Farnsworth House
Template:Short description Template:About Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox NRHP The Edith Farnsworth House is a historic house museum along the Fox River near Plano, Illinois, United States. Completed in 1951, it was designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in the International Style and built as a weekend retreat for the nephrologist and physician Edith Farnsworth. It is one of three private residences Mies designed in the U.S. and is cited as a major modernist work. The house is raised Template:Convert above the ground, with a minimalist exterior and a mostly open plan interior. The surrounding Template:Convert estate also includes a visitor center and exhibit gallery. The estate is owned and operated by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Farnsworth bought the site in the mid-1940s and asked Mies to design a house there after meeting him in 1945. Despite flooding concerns, Mies decided to build the house elevated above the Fox River floodplain. After extensive delays, work began in 1949, and Farnsworth moved in during December 1950. Mies and Farnsworth's once-cordial relationship deteriorated over the project's cost increases, and they sued each other in 1951, prompting a years-long legal dispute. Though the original design had numerous flaws and struggled to be energy efficient, Farnsworth owned it until 1972. The next owner, the British nobleman Peter Palumbo, renovated the Farnsworth House and used it as a summer retreat. After two floods in the late 1990s, Palumbo restored the house again, opening it to the public in 1997. The National Trust acquired the house in 2003 and reopened it the following year. Landmarks Illinois initially operated the house, which was renovated again following a 2008 flood. The National Trust took over operations in 2010.
The Farnsworth House is accessed from the south by an outdoor travertine terrace, occupying an intermediate level between the ground and the house itself. The concrete floor and roof slabs are supported by eight steel columns, which divide the house into three west–east bays. The facade is composed of glass, interspersed with steel mullions; the western third of the house is an open-air veranda. The interior has a minimalist color scheme and is interrupted only by an off-center utility core and a movable wardrobe. The core contains utilities, a kitchen, and bathrooms, while living, dining, and sleeping areas are placed around it. Radiant heating, pipes, and ducts were embedded into the floor, and both Farnsworth and Palumbo furnished the house with various items.
The Farnsworth House has received extensive architectural commentary over the years, with a number of laudatory reviews when it was built. Although it was initially controversial, in part because of its then unique modernist design and because of Mies and Farnsworth's feud; such criticism became less intense after Mies died in 1969. The house has been the subject of books, films, exhibits, and other media works and is designated as a National Historic Landmark. Its design has influenced that of other houses and Mies's later work.
Site
The Farnsworth House is located in Kendall County near Plano, Illinois, United States,<ref name="NPS p. 4">Template:Harvnb</ref> about Template:Convert southwest of Chicago.<ref name="Rodkin i516">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="Kamin s542">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The house is situated on a floodplain along the north bank of the Fox River<ref name="NPS p. 4" /><ref name="Blaser1997">Template:Cite book</ref> and is surrounded by trees on three sides.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 14">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Valencia p. 55">Template:Harvnb</ref> Fox River Drive runs west of the house, behind the trees,<ref name="Vandenberg p. 14" /><ref name="Valencia p. 55" /> while a grassy meadow slopes slightly upward to the north.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 14" /><ref name="Schulze p. 253">Template:Harvnb</ref> To keep the house cool during the summer, the southern facade was shaded by a black maple,<ref name="Schulze p. 256">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Valencia p. 56">Template:Harvnb</ref> which was removed in 2013.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The original owner, Edith Farnsworth, hired the architect Alfred Caldwell to arrange orchards and gardens about the property.<ref name="Mortice d0552">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The house was originally not built with any vehicular access.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 17">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Beam pp. 82–83">Template:Harvnb</ref> A two-car garage was later built to the north,<ref name="Vandenberg p. 17" /> and the second owner, Peter Palumbo, hired the landscape architect Lanning Roper to build a serpentine gravel driveway.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 252">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Deitz g804">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Roper and Palumbo planted 350 trees on the estate over several years,<ref name="Deitz n993" /> and Roper also designed an English–style meadow and daffodil gardens surrounding the house.<ref name="Deitz g804" />
The house is part of an estate that is variously cited as covering Template:Convert<ref name="wp-2003-12-13">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Hamilton b241">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> or Template:Convert.<ref name="Rodkin i516" /><ref name="Murray f321">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Vandenberg p. 252" /> The estate includes the main house, a tennis court, swimming pool, and outbuildings such as a boathouse and fieldhouse.<ref name="wp-2003-12-13" /><ref name="Foster 2023">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Under Palumbo's ownership, the estate had sculptures by Harry Bertoia, Alexander Calder, Anthony Caro, Andy Goldsworthy, Ellsworth Kelly, Henry Moore, Claes Oldenburg, and Richard Serra.<ref name="Vogel d694">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Dannatt 2002">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Beam p. 267">Template:Harvnb</ref> Palumbo also displayed objects such as British telephone boxes and a piece of the Berlin Wall.<ref name="Dannatt 2002" /> When the house opened as a museum in the 21st century, the estate had Template:Convert of trails.<ref name="Plano Record 2020">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
There is a visitor center about Template:Convert east of the main house.<ref name="Vogel p246">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Rodkin h465">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Built by Palumbo, one of the house's past owners, the visitor center was originally a prefabricated building with a metal facade. In the 2000s, the visitor center's facade was covered in wood.<ref name="Vogel p246" /> The Barnsworth Gallery, which contains temporary exhibition space and storage areas for the Farnsworth House's wardrobe, is next to the visitor center.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Sturges 2012">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Built by Illinois Institute of Technology students, the Barnsworth Gallery has a circular floor plan<ref name="ArchDaily 2012">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and includes construction materials salvaged from other construction projects in Illinois.<ref name="Sturges 2012" />
History
The original owner was Edith Farnsworth, a kidney doctor from Chicago,<ref name="Mortice d0552" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> who recalled being lonely and overburdened with work despite her successful career.<ref name="Friedman pp. 131–132">Template:Harvnb</ref> She was a single, middle-aged woman at a time when relatively few American women lived such a lifestyle.<ref name="Friedman pp. 131–132" /><ref name="Mertins p. 446">Template:Harvnb</ref> The house's architect, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, had been refining his designs for decades before the Farnsworth House commission<ref name="Valencia p. 56" /><ref name="Vandenberg p. 16">Template:Harvnb</ref> and had moved to the U.S. in 1938.<ref name="Friedman p. 131">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Vandenberg p. 18">Template:Harvnb</ref> He had evolved from using traditional architectural styles in the 1900s to using more modernist styles by the 1930s,<ref name="Vandenberg p. 16" /> and he had built several structures that combined glass facades and more traditional courtyards.<ref name="Friedman p. 138">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Vandenberg pp. 16–17">Template:Harvnb</ref> For several years, Mies had wanted to build living rooms with glass walls,<ref name="Neumann p. 270">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Mertins p. 290" /> leading historians to suggest that Mies may have designed the Farnsworth House primarily to further his own design objectives.<ref name="Friedman p. 138" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
Development
Selection of site and architect
