Mid2Mod: Farnsworth House

Monday, May 9, 2011

Farnsworth House

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969) was one of the most important 20th century architects and designers, and Farnsworth House in Plano, Illinois, was one of his most significant works. Built as a country home for Dr. Edith Farnsworth, the house is important because it epitomizes the modernist concept of simplicity in form and function.

Historian Maritz Vandenburg wrote in his monograph on the Farnsworth House:

Every physical element has been distilled to its irreducible essence. The interior is unprecedentedly transparent to the surrounding site, and also unprecedentedly uncluttered in itself. All of the paraphernalia of traditional living--rooms, walls, doors, interior trim, loose furniture, pictures on walls, even personal possessions--have been virtually abolished in a puritanical vision of simplified, transcendental existence. Mies had finally achieved a goal towards which he had been feeling his way for three decades.

For more beautiful pictures of the home, information about touring or renting it, a more detailed history or a chance to donate money for its preservation, see the Farnsworth House website.

Text and images from farnsworthhouse.org

I happened upon the collection of Lego architectural sets, which includes a model of the Farnsworth House. Here's a fascinating video that shows the set being put together.