons, would also need to be accommodated in the design. The property selected by the Pattersons was on the crest of a hill overlooking Plymouth Road and downtown Ann Arbor. The sloping topography of the site and the desire to capture the best views would influence the orientation and design of the new home.
By the time the Pattersons had moved to Ann Arbor from Saginaw, Elizabeth was semi-retired from an accomplished career as an author and devoted much of her time to travel and other activist pursuits. Project correspondence indicates that "Liz" provided much of the input and guidance to Metcalf regarding the design of the home.
After Kenneth had passed away, Elizabeth suffered a debilitating stroke in 1983. Shortly thereafter the Pattersons' son, David, moved his mother to Key West, Florida, where he resided. Elizabeth passed away in 1987. The home was subsequently purchased by Fred and Anne Ormand. Fred Ormand was a professor of clarinet at the University of Michigan and his wife Anne was a Spanish teacher at Ypsilanti High School. The Ormands sold the property in 2008.