In the 1940s, Farnsworth bought a farm that the McCormick family had been operating in Plano;<ref name="Rodkin h465" /><ref name="Beam p. 49">Template:Harvnb</ref> sources disagree on whether this initial acquisition covered Template:Convert<ref name="Vandenberg p. 14" /><ref name="Vandenberg p. 252" /> or Template:Convert.<ref name="Beam p. 49" /> Farnsworth wanted to build a weekend retreat there.<ref name="Beam p. 49" /><ref name="Spaeth p. 121">Template:Harvnb</ref> Farnsworth and Mies met during a dinner party in late 1945, when she was 42 and he was 59 years old.<ref name="Friedman p. 131" /><ref name="Neumann p. 270" /><ref name="Norwich 2003">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> As Farnsworth recalled, Mies had been quiet for most of the dinner, and only after the meal did she ask if "some young man" working for Mies's firm could design a weekend house on her Plano property.<ref name="Neumann p. 270" /> Farnsworth told Mies that she wanted to spend $8,000–10,000 on the house,Template:Efn-ur and Mies expressed interest in the project.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
Shortly after meeting Mies, Farnsworth drove him to the site.<ref name="Beam p. 49" /> The parcel sat on the north bank of the Fox River; it was surrounded by trees on all sides, except to the west, and there was a driveway from the north.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 14" /><ref name="Spaeth p. 121" /><ref name="Beam p. 54a">Template:Harvnb</ref> Mies recommended that the house be built Template:Convert from the riverbank, next to a maple tree, and that it be shaded by other trees. Though Farnsworth and local contractor Karl FreundTemplate:Efn expressed concerns about flooding, Mies thought the design could overcome these issues.<ref name="Beam pp. 54–55">Template:Harvnb</ref> Mies and Farnsworth worked closely during the house's development, frequently revisiting the site.<ref name="Friedman p. 133">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Vandenberg pp. 14–15">Template:Harvnb</ref> They were sometimes accompanied by Mies's employees or other acquaintances, and they also frequently met in Chicago.<ref name="Mertins p. 446" /><ref name="Friedman p. 133" /> There is an unsubstantiated rumor that the two were romantically involved.<ref name="Schulze p. 253" /><ref name="Friedman p. 133" />Template:Efn
Design
Edward Duckett, one of Mies's associates, devised alternate plans for elevated and at-grade structures.<ref name="Neumann p. 270" /> Mies ultimately decided to raise the house about Template:Convert from the ground, since it would justify his decision to build the house on the Fox River's floodplain.<ref name="Neumann p. 270" /><ref name="Beam p. 54a" /> The initial design called for a simple design with a bolted steel frame, plywood core, and concrete-slab floor.<ref name="Neumann p. 272" /> When Farnsworth asked Mies what materials he was considering, Mies said he would use steel and glass, explaining, "in that way we'll let the outside in".<ref name="Friedman p. 138" /> Mies disregarded privacy and social concerns, saying: "If you view nature through the glass walls of the Farnsworth House,Template:Efn it gains a more profound significance than if viewed from the outside. That way more is said about nature—it becomes part of a larger whole."<ref name="Mertins p. 446" /><ref name="Friedman p. 139">Template:Harvnb</ref>
Mies's team drew hundreds of diagrams.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 17" /> The architect considered and abandoned plans for interior glass partitions, mosquito screens, and multiple stairs.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 17" /><ref name="Beam p. 81">Template:Harvnb</ref> Mies also considered various materials for the house's floor and mechanical core,<ref name="Mertins pp. 290–291">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Beam pp. 88–89">Template:Harvnb</ref> and he contemplated repositioning and resizing various architectural elements.<ref name="Valencia p. 56" /><ref name="Vandenberg p. 17" /> There were also debates over whether to even use an open-plan interior and whether to include a second entrance or movable windows.<ref name="Beam pp. 88–89" /> The design was partly complete by 1947, when it was included in an exhibition of Mies's work at New York's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).<ref name="Vandenberg p. 14" /><ref name="Beam p. 69">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Beam p. 71">Template:Harvnb</ref> After visiting the MoMA exhibition, Farnsworth recalled that she thought the house "might well become the prototype of new and important elements of American architecture", even though many of the architectural details were still not finalized.<ref name="Beam p. 71" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> Construction was delayed because Mies waited another two years after completing the model and some watercolors,<ref name="Beam p. 78">Template:Harvnb</ref> and Farnsworth was waiting to use funds from a bequest.<ref name="Myers 2011">Template:Cite news</ref> Work resumed after Farnsworth contacted Mies's associate Alfred Caldwell, who agreed to draw up plans.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
Farnsworth and Mies compromised on design details such as kitchen equipment, mirror sizes, and the presence of a fireplace. The cost rose significantly because of the need to elevate the house, the lack of an access road, and Farnsworth's requirement that wires and pipes be placed underground.<ref name="Beam pp. 82–83" /> Further complicating matters, materials and equipment for the rural site had to be delivered from Plano.<ref name="Neumann pp. 272–276">Template:Harvnb</ref> Mies's team prepared several plans with varying dimensions, each with different costs; they ultimately selected a plan for a Template:Convert house, which was expected to cost around $60,000.Template:Efn-ur<ref name="Beam p. 102" /> Although no one challenged Mies's decision to use single-pane glass rather than costlier insulated glazing, contractors did question his decision to use travertine instead of a cheaper stone.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> Even when Farnsworth set a budget of $40,000,Template:Efn-ur Mies said it was enough for only a "cheap house",<ref name="Beam p. 78" /> notwithstanding the fact that similar houses cost much less.<ref name="Beam p. 102">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Friedman p. 140">Template:Harvnb</ref>
Construction
By the time work was about to begin, the cost had risen to $60,000.Template:Efn-ur<ref name="Beam p. 102" /><ref name="Schulze p. 258">Template:Harvnb</ref> Though Mies and Farnsworth remained friendly, they were spending less time together by 1948,<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Barron c108">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Farnsworth began to doubt Mies after hearing acquaintances say negative things about him.<ref name="Beam p. 129">Template:Harvnb</ref> Construction began in 1949;<ref name="Friedman p. 140" /> sources disagree on whether work began in May<ref name="Beam p. 81" /> or September.<ref name="Mertins p. 290">Template:Harvnb</ref> Due to Mies's exacting requirements for the project, contractors cut the material to precise dimensions.<ref name="Beam p. 84" /><ref name="Mertins p. 291">Template:Harvnb</ref> Mies purchased plate glass sheets from the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company and steel beams from the Wendnagel Steel Company, which were manufactured off-site.<ref name="Beam p. 84" /> To ensure the steel was smooth, workers ground it seventy times.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The house used 600 travertine slabs from the Carthage Marble Corporation, with Mies rejecting 46 more slabs due to poor quality.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> Most other architectural elements were custom-built at a workshop or at Mies's architectural studio.<ref name="Beam p. 99">Template:Harvnb</ref> Mies personally picked up the wood panels from the warehouse where they were manufactured, and he once fired a local contractor who refused to grade the site to a Template:Convert accuracy.<ref name="Beam pp. 98–99">Template:Harvnb</ref>
Farnsworth engaged herself in the construction process, observing contractors pour the house's foundations.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> From the outset, the roof was leaking,<ref name="Friedman p. 140" /> and Farnsworth called to complain about details such as the fireplace's design.<ref name="Beam p. 129" /> The structural core was so densely packed with utilities, one plumber suggested that the house be called "My Mies-ception".<ref name="Friedman p. 140" /><ref name="Beam p. 129" /> Korean War–era inflation and Mies's requirement for high-quality materials had increased construction costs significantly by 1950.<ref name="Schulze p. 258" /><ref name="Beam p. 135">Template:Harvnb</ref> By the middle of the year, work on the roof was progressing, and architecture students and architects frequently came to visit.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> Mies's architectural practice eventually recorded 5,884 billable hours on the project; by comparison, they had recorded fewer than half as many billable hours on 860–880 Lake Shore Drive, a pair of apartment buildings in Chicago.<ref name="Beam p. 135" /><ref name="Neumann p. 276">Template:Harvnb</ref>
