The Farnsworth House was the weekend escape of Dr. Edith Farnsworth, a nephrologist at Northwestern University in Chicago. The main significance of this structure was that it was built for her by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in 1951.
The house is an excellent example of Mies' philosophy of "Less is More". It stands along the Fox River on 62 acres of land. It is a beautiful wooded setting. The house was built 5 feet off the ground to prevent flood damage, but unfortunately did sustain some damage in 2 very large floods.
The house is surrounded on all four sides by glass panes. This provides a lovely view of the river, the woods, or the surrounding lawn. Inside, there is a center enclosed area which contains 2 bathrooms and a utility room.
There is very little storage throughout the house - essentially just the kitchen cabinets. Dr. Farnsworth ultimately had a large wardrobe constructed for the bedroom area, although the architect was opposed to this.
This was a very interesting tour, and all the ladies (plus one husband) seemed to enjoy it.
Our guide is telling us the history of the house - the Fox River can be seen in the background.
The "front" of the house - to the left is the study area, in the center is the living area, and the bedroom is behind the curtain on the right.
The ladies walk up the steps to the patio before entering the house. The yellow structure is a sculpture that was recently added.
This is the "back" of the house - bedroom to the left, kitchen in the center, and dining area on the right. The house is suspended by the white steel beams. The larger "beam" under the house contains the electricity and telephone lines.
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