The Farnsworth House (AIAU)
September 15, 2021 | 1-2:30pm ET
1 LU/HSW/RIBA
Event details and registration.
Visionary Bauhaus architect Mies van der Rohe met Dr. Edith Farnsworth in 1945, at a dinner party in Chicago. She had just purchased a tract of land on the Fox River west of Chicago and hoped he would design a small weekend retreat. He agreed-and the rest, as they say, is history.
Completed in 1951, Farnsworth House was immediately hailed as an icon, and perhaps the fullest expression of Mies' Modernist ideals. Designed of glass and steel, the raised pavilion is nestled into the landscape, floating above the Fox River, which frequently floods the land under the house.
This session covers the fascinating personalities and history behind the Farnsworth House, the struggle to save the modernist icon by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the conservation efforts underway and the innovative program and offerings that allow visitors to see the house in new ways demonstrating how a classic can continue to inspire architects, designers, visual and performing artists and tourists for over seventy years.
Learning objectives:
- Compare the personalities and relationships of the architect and owners of Farnsworth House; Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Edith Farnsworth and Lord Peter Palumbo. and the underlying philosophical concepts behind the owners use and presentation of the building.
- Identify glass, travertine and steel construction details that create the ultra-minimalist Farnsworth House.
- Analyze flood mitigation studies and efforts for Farnsworth House which is located within the floodplain of the Fox River and includes the hydraulic lift solution.
- Analyze the ongoing conservation project that has deconstructed the lower terrace for waterproofing repairs, steel cleaning, and drain improvements.
Speaker: Ashley Wilson, AIA
Andersen corresponding presentation is from 2-2:30pm.
Sponsored by ANDERSEN™ Windows.
More information
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Carolyn Perricelli
Specialist, Knowledge Communities & Resources
The American Institute of Architects
Washington DC
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