In August 1950, Mies's practice billed Farnsworth for $69,868.80,Template:Efn-ur after which Farnsworth canceled plans for a mosquito screen and directed Mies's team not to make any further expenditures.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> Following this memo, Mies and Farnsworth barely talked,<ref name="Beam p. 170" /> and their relationship devolved into an acrimonious dispute over the costs.<ref name="Vandenberg pp. 14–15" /><ref name="Friedman p. 140" /> Farnsworth had moved in by December 1950,<ref name="Friedman p. 140" /><ref name="Beam p. 170">Template:Harvnb</ref> calling the house the "Fox River Project".<ref name="Wendl o905">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Despite her dispute with Mies, she remained in contact with several of his employees, including Myron Goldsmith, who conducted some minor work over the following months.<ref name="Beam p. 170" /> William Dunlap, a draftsman in Mies's office and the father of New York Times reporter David W. Dunlap,<ref name="Beam p. 268">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Dunlap d789">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> designed mosquito screens for the house.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 17" /> She also asked Dunlap to design her a wardrobe,<ref name="Beam p. 170" /> supplementing a tiny closet that Mies designed next to the kitchen.<ref name="Kamin n600">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The house was finished in March 1951.<ref name="Mertins p. 290" />
Farnsworth ownership
From the outset, the house had several major design flaws,<ref name="Beam p. 148">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Vandenberg p. 23" /> which may have contributed to the deterioration of Farnsworth's relationship with Mies.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> Farnsworth wrote diary entries about these flaws.<ref name="Wills b312">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Vandenberg p. 15">Template:Harvnb</ref> Leaking roofs, a poorly ventilated fireplace, accumulations of condensation and oil, inadequate temperature control, and swarms of mosquitoes were major issues,<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Neumann pp. 276–277">Template:Harvnb</ref> and the exterior also needed constant maintenance.<ref name="Davies 2007">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Fulford 2010">Template:Cite news</ref> The uninsulated southern facade absorbed large amounts of midday sunlight,<ref name="Neumann pp. 276–277" /> and the poorly insulated interior led to significant heating bills.<ref name="Beam pp. 182–183">Template:Harvnb</ref> Another issue was the lack of privacy,<ref name="Dannatt 2002" /><ref name="Vandenberg p. 15" /> especially as architecture fans kept coming to the house, looking through the windows and taking pictures.<ref name="Beam p. 260">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Strickland 2001">Template:Cite news</ref> Farnsworth, who likened her experience to that of a caged animal,<ref name="Mortice d0552" /><ref name="Mertins p. 446" /> eventually added blinds and shrubs.<ref name="Norwich 2003" />
Although Mies had designed furniture for the house, Farnsworth refused to accept it.<ref name="Mertins p. 446" /><ref name="Beam pp. 182–183" /> She instead brought her own furnishings, which were more varied in style and included pieces that she had inherited from her family.<ref name="Wills b312" /><ref name="Beam p. 261" /> Farnsworth later recalled that Mies had wanted to design her a Template:Convert wardrobe, which she felt would provide inadequate privacy because she was Template:Convert tall.<ref name="Mertins p. 447" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> Farnsworth placed Chinese guardian lion statues on either side of the steps.<ref name="Mertins p. 447">Template:Harvnb</ref> Farnsworth used her Plano house for two decades but had a low opinion of it.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 15" /><ref name="Davies 2007" /><ref name="Beam pp. 260–261">Template:Harvnb</ref> She never fully furnished the space and actively discouraged visitors;<ref name="Vandenberg p. 24">Template:Harvnb</ref> several friends recalled that she constantly complained about the building.<ref name="Beam pp. 260–261" /> Other observers, like the historian Katharine Kuh and Farnsworth's nephew Fairbank Carpenter, said she described the house not as her own, but as Mies's.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
Cost dispute
The total cost came to about $74,000,Template:Efn-ur<ref name="Wills b312" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> including a $15,000 architect's fee and $12,000 in service fees.Template:Efn-ur<ref name="Friedman p. 140" /><ref name="Chicago Daily Tribune 1951">Template:Cite news</ref> This was about ten times the cost of a typical American house, surpassing the prices of even the Gropius House and Glass House, both of which were also experimental designs.<ref name="Neumann p. 276" /> Farnsworth claimed she only owed $65,000.Template:Efn-ur<ref name="Norwich 2003" /> The architect Philip Johnson recommended that Mies consult Johnson's business manager, Robert C. Wiley, for help, while Farnsworth hired one of her patients as her attorney. Wiley offered to settle for $4,500, while Farnsworth's lawyer offered $1,500;Template:Efn-ur after they reached a stalemate, Wiley directed Mies to the law firm of Sonnenschein.<ref name="Neumann pp. 280–281">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Beam pp. 187–188">Template:Harvnb</ref> In July 1951, Mies sued Farnsworth to recover a $3,673.09 debt and the unpaid balance of the construction fee,<ref name="Friedman p. 140" /> for a total of $28,173.Template:Efn-ur<ref name="Schulze p. 258" /><ref name="Vandenberg p. 15" /> Farnsworth accused Mies of malpractice and countersued in October for $33,872,Template:Efn-ur<ref name="Schulze p. 258" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the cost overrun from her original $40,000 budget.<ref name="Chicago Daily Tribune 1951" /><ref name="Newsweek 1953">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
The lawsuits were heard at the Kendall County Courthouse between late May and early July 1952.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> The ensuing trial was filled with rancor,<ref name="Vandenberg p. 15" /><ref name="Schulze p. 252">Template:Harvnb</ref> often veering into minute personal details.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> One of Mies's biographers, Franz Schulze, described the dispute as "a clash of two personalities of immense force and authority".<ref name="Schulze p. 252" /> After the trial adjourned, the closing arguments were delayed until January 1953.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Beam pp. 220–221" /> The judge issued a 3,500-page ruling on May 7, 1953, finding that Mies had not misrepresented anything and had "at all times acted in good faith",<ref name="Beam pp. 220–221" /> whereas Farnsworth had been untruthful during the trial.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> Farnsworth was compelled to pay all of the legal costs, plus $12,934.30 owed to Mies,Template:Efn-ur<ref name="Beam pp. 220–221">Template:Harvnb</ref> for a total of $14,000.Template:Efn-ur<ref name="Friedman p. 140" /><ref name="Schulze p. 258" /><ref name="Vandenberg p. 15" /> Farnsworth's appeal of the lawsuit lasted until 1955<ref name="Neumann p. 278">Template:Harvnb</ref> or 1956,<ref name="Friedman p. 140" /> with the parties eventually settling for $2,000<ref name="Barron c108" /> or $2,500.Template:Efn-ur<ref name="Neumann p. 280">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> Schulze described the dispute as a humiliation for Farnsworth.<ref name="Schulze p. 252" />
Mid-1950s to late 1960s
Soon after moving into the house, Farnsworth learned that her neighbors could see her every move; she eventually formed close friendships with many of them.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> Her visitors included Kuh and the architects Richard Neutra, Paul Schweikher, and Philip Johnson, in addition to crowds of architecture fans who observed the building unsolicited.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> Farnsworth continued to speak negatively of Mies to the news media for years,<ref name="Friedman p. 140" /><ref name="NPR Illinois v734">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and the publication of their dispute prompted various critiques of the house, especially from journalists who disliked the style.<ref name="Friedman p. 140" /><ref name="Mays 2001">Template:Cite news</ref> Many members of the general public disapproved of the design as well, visiting on weekends to gawk at it.<ref name="Friedman p. 140" />
A 1954 flood inundated the floor by up to Template:Convert,<ref name="Kamin 1996">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Vandenberg p. 26">Template:Harvnb</ref> destroying some of Farnsworth's furnishings.<ref name="Beam p. 262">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Wendl o905" /> Afterward, Farnsworth added roller blinds and acquired heavier pieces of furniture.<ref name="Wendl o905" /> By 1958, the writer Adrian Gale had characterized it as a "sophisticated camp site rather than a weekend dreamhouse".<ref name="Vandenberg p. 15" /> In the 1960s, when Farnsworth was in her 60s, she increasingly stayed in Plano instead of Chicago.<ref name="Beam p. 260" /> On Saturday mornings, she held French language classes for local children at the house.<ref name="Beam p. 262" /> Farnsworth also acquired Template:Convert of land next to her house during her ownership.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 252" />
