Moving Sam Maloof by Ann Kovara, AIA, LEED AP, hardbound
Ann was the Maloof Relocation Project construction manager. She was personally selected by Sam after he’d rejected the first ten applicants sent to him for his approval. At 82, Sam was losing the warm, enclosing sanctuary that he and Alfreda had created over almost 50 years. Then, early in the project, Alfreda died, leaving Sam without the pillar that had supported and inspired him from the first days of their marriage. It was an important part of Ann’s job to support and accommodate Sam through this painful transition to the new site and of finding ways for him to work with the County, State and private entities that were all a part of moving his world. This was no easy task after 50 years of Sam doing everything “his” way in his own environment.
Ann gives a detailed description of the exhausting process of moving the historic home, guest home, shop, wood barn and selected trees. Then reassembling the buildings several miles away, replanting the trees, recreating the concrete and stone walls that Sam had created in the old location and then adding the new residence and recreating the structures which were not qualified to move. The book is heavily enriched with photographs of the buildings before the move, after the move, and the ungainly pieces of building balanced on their truck beds during the move. Ann also shares stories of working with Sam during this period of radical change and provides a short biography to complete the story of Sam and place the move into a meaningful context. This book will appeal to anyone interested in Sam’s life or in the creation of the Foundation site.