Russel Wright (1904-1975), a noted American industrial designer, worked for more than thirty years to site, design, construct, decorate, and furnish his remarkable house Dragon Rock in Garrison, New York. Located in an abandoned quarry, the site Wright called Manitoga contains acres of walking trails, carefully constructed landscapes and vistas, and Wright s studio and sculptural house. The rugged terrain of the quarry and the surrounding vegetation directly influenced the design of the house which is constructed on eleven levels, and incorporates boulders, trees, and plant materials into the structure and interior. In some areas of the house the interior is almost indistinguishable from the exterior because of the positioning of large rocks, and the broad expanses of glass on the southern and eastern sides overlooking the quarry pond. Wright selected and applied all the interior finishes, including plaster, paint and wood coatings. He purposely juxtaposed natural materials such as wood, stone, leather, copper, and fur, with newly invented materials like epoxy paints, plexiglas, styrofoam, and Formica. Wright described Dragon Rock as follows: My own experimental and personal country home is intended as an experiment and demonstration that contemporary design can create from old and new materials a home highly individual, capable of the variety of moods that can be found in traditional homes, a home that can join the emotional, sentimental and esthetic characteristics with the practicality and comfort that we created in the 20th century. A recent technical study of the interior finishes and materials at Dragon Rock has revealed the vulnerability of many of the natural and synthetic materials chosen for finishes. High light levels have bleached and embrittled clear wood finishes as well as the natural materials such as pine needles, leaves, ferns, and butterflies embedded into the decorative and functional surfaces. Chronic moisture problems have resulted in considerable deformation of built-in cabinetry and complete loss of original cork flooring in the ground floor kitchen. The intent of the materials analysis conducted by the SPNEA Conservation Center as part of a Historic Structures Report completed by Ann Beha Associates, Architects was not only to identify the materials used for paints and clear coatings, but to identify ways to slow the rapid degradation of materials due to the extreme environmental conditions and to stabilize the interior finishes and furnishings without compromising Wright s original intent.