In 1967, the government of Kendall County decided to replace an 83-year-old bridge over the Fox River, filing eminent domain proceedings against Farnsworth and two other landowners;<ref name="McFeatters 1968">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> this required seizing Template:Convert from Farnsworth.<ref name="Beam p. 263">Template:Harvnb</ref> Since the new bridge would be only Template:Convert away from the house, Farnsworth alleged that the house would be vulnerable to out-of-control drivers.<ref name="McFeatters 1968" /><ref name="Beam p. 263" /> In an attempt to prevent construction, Farnsworth commissioned an archeological survey, which found Native American artifacts. She offered to give 2 acres, and then the entire estate, to the Illinois Department of Conservation, which did not respond.<ref name="Chicago Tribune 1968">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Beam p. 264">Template:Harvnb</ref> Afterward, Farnsworth sued in September 1967,<ref name="Chicago Tribune 1968" /> saying she would lose her peace and quiet.<ref name="McFeatters 1968" /> She received $17,000 in restitution,Template:Efn-ur<ref name="Beam p. 264" /><ref name="Pratt 1968">Template:Cite news</ref> far less than the $250,000 she had sought,Template:Efn-ur prompting her to appeal.<ref name="Pratt 1968" /> The doctor ultimately lost her lawsuit,<ref name="Vandenberg p. 24" /><ref name="Beam p. 264" /> and the new bridge was built close enough for traffic to be seen and heard from the house.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 24" />
Palumbo ownership
Acquisition and renovation
The next owner, the British nobleman Peter Palumbo, had learned about the Farnsworth House as a student in the 1950s.<ref name="Doubilet 2001">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="Beam pp. 265–266">Template:Harvnb</ref> He had developed a fascination with Mies's work, having hired him to design an unbuilt office block in London in the 1960s.<ref name="Deitz n993" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Palumbo saw an advertisement for the house in the Chicago Tribune by chance in 1968.<ref name="Doubilet 2001" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He recalled visiting the house and seeing it in disrepair, with discolored paneling, plain furniture, and unwashed dishes.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 15" /><ref name="Beam pp. 265–266" /> The house's design flaws had also caused peeling paint and deformed plasterwork on the roof.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> Negotiations lasted several years, with Palumbo characterizing Farnsworth as "a difficult, ferocious woman".<ref name="Vandenberg p. 24" /> Palumbo acquired the Farnsworth House in 1972,Template:Efn<ref name="Vandenberg p. 15" /><ref name="Murphy 2001">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="Kamin 1997">Template:Cite news</ref> paying either $120,000<ref name="Neumann p. 281">Template:Harvnb</ref> or $150,000 for the property.Template:Efn-ur<ref name="Dannatt 2002" /> Afterward, Farnsworth moved to Italy,<ref name="Doubilet 2001" /> where she lived until her death in 1977.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Palumbo originally wanted to have Mies redesign the house, but after the architect died in 1969, Palumbo instead hired Mies's grandson Dirk Lohan.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 24" />
Palumbo spent $500,000 on renovations.Template:Efn-ur<ref name="Dannatt 2002" /> He removed the veranda screen and added air conditioning and electric heat.<ref name="Strickland 2001" /><ref name="Vandenberg p. 252" /> The old oil-fired boiler was removed, the leaking roof was repaired, and the house was repainted.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 252" /><ref name="Beam p. 266">Template:Harvnb</ref> A spout at the center of the roof was rebuilt with a steeper pitch to aid drainage.<ref name="O Toole p. 30">Template:Harvnb</ref> The interior remained unchanged, except for a stone above the fireplace hearth.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> He hired Lohan to construct furniture from the house.<ref name="Vogel d694" /><ref name="Beam p. 267" /><ref name="Myers 2011" /> As for the estate, Palumbo hired Lanning Roper to re-landscape the grounds,<ref name="Dannatt 2002" /><ref name="Norwich 2003" /> which included a new pathway, additional trees flanking the house, and thousand of flowers.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 252" /> Palumbo installed pieces from his art collection across the estate.<ref name="Dannatt 2002" /><ref name="Vogel d694" /> He also built a boathouse, tennis court, and swimming pool on the land, albeit far from the main house.<ref name="Foster 2023" /> Schulze described Palumbo as "the ideal owner of his house", given that Palumbo could afford its upkeep and did not live there for long periods.<ref name="Schulze p. 256" />
1970s to 1990s
Palumbo used the house as a summer retreat for three decades<ref name="Doubilet 2001" /> and bought up most of the neighboring sites over the years.<ref name="Murphy 2001" /> He appreciated the design, saying it "falls in that no man's land between great architecture and sculpture".<ref name="Henning 2004">Template:Cite news</ref> Unlike Farnsworth, Palumbo did not consider the house too hot,<ref name="Dannatt 2002" /><ref name="Doubilet 2001" /> although he did sometimes encounter architecture fans camping outside the house.<ref name="Beam p. 268" /> The house seldom held architectural tours.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Palumbo rented the house to friends and maintained a second house in Plano.<ref name="Dannatt 2002" /><ref name="Beam p. 266" /> A New York Times reporter wrote in the 1980s that Palumbo made several annual visits to the house and sometimes brought his children along.<ref name="Deitz n993" />
By the 1990s, Palumbo and his wife Hayat split their time between the Farnsworth House and their other residences, which included an apartment at 860–880 Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, Kentuck Knob in Pennsylvania, and Maisons Jaoul outside Paris.<ref name="Dietz 1990">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> Palumbo, Hayat, and their three children stayed in Plano for six weeks every year, but since the Farnsworth House could fit only two people, they usually stayed in their other house.<ref name="Kamin 1997" /> During the middle of that decade, they opened the estate's sculpture garden to the public.<ref name="Brown b405">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The interior was flooded again in July 1996,<ref name="Kamin 1996" /><ref name="AR-1997-07">Template:Cite magazine</ref> on Palumbo's 61st birthday.<ref name="Brown b405" /> The Fox River rose more than Template:Convert above its regular water level,<ref name="Strickland 2001" /> and floodwater rose Template:Convert above the floor slab, breaking some windows and scattering objects everywhere.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 26" /><ref name="AR-1997-07" /><ref name="Beam p. 269">Template:Harvnb</ref>
Following the 1996 flood, Palumbo spent over $250,000 on renovations,<ref name="Kamin 1997" /><ref name="AR-1997-07" /> hiring Lohan for the project.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 26" /><ref name="Kamin 2000">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Before the restoration began, the interior flooded again in February 1997 to a height of Template:Convert.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 27">Template:Harvnb</ref> The core was completely replaced—a process that took months because the primavera wood used for the core was difficult to source<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>—and the woodwork was covered with a waterproof sealant.<ref name="O Toole p. 32">Template:Harvnb</ref> To make the house financially self-sustainable, Palumbo opened it to the public in May 1997,<ref name="Kamin 1997" /><ref name="Brown b405" /> charging $30 per person.<ref name="Kamin 2001">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Kenosha News v561">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He hired several employees to oversee and maintain the house,<ref name="AR-2001-05">Template:Cite magazine</ref> and he built a visitor center on the estate.<ref name="Vogel p246" /> To accommodate tourists, an additional stairway was built between the intermediate terrace and veranda.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> David W. Dunlap wrote in 1999 that objects such as a wine bottle, hanging neckties, family photos, and a telephone were visible throughout the house, giving it a lived-in feeling.<ref name="Beam p. 268" /><ref name="Dunlap d789" />
Organizational ownership
Sale efforts
The Farnsworth House Gallery opened in 2000, displaying art at the house's visitor center.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Palumbo announced in February 2001 that he planned to sell the house,<ref name="Kamin o243">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Kenosha News v561" /> citing personal health problems.<ref name="Vogel d694" /><ref name="Kamin 2003">Template:Cite news</ref> This prompted concerns that the house would be closed to the public or dismantled.<ref name="Wills 2003">Template:Cite news</ref> Former governor Jim Thompson, the architect Helmut Jahn, and the businessman John H. Bryan formed Friends of the Farnsworth House, asking the state government to buy the house.<ref name="NPR Illinois v734" /><ref name="AR-2001-05" /> At the time, it had 5,000 annual visitors,<ref name="Kamin 2001" /><ref name="Kenosha News v561" /> less than one-fifth the number who visited Kentuck Knob, which Palumbo had also opened to the public.<ref name="Kamin o243" /> The state would have provided free admission to the house,<ref name="Kamin 2001" /><ref name="Kenosha News v561" /> and Bryan predicted it would have 25,000 to 50,000 annual visitors.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Friends of the Farnsworth House estimated that the house and site would cost $6.2 million to purchase, plus $200,000 per year to maintain.<ref name="Kamin 2001" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The proposal had precedent: The state government had bought the Dana–Thomas House in Springfield and converted it into a museum in the 1980s.<ref name="Kamin 2001" /><ref name="Keegan 2001">Template:Cite news</ref>
