"The Farnsworth House"
The Farnsworth House

"I pointed out to him..."
I pointed out to him [Mies] that it [a glass house] was impossible because you had to have rooms, and that meant solid walls up against the glass, which ruined the whole point.
Mies said, ŅI think it can be done.Ó
-Philip Johnson, speaking at a symposium held at the School of Architecture, Columbia University, 1961

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Farnsworth House, 1946-1951
The Riehl House, Potsdam (Germany), 1907

reveals MiesÕs interest in the relationship between building and landscape; MiesÕs first built work
Model of the Kršller-MŸller project of 1912

Schinkelesque in its monumentality;
SchinkelÕs GardenerÕs Cottage, near Potsdam

for Mies, a study in proportion, relationships to nature, details, quality of construction; asymmetry in this Italianate villa
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Farnsworth House, 1946-1951

Plan
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Farnsworth House, 1946-1951

Section
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Farnsworth House, 1946-1951
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Farnsworth House, 1946-1951

Entrance: note the doors are slightly off centre, emphasizing the main seating area
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Farnsworth House, 1946-1951

White steel frame
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Farnsworth House, 1946-1951

White steel frame
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Farnsworth House, 1946-1951

early design of Farnsworth House and Glass House (Philip Johnson, completed in 1946)
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Farnsworth House, 1946-1951
ŅI believe that the Farnsworth House has never really been understood.  I myself have been in this house from morning to nightfall.  Until then, I had never realized how colorful nature could be.  Inside, neutral tones have to be carefully used since all colors exist on the outside.  These colors change continuously and completely, and IÕd like to say that it is simply glorious.Ó
Mies, quoted in Werner Blaser, Mies van der Rohe, Farnsworth House
(BirkhŠuser, 1999)

Dr. Edith Farnsworth as a young intern in Chicago
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Farnsworth House, 1946-1951

Interior: core and storage closet act as partitions, creating sleeping and sitting areas
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Farnsworth House, 1946-1951

Interior: originally to be a second sleeping area, now a dining area with furniture designed by Mies
Mies van der Rohe, Farnsworth House, Illinois, 1946-1951
Mies van der Rohe, Farnsworth House, Illinois, 1946-1951
Mies van der Rohe, Farnsworth House, Illinois, 1946-1951

Main sitting area; note the fireplace and lack of a defined hearth
Mies van der Rohe, Farnsworth House, Illinois, 1946-1951

Hearth
Mies van der Rohe, Farnsworth House, Illinois, 1946-1951

North elevation: view of galley kitchen
Mies van der Rohe, Farnsworth House, Illinois, 1946-1951

View of site next to Fox River, Plano, Illinois
Views of the steel structure
A plumber crouching in front of the flue that hangs from the ceiling, installs the hot water pipes which radiate heat through the floor slab
Mies personallly supervised the selection and laying of the travertine panels
The structural soundness and tectonic beauty of the I-beam
"The Glass House"
The Glass House

Philip Johnson, Glass House, New Canaan, Connecticut, completed in 1949

elevated on a brick base
Philip Johnson, Glass House, New Canaan, Connecticut, completed in 1949
Philip Johnson, Glass House, New Canaan, Connecticut, completed in 1949
Mies and Johnson: A comparison of form
Mies and Johnson: a comparison of plans
Philip Johnson, Glass House, New Canaan, Connecticut, completed in 1949

4 doorways for cross-ventilation
Philip Johnson, Glass House, New Canaan, Connecticut, completed in 1949

exterior view
Philip Johnson, Glass House, New Canaan, Connecticut, completed in 1949

corners: complex asymmetrical arrangement that incorporates the steel column
Philip Johnson, Glass House, New Canaan, Connecticut, completed in 1949

interior views
Philip Johnson, Glass House, New Canaan, Connecticut, completed in 1949

interior views
Philip Johnson, Glass House, New Canaan, Connecticut, completed in 1949

view of guest house
Philip Johnson, Glass House, New Canaan, Connecticut, completed in 1949

view of guest house bedroom
Philip Johnson, Glass House, New Canaan, Connecticut, completed in 1949

guest house plan
Philip Johnson, Glass House, New Canaan, Connecticut, completed in 1949

garden pavilion