Disabled access is limited. A glass-fronted collection of hexagons with a brick chimney at its core, the structure's honeycomb shapes are mimicked in many of the home's details. A graceful sloping roof reflects both the architect's and the original owners' affinity for Japanese aesthetic. Many of the furnishings built-in and freestanding were designed by Wright as well, Turner said. Before Loma Prieta, the house was home to the Hanna family from 1938 until 1975, and later to four Stanford provosts and their families.
Experts acknowledge that poor structural work contributed to the extensive earthquake damage.
Wright had designed a building in which the foundations and chimneys were essentially unreinforced. Fears of further tremors forced the university to evacuate the building after the quake. Those involved in the revival had to decide whether to restore the building to such seismic fitness that the house would be only a replica of its original form or to maintain the integrity of Wright's original vision while adding just enough seismic reinforcement to make it safe. In the end, much of the house's concrete slab floor was replaced with a new one, designed to replicate the original with its hexagonal detail. Underneath that floor, engineers installed a system of concrete beams that connect the central chimney and retaining walls.