Governor George Ryan approved funds to acquire the house in June 2001.<ref name="Kamin 2001" /><ref name="Goldwasser j095">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Efn The amount included $5 million for the house and $1.2 million for the site, as well as $800,000 for furnishings.<ref name="Kamin 2001" /> Palumbo stopped offering tours that July.<ref name="Kamin 2004">Template:Cite news</ref> The Illinois Attorney General's office had to approve the purchase, though the state's budget surplus had declined significantly by 2002.<ref name="Long 2002">Template:Cite news</ref> That year, Attorney General Jim Ryan (no relation to Governor Ryan) began reviewing several last-minute property acquisitions approved by the governor's office.<ref name="Long 2002" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Jim Ryan's successor Lisa Madigan withdrew from the deal in early 2003, citing the state's budget shortfall.<ref name="Wills 2003" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> As a result, the nonprofit organization Landmarks Illinois listed the house among Illinois's most endangered buildings.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Palumbo unsuccessfully tried to sell the house himself, and he subsequently removed his art from the estate.<ref name="Vogel d694" />
Palumbo hired Sotheby's in October 2003 to auction off the building, estimating that it could be sold for $4.5–6 million.<ref name="Vogel d694" /><ref name="Kamin 2003" /> The auction raised serious concerns about the house's future;<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Phyllis Lambert, a longtime associate of Mies, said that the auction was "putting civilization on the block".<ref name="Vogel d694" /><ref name="Beam p. 270">Template:Harvnb</ref> At the time, the building was not protected by landmark regulations,<ref name="Kamin 2003" /><ref name="Hales x946">Template:Cite news</ref> and Sotheby's had published a video demonstrating how the house could be relocated.<ref name="Rodkin i516" /> Two preservationist organizations, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Landmarks Illinois, submitted a joint bid but struggled to raise money.<ref name="Hamilton b241" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> They had only $3.6 million on hand the day before the auction,<ref name="Henning 2004" /><ref name="Hales x946" /> which attracted only one other bidder, in part because of its remote location.<ref name="Hales x946" /><ref name="Mason 2004">Template:Cite news</ref> The other bidder, later revealed as the real estate developer Aby Rosen, wanted to move the building to Long Island, New York.<ref name="Mason 2004" /> The art dealer Richard Gray bid on the preservationists' behalf,<ref name="Henning 2004" /><ref name="Hales x946" /> and the other bidder gave up after seven minutes.<ref name="Beam p. 270" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Gray and the preservationists ultimately paid $7.5 million,<ref name="wp-2003-12-13" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> which included the $6.7 million final bid price plus an $800,000 premium.<ref name="Henning 2004" />
Landmarks Illinois management
The National Trust took ownership of the Farnsworth House (one of the few post–World War II buildings the trust owned<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>), while Landmarks Illinois operated it as a historic house museum.<ref name="Kamin 2004" /><ref name="Pridmore o183">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The groups spent $200,000 rebuilding the house's visitor center,<ref name="Kamin 2004" /> and they re-landscaped the grounds and renovated the main house.<ref name="Vogel p246" /> Additionally, the National Trust began raising $5 million for an endowment fund.<ref name="Hall 2004">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The house reopened on May 1, 2004,<ref name="Rodkin i516" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Efn displaying replicas of furniture designed by Mies.<ref name="Kamin n600" /><ref name="Reed 2004">Template:Cite news</ref> Even though Farnsworth was the house's namesake, the museum did not display any of her furniture.<ref name="Kamin n600" /> Mies's architecture had become more popular over the previous decade, there were concerns that the house's remote location would deter potential visitors.<ref name="Kamin 2004" />
During the 2000s, Landmarks Illinois devised plans to preserve the house, including repairs to the drainage system, decks, and roofs.<ref name="O Toole p. 30" /> Some of the mullions on the facade had warped and needed to be replaced, and there were also discussions on restoring the interior woodwork, which had been replaced following previous floods. Landmarks Illinois regularly sandblasted and repainted the facade to keep it in good condition.<ref name="O Toole p. 31">Template:Harvnb</ref> The Farnsworth House continued to experience flooding threats,<ref name="Beam p. 270" /><ref name="Spence 2010">Template:Cite news</ref> such as in August 2007, when heavy rains caused floodwater to submerge the terrace.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> There were 6,500 annual visitors by 2007,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> at which point 92% of visitors came from outside Illinois, including one-third from outside the United States.<ref name="Stone j607">Template:Cite magazine</ref> To attract visitors, Landmarks Illinois hired a marketing director in 2008.<ref name="Stone j607" />
The house's main level was flooded for the third time in September 2008,<ref name="O Toole p. 31" /> when the floor was covered in Template:Convert of floodwater.<ref name="Pridmore o183" /><ref name="The State Journal-Register n895">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The furniture was saved,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and the house was not structurally damaged.<ref name="Pridmore o183" /> The flood nonetheless caused several hundred thousand dollars in damage,<ref name="O Toole p. 31" /> and Landmarks Illinois closed the house temporarily to clean up the mess.<ref name="Pridmore o183" /><ref name="Hawthorne f609">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> There were proposals to relocate the house or build a levee, though both plans would have significantly impacted the landscape, an integral part of the design.<ref name="Pridmore o183" /><ref name="Kamin i268">Template:Cite news</ref> Other proposals included a removable floodwall and hydraulic jacks, both of which were costly,<ref name="Pridmore o183" /> as well as a long-shot suggestion to restrict development upstream.<ref name="Kamin i268" /> To raise money for repairs, Landmarks Illinois hosted limited tours of the house starting in October 2008,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the house fully reopened in early 2009.<ref name="Farnsworth House Flood Mitigation Project">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The National Trust also developed a flood mitigation plan.<ref name="Farnsworth House Flood Mitigation Project" />
National Trust management
The National Trust began managing the house in 2010,<ref name="Rodkin i516" /> as Landmarks Illinois had been losing money operating the house.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Landmarks Illinois retained a preservation easement on the structure.<ref name="Bernstein z957">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The next year, Illinois Institute of Technology students constructed the Barnsworth Gallery next to the visitor center and built a walkway to the main house.<ref name="Sturges 2012" /><ref name="ArchDaily 2012" /> By the mid-2010s, there were 10,000 annual visitors.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> To address increasing flood risks, in 2014, the National Trust proposed installing hydraulic jacks under the house, which required its temporary location.<ref name="Kamin s542" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The hydraulic-jack proposal had been recommended over two alternatives—raising the land under the house by Template:Convert, or permanently moving the house<ref name="Bernstein z957" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Detractors expressed concerns about esthetics and possible defects regarding the jacks.<ref name="Bernstein z957" /> As such, the trust was considering permanently moving the house instead by 2015, drawing criticism from Mies's grandson Dirk Lohan, who had advocated for the jacks.<ref name="Murray f321" /><ref name="Bernstein z957" /> By 2017, the installation of hydraulic jacks was slated to cost $10 million; proceeds from a planned film about the house were to cover some of the cost.<ref name="Kamin z313">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
For the 2020 operating season, the house did not open until July due to the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref name="Plano Record 2020" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The terrace had been flooded that May, with floodwaters rising to within Template:Convert the floor slab.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> That October, the National Trust and Farnsworth House officials hired Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. to restore the house's terrace,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> a project that cost $700,000 and took a year.<ref name="Hilburg j348">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The National Trust announced in October 2021 that the house would be renamed the Edith Farnsworth House.<ref name="Hilburg j348" /> Scott Mehaffey, the house's executive director, said he hoped using Farnsworth's given name "would have the larger effect of inserting her into the ongoing history of modern architecture".<ref name="Hilburg j348" /><ref name="Stathaki 2021">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On November 17, 2021, Edith Farnsworth's birthday, the house was rededicated.<ref name="Stathaki 2021" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Visitation declined slightly after the COVID-19 pandemic<ref name="Foster 2023" /> but had recovered to 10,000 annual visitors by 2024.<ref name="Rodkin i516" />
