This midcentury modern house might be the next best thing to living in the Sunsphere

Few structures in Knoxville are as iconic as the Sunsphere, designed by Hubert Bebb and Bill Denton of Community Tectonics. But what would it be like to live inside it?

With 115 windows and its own irregular shape, a house for sale in Newport - one also designed by Bebb - might offer the closest you can get to finding out.

For real estate broker Shannon Foster-Boline, the biggest parallel between the Sunsphere and the 404 Sixth St. house is "that feeling of a 360 panoramic view." Beyond its overlap with the Sunsphere, the house generally reflects Bebb's trademark features, like midcentury modern proclivities and the incorporation of the natural landscape.

Other famous Bebb designs include the Clingmans Dome Observation Tower in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and parts of the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, according to TennesseeEncyclopedia.net.

What's inside the Bebb house?

When the sellers purchased the Newport house in 2018, little had changed since its construction in 1976, said Foster-Boline. She calls the house a "pretty amazing piece of history." Recently, the sellers have renovated the home, updating and replacing elements where necessary, but preserving Bebb's original design every step of the way.

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"This has been so lovingly restored," Foster-Boline said. The sellers "updated and modernized the places used the most," she added. The kitchen now has all new appliances and an island, and the bathrooms have new fixtures.

The house's unique features include the midcentury modern-style conversation pit and a sliding chandelier in the dining room that can be moved to align with different layouts. "I think he was not afraid to be unexpected," Foster-Boline said of Bebb's creative designs.

Walk upstairs, and you'll find yourself gazing down at the sunken living room, or out at the mountain view. "You're king of the world up here," said Foster-Boline. The upper level is entirely the owner's suite, with a balcony and bathroom whose circularity feels particularly Bebb.

Inside the bathroom is a shower with wood paneling, but the quirkiest element is the closet, which wraps around the backside of the bathroom like a sort of passageway, enclosed by a series of doors bearing full-length mirrors.

The house also contains three fireplaces, a walk-in pantry, original decorative glass and a laundry room that can be hidden with sliding doors that match the hallway outside it.

What features make it stand out as a Bebb house?

"The last thing I would want to do would be to impose an ill-conceived structure amidst the magnificent beauty of these mountains that I sincerely love," Bebb wrote in a 1959 letter to the editor of National Parks Magazine regarding criticism of the Clingmans Dome tower.

Bebb's appreciation of the natural world was expressed in his Newport house. Foster-Boline describes it as an "organic feel." It's not just the natural light and curving shapes that create this atmosphere, though. A real fossil embedded in the rock accent wall in the owner's bedroom is arguably Bebb's most inventive approach to bringing the outside in.

The exterior reflects Bebb's environmental inclinations too. A wraparound porch adorned with variously-sized red rocking chairs provides a spot to take in the outdoors, as does the Zen-inspired garden off the back deck, accessible through the basement.

The Clingmans Dome tower and the Sunsphere are solidly built, constructed of concrete and steel respectively. This durability is evident in the Newport house too. There's a soundness to the structure, Foster-Boline said, most evident in the supportive steel beams visible in the unfinished portion of the basement.

How much is the historic Bebb house listed for?

As of June 12, the house was listed for $825,000. More information, including tour scheduling, can be found on the Foster-Boline Group website or by contacting Realty Executives Associates at 865-588-3232.

Hayden Dunbar is the storyteller reporter. Email [email protected].

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Midcentury modern house in Newport was designed by Sunsphere architect