Architecture
The Farnsworth House was designed by Mies in the International Style.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 15" /><ref name="Visser i231">Template:Cite book</ref> It was his first private house in the United States<ref name="Beam pp. 98–99" /><ref name="AR-2001-05" /> and one of three private houses that Mies designed in the country.<ref name="Myers 2011" /><ref name="Hall 2004" /><ref name="Krause 1999">Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Efn The Farnsworth House was also one of 14 private houses he ever designed; the other 11 are in Europe.<ref name="Krause 1999" /> It comprises two offset rectangular floor slabs: one containing the house and its outdoor veranda, and the other containing an outdoor terrace.<ref name="Blaser1997" /><ref name="Fu p. 3">Template:Harvnb</ref> The house's floor slab measures Template:Convert across;<ref name="Neumann p. 272">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="AF p. 159" />Template:Efn these dimensions were selected to limit the house's cost, as a larger floor slab would have been more expensive.<ref name="Beam p. 102" /> The longer west–east axis runs parallel to the Fox River, while the shorter north–south axis faces the river.<ref name="NPS p. 4" /> The terrace is smallerTemplate:Efn and occupies an intermediate level between the ground and the house's raised floor.<ref name="Blaser1997" />
The house has a minimalist design.<ref name="NPS p. 4" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> Steel, glass, and stone are the only materials used on the house's exterior, and wood and plaster are also used inside.<ref name="NPS p. 4" /> Although these materials were frequently used in other buildings, they were seldom used in an abstract manner, as at the Farnsworth House.<ref name="Schulze p. 256" /><ref name="Mertins p. 291" /> Travertine stone, in particular, was used for both the main floor slab and the terrace.<ref name="Schulze p. 254">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Valencia pp. 57–58">Template:Harvnb</ref> Though that material was more expensive than other types of stone, Mies had chosen travertine for its ability to absorb water, and because he had used it in previous projects.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Valencia pp. 57–58" /> The steel frame is made of rolled steel and is welded together.<ref name="Mertins pp. 290–291" /><ref name="Vandenberg p. 23">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Beam p. 99" />
The design resembled Mies's 1938 drawings for the unbuilt Resor House, located above a stream in Wyoming,<ref name="Vandenberg pp. 16–17" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> as well as another unbuilt design for Margarete Hubbe in Germany.<ref name="Friedman p. 138" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> Terence Riley of MoMA said that, since neither the Resor nor Farnsworth houses touched the ground, "It's as if [Mies] left Germany and he was no longer rooted".<ref name="Beam p. 156">Template:Harvnb</ref> According to the architectural historian Alice T. Friedman, the design showed that Mies and Farnsworth were both "committed not only to new architectural forms but also to new ways of living", despite Farnsworth's later doubts.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Another author, William L. Hamilton, described Farnsworth as one of several women who commissioned distinctive residential designs in the mid-20th century, alongside Susan Lawrence Dana, Truus Schröder-Schräder, and Sharon Drager.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Exterior
Stairs and terrace
The only access to the house is from the south.<ref name="Beam p. 146">Template:Harvnb</ref> There, two flights of travertine steps connect the ground, terrace, and veranda.<ref name="Blaser1997" /><ref name="NPS pp. 4–5">Template:Harvnb</ref> Both flights have Template:Convert treads;<ref name="Blaser1997" /> there are four steps in the lower flight and five steps in the upper flight.<ref name="NPS p. 5">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Valencia p. 59">Template:Harvnb</ref> The treads are cantilevered from a recessed frame.<ref name="Valencia p. 59" /><ref name="Beam p. 145">Template:Harvnb</ref> There are no vertical risers between each step, giving the impression that the stairs are floating; Mies later included a similar design feature in his S. R. Crown Hall.<ref name="Valencia p. 59" /> The top tread of the upper flight is twice as deep as the other steps, likely because Farnsworth had wanted to install a mosquito screen with a door that swung outward onto the top tread. Original plans also indicate a small mound of dirt beneath the lower flight's bottom tread, possibly to prevent puddles from forming there.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> When the house became a museum, the treads were reinforced with steel bars.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
The terrace has six steel supports, two of which are columns on the house's facade.<ref name="NPS pp. 4–5" /><ref name="Fu p. 3" /> Because of the presence of the columns, there is a small gap between the terrace and the main house.<ref name="NPS pp. 4–5" /> Connecting the stilts and columns are nine cross-girders, which support the terrace deck.<ref name="Fu p. 5">Template:Harvnb</ref> The northeast corner of the terrace is attached to the house's southwest corner; as seen from above, this gives the impression that the terrace is sliding past the main house.<ref name="Schulze p. 254" /><ref name="NPS pp. 4–5" /> Since the terrace faces west, it allowed the house's occupants to watch the sun set.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 17" /> The terrace slopes down toward the river, and there are drains underneath the terrace.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 22">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Beam p. 87">Template:Harvnb</ref> Because of the house's location, the terrace and steps are periodically submerged in floodwater,<ref name="Vandenberg p. 27" /> and canoes can be moored to the terrace whenever the river floods.<ref name="Deitz n993">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Deitz 1993">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Facade
The house is raised Template:Convert above the ground, allowing floodwaters to run underneath.<ref name="NPS p. 4" /><ref name="Vandenberg p. 17" /><ref name="Spaeth p. 124">Template:Harvnb</ref> It is supported by eight H-shaped columns on the facade,<ref name="Spaeth p. 121" /><ref name="Mertins pp. 290–291" /> which are welded to the floor slab and roof.<ref name="NPS p. 4" /><ref name="Schulze p. 253" /><ref name="Vandenberg p. 6">Template:Harvnb</ref> The north and south elevations each have four columns, arranged in a 4×2 grid;<ref name="Schulze p. 253" /> the columns on each elevation are placed Template:Convert apart, with flanges measuring Template:Convert deep.<ref name="Neumann p. 272" /><ref name="AF p. 159">Template:Harvnb</ref> The columns vertically divide the north and south elevations into three bays and the west and east elevations into one bay.<ref name="NPS p. 5" /> Each column's base is bolted to square concrete footings,<ref name="Beam p. 269" /> while the tops of the columns are just below the roofline.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 18" /> Because the columns are a major part of the design, Blair Kamin described the Farnsworth House as an example of site-specific architecture.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Despite its elevated position, the house itself has flooded multiple times;<ref name="Hawthorne f609" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> urban sprawl in Chicago's suburbs, which increased runoff into the river, has been cited as a contributing factor.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 26" /><ref name="The State Journal-Register n895" /><ref name="Kamin i268" />
The western bay is largely unenclosed, creating an open-air veranda.<ref name="Schulze p. 253" /><ref name="NPS p. 5" /> Mies did not want to install mosquito screens around the veranda, but they were ultimately installed due to the prevalence of mosquitoes.<ref name="Schulze p. 256" /><ref name="Vandenberg p. 17" /> On the west elevation is the main entrance, a glass double door flanked by sidelights of unequal size.<ref name="NPS p. 5" /> Because the veranda is accessed from the south, visitors must make a 90-degree turn to reach the doors.<ref name="Sheets 2000">Template:Cite news</ref> The east elevation has one square pane at either end, flanking a central section with two small movable hopper windows beneath a large, non-movable pane.<ref name="NPS p. 5" /> These hopper windows were not part of the original plans but were added at Farnsworth's request.<ref name="Beam p. 89">Template:Harvnb</ref> The east elevation's movable panes and the doors are the only parts of the facade that could be opened, providing limited natural ventilation.<ref name="AF p. 159" /><ref name="Beam p. 89" /><ref name="Friedman p. 127">Template:Harvnb</ref> On the north and south elevations, the center and eastern bays each have square panes, which are flanked by rectangular panes on either end.<ref name="NPS p. 5" />
Mies opted not to use insulated glazing, since it was substantially more expensive than the single-pane glass used there.<ref name="Beam p. 84" /> The glass panes measure Template:Convert thick.<ref name="Beam p. 84">Template:Harvnb</ref> They are separated vertically by mullions and extend between the floor and roof.<ref name="Mertins p. 291" /><ref name="NPS pp. 4–5" /> The mullions tie the roof and floor slabs together;<ref name="Mertins p. 291" /> the house's corners lack mullions, so the windows wrap around the corners.<ref name="NPS pp. 4–5" /><ref name="Drexler p. 29">Template:Harvnb</ref> In a similar style to Mies's office towers,<ref name="Drexler p. 28">Template:Harvnb</ref> bolts and welds are concealed wherever possible, giving the impression that the beams were glued or magnetically attached to each other.<ref name="Neumann p. 272" /><ref name="Beam p. 146" /><ref name="Vandenberg p. 21">Template:Harvnb</ref> Other architectural elements were fused using plug welds<ref name="Neumann p. 272" /> and are separated by grooves.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 21" /> All exterior metal was sandblasted to eliminate weld marks.<ref name="Neumann p. 272" /><ref name="AF p. 159" /> The facade was then covered with four coats of white enamel paint,<ref name="Neumann p. 272" /><ref name="Beam p. 99" /> a color chosen to contrast with the landscape.<ref name="Mertins p. 291" /><ref name="Beam p. 145" /> The columns, roof, floor slabs, and mullions give the impression of a post-and-lintel design, similar to an Ancient Greek temple.<ref name="NPS p. 4" /><ref name="Schulze p. 256" />
Floor and roof
The floor and roof slabs both have C-shaped fascia, to which the columns are welded.<ref name="Mertins pp. 290–291" /> The floor slab consists of precast concrete panels, which rest on steel cross-girders that connect the house's columns.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 18" /><ref name="AF p. 159" /> There are 13 such girders under the floor slab,<ref name="Fu p. 5" /> each spaced Template:Convert apart.<ref name="AF p. 159" /> Travertine slabs rest above the concrete panels.<ref name="AF p. 159" /> A cylinder underneath the floor slab, measuring Template:Convert across, carries pipes and ducts into the ground.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 18" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
The roof slab is Template:Convert above the main floor slab<ref name="Blaser1997" /><ref name="Beam p. 102" /> and is made of precast concrete, which is placed atop steel girders connecting each pair of columns.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 18" /> It protrudes approximately Template:Convert beyond the westernmost and easternmost pairs of columns,<ref name="Fu p. 3" /> being cantilevered from these columns' girders.<ref name="Mertins p. 291" /> Mies intended for the cantilevered roof to create an impression of lightness.<ref name="Spaeth p. 124" /><ref name="McGuigan 2001">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Above the roof is a small dormer structure that contains a fireplace flue, ventilation fans, a boiler, and a water storage tank.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 18" /> The center of the roof slopes inward toward a drainage spout,<ref name="Schulze p. 254" /><ref name="Sheets 2000" /> though the slope cannot be seen from the ground level.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 22" />
Interior
The interior covers Template:Convert.<ref name="Spaeth p. 121" /><ref name="Henning 2004" /><ref name="Beam p. 147">Template:Harvnb</ref>Template:Efn It is a mostly open-plan space interrupted by a central core and a movable teak wardrobe.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Beam pp. 147–148">Template:Harvnb</ref> There are no columns inside,<ref name="Murphy 2004">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and different parts of the house are mostly delineated by furniture.<ref name="Beam p. 147" /><ref name="Drexler p. 29" /> The color scheme is minimalist, with brown used for wood and white used for other surfaces.<ref name="NPS p. 4" /> The concrete-slab floors are covered with travertine slabs,<ref name="NPS p. 4" /><ref name="Spaeth p. 1252">Template:Harvnb</ref> each measuring Template:Convert across.<ref name="Fu p. 3" /><ref name="AF p. 159" /> The core is made of primavera wood,<ref name="Spaeth p. 1252" /><ref name="Beam p. 143">Template:Harvnb</ref> and the ceilings are finished in plaster.<ref name="AF p. 159" /><ref name="Beam p. 143" /><ref name="Drexler p. 29" /> With an area of about Template:Convert,Template:Efn the interior is considerably smaller than many middle-class American houses.<ref name="Dannatt 2002" /> The design is also impractical for everyday use, as it lacks basic privacy features or storage space.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
Interior spaces
The core, measuring Template:Convert across,<ref name="Myers 2011" /> was built by a local craftsman named Karl Freund.<ref name="O Toole p. 31" /><ref name="Schulze p. 254" />Template:Efn Its primavera wood walls do not reach the ceiling, except in the middle.<ref name="Schulze p. 254" /> The core contains all of the utility ducts,<ref name="Schulze p. 254" /><ref name="NPS p. 5" /> as well as a utility closet, a kitchen area facing north, a fireplace facing south, and bathrooms facing west and east.<ref name="NPS p. 5" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> The core was positioned slightly north of center, reducing the kitchen's size while providing space for a living area to the south.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 17" /><ref name="Schulze p. 254" /> Farnsworth used one of the bathrooms for herself, setting aside the other for visitors.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 17" /><ref name="Beam p. 89" /> Farnsworth's bathroom, with a porcelain bathtub, was an addendum to the original plans, which called for one bathroom with a shower.<ref name="Beam p. 89" />
The core is surrounded by a kitchen and living, dining, and sleeping areas.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 17" /><ref name="Neumann p. 277">Template:Harvnb</ref> Short partitions extend off the core, subtly delineating various areas around it.<ref name="AF p. 159" /> The kitchen has a sink, a stainless-steel counter, and cooktops,<ref name="O Toole p. 31" /><ref name="Murphy 2004" /> and there are several cabinets above the counter.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 17" /><ref name="Murphy 2004" /> To the south is a living area abutting the fireplace in the off-center core.<ref name="Schulze p. 254" /> The living area doubled as a guest sleeping area, despite Farnsworth's wish for a dedicated second bedroom.<ref name="Beam p. 88">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> A dining space, which doubles as an entrance area, is west of the core and living space.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 17" /><ref name="Neumann p. 277" /> The teak wardrobe, east of the living area, separates it from the sleeping area.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 17" /><ref name="NPS p. 5" /><ref name="Beam pp. 147–148" /> Because there were originally no curtains,<ref name="Norwich 2003" /><ref name="Sheets 2000" /> the sun shone directly into the sleeping area in the morning;<ref name="Vandenberg p. 17" /><ref name="Sheets 2000" /> Farnsworth later added roller blinds, which Palumbo replaced with curtains.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 252" /> Because the house was intended as a weekend retreat, Mies did not build a closet, advising Farnsworth to hang her dress on the bathroom door.<ref name="Norwich 2003" /><ref name="Henning 2004" /> Farnsworth added the wardrobe later on,<ref name="Fulford 2010" /> which remained in place when Palumbo bought the house.<ref name="Dannatt 2002" /><ref name="Norwich 2003" />
Mechanical features
The travertine floor has an embedded radiant heating system with coils positioned near the floor slab's perimeter.<ref name="Valencia p. 58">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Vandenberg pp. 21–22">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="AF p. 160">Template:Harvnb</ref> Further heating is provided by the fireplace,<ref name="Vandenberg pp. 21–22" /> for which there was originally an oil-fired boiler.<ref name="Strickland 2001" /><ref name="Vandenberg p. 252" /> There is also a furnace installed in the core,<ref name="Beam p. 87" /><ref name="Vandenberg pp. 21–22" /> a separate boiler to heat water, and three fans to distribute hot air.<ref name="Beam p. 148" /> For ventilation, Mies provided an exhaust fan under the kitchen floor and a ventilation shaft in the core.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> The floor has no drainage spouts, since Mies had anticipated that water would drain into the gaps between the travertine slabs;<ref name="Vandenberg p. 22" /><ref name="Valencia p. 58" /> to catch the water, drainage troughs are placed underneath.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 18" /><ref name="Valencia p. 58" /> Pipes for the bathrooms and kitchens, and utility ducts for the core, are also embedded into the floor.<ref name="Schulze p. 254" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The electrical outlets on the floor are concealed by threaded covers.<ref name="Valencia p. 58" /> The house's lighting was designed by Richard Kelly<ref name="Neumann p. 278" /> and consists of freestanding lamps and ceiling lights.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 22" />
Initially, the Farnsworth House struggled to be energy efficient.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 21" /><ref name="Denzer 2013">Template:Cite book</ref> During the summer, there was no air conditioning, and the windows did not provide adequate cross-ventilation.<ref name="Schulze p. 256" /><ref name="Ackermann 2010">Template:Cite book</ref> The open windows and hot interior attracted mosquitoes and other insects,<ref name="Ackermann 2010" /><ref name="Strickland 2001" /> while the trees did not adequately cool the facade.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 21" /> The radiant heating system also took a long time to warm up,<ref name="Beam p. 87" /><ref name="Vandenberg pp. 21–22" /> and the fireplace not only failed to provide adequate heat but also expelled ash.<ref name="Vandenberg pp. 21–22" /> Ice often built up on the walls during the winter.<ref name="Denzer 2013"/> Palumbo's 1970s renovation added air-conditioning and an electrical heater.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 252" />
Furnishings and furniture
Mies had designed furniture specifically for the house, which was spartan in style and included Brno coffee tables and Barcelona chairs.<ref name="Beam p. 153">Template:Harvnb</ref> Mies's furniture was intended as an integral part of the design, to the point where he spent considerable effort determining its proportions, location, and materials.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> Mies wanted his furniture to be installed at specific points, delineating different areas,<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> but Farnsworth had refused to use these pieces.<ref name="Wills b312" /><ref name="Kamin n600" /> As she said: "The fact is that Mies has no taste and if you stop to think about it, that is not surprising."<ref name="Kamin n600" />
When Farnsworth lived there, she owned objects such as North African rugs, Chinese art, and Danish furniture.<ref name="Wills b312" /><ref name="Beam p. 261">Template:Harvnb</ref> Her bed abutted the core's eastern wall, facing the Fox River.<ref name="Beam p. 88" /> These furnishings included designs from Alvar Aalto, Harry Bertoia, Bruno Mathsson, Jens Risom, and Knoll, Inc..<ref name="Wendl o905" /><ref name="Neumann p. 280" /> The design made no provision for the exhibition of artwork,<ref name="Deitz 1993" /><ref name="Mays 1991">Template:Cite news</ref> though Farnsworth did display her family photographs.<ref name="Beam p. 153" />
When Palumbo bought the house, he hired Mies's grandson Dirk Lohan to design custom furniture inspired by Mies's designs.<ref name="Vogel d694" /><ref name="Beam p. 267" /><ref name="Myers 2011" /> Lohan constructed coffee tables, Brno chairs, and replicas of leather-and-steel ottomans from the Barcelona Pavilion.<ref name="Beam p. 267" /><ref name="Deitz n993" /> Other pieces in the house included a brown leather couch from one of Palumbo's previous residences and a Moroccan rug.<ref name="Deitz n993" /> Palumbo also commissioned a desk, dining table, bed frame, nightstand, and boot box from Lohan.<ref name="Myers 2011" /> Different pieces of furniture divided the distinct areas.<ref name="Norwich 2003" /><ref name="Beam p. 147" /> For example, the dining area was marked by a table and chairs, while the living space had a Barcelona bed next to the fireplace.<ref name="Norwich 2003" /> Palumbo displayed his family pictures when he lived there,<ref name="Dunlap d789" /><ref name="Deitz 1993" /> and he also displayed sculptures on side tables.<ref name="Deitz 1993" /> At one point, the house had shantung draperies, which were replaced when a flood destroyed the original draperies.<ref name="Deitz 1993" />
Management and operation
The Farnsworth House is open to the public, with tours conducted by the National Trust.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Organizations such as the Chicago Architecture Foundation also provide tours that include the house.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> When the National Trust first took over the house, it offered one-hour guided tours.<ref name="Chicago Tribune 2004">Template:Cite news</ref> The house is open to the general public from April to November<ref name="Myers 2011" /><ref name="Beam p. 272">Template:Harvnb</ref> and is accessible only by appointment during other months.<ref name="Reed 2004" /> Tours begin at the visitor center, where there are exhibits and a short film,<ref name="Rodkin h465" /> as well as a gift shop.<ref name="Kamin 2004" /> Afterward, guests walk through the woods to reach the house.<ref name="Rodkin h465" /><ref name="Kamin 2004" /> To avoid damaging one of the house's rugs, visitors must take off their shoes or put booties on their shoes while inside the house.<ref name="Kamin 2004" /> Nighttime tours are hosted once a month.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Due to the house's small size, it can accommodate only ten visitors simultaneously.<ref name="Vogel p246" /><ref name="Henning 2004" /> The National Trust first displayed Farnsworth's decor at the house in 2020.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Since then, the National Trust has swapped out the furnishings periodically, switching between modernist decor that reflect Palumbo's taste and more eclectic items that reflect Farnsworth's tastes.<ref name="Rodkin i516" /> Template:As of, the house has 10,000 annual visitors.<ref name="Rodkin i516" /> The grounds can be rented out for events such as weddings,<ref name="Kamin 2004" /> and the National Trust also hosts various programs at the house to raise money.<ref name="Beam p. 272" /> Since 2024, the house has hosted the Farnsworth Fall Festival.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Impact
Reception
The house's minimalist architecture has been discussed extensively. The architectural historian Arthur Drexler described the house as consisting of merely "a terrace, a floor, and a roof".<ref name="Vandenberg p. 6" /> Because the house is raised, sources have describe it as hovering over the landscape.<ref name="NPS p. 4" /><ref name="Vandenberg pp. 16–17" /> Some sources characterized the design as insular, stating that it was effectively detached from the landscape outside,<ref name="Vandenberg p. 17" /><ref name="Friedman p. 127" /> while other sources stated that the facade blurred the distinction between exterior and interior.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> Observers likened the house to a Shinto shrine, an 18th-century pavilion,<ref name="Schulze p. 256" /><ref name="Dannatt 2002" /> or a Japanese garden.<ref name="Henning 2004" /> The glass exterior was also described as a culmination of three decades of increasingly minimalist designs,<ref name="Mertins p. 290" /><ref name="Fulford 2010" /> while the elevated floor slab and white frame have drawn comparisons to ghosts.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Alice T. Friedman said in 1998 that the Farnsworth House was one of a few 20th-century residences, along with Fallingwater and Villa Savoye, which consistently captivated visitors despite being widely covered in the media.<ref name="Friedman p. 127" /> Another writer for Curbed grouped Fallingwater, the Farnsworth House, the Glass House, and Eero Saarinen's Miller House as American modernist icons, "glorified in equal part by architecture geeks and tourists".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Contemporary
When the house was completed, it was controversial,<ref name="Newsweek 1953" /><ref name="NPR Illinois v734" /> in part because of the dispute between Mies and Farnsworth.<ref name="Friedman p. 140" /><ref name="Mays 2001" /> Peter Blake of Architectural Forum said in 1951 that the Farnsworth House "has no equal in perfection of workmanship, in precision of detail, in pure simplicity of concept",<ref name="Neumann p. 281" /><ref name="Beam p. 143" /> although he nonetheless stated that the house might not appeal to certain groups of people.<ref name="AF p. 157">Template:Harvnb</ref> The house was also depicted on the cover of Architectural Design magazine, and a reviewer for that publication said the design was "quiet and simple in character", being "unobtrusive" to the occupants.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> House & Garden praised the house as "a structure of implacable calm, precise simplicity, and meticulous detail",<ref name="Newsweek 1953" /> while The Age of Melbourne said the design was successful for its simplicity and purity despite being impractical for wider use.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Another review from 1953 called it "a quantity of air caught between a floor and a roof",<ref name="Neumann p. 281" /><ref name="Vandenberg p. 6" /> while Arthur Drexler wrote in 1960 that the house was "one of the most dramatic statements of the Miesian idea".<ref name="Drexler p. 28" />
House Beautiful magazine published a particularly critical article in April 1953, in which its editor Elizabeth Gordon interviewed Farnsworth and described the house as "cold" and "barren", calling it an affront to American values.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 15" /><ref name="Schulze p. 259">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Neumann p. 282">Template:Harvnb</ref> The magazine's executive editor Joseph Barry called Farnsworth's residence "a particularly fine example of a bad modern house".<ref name="Neumann p. 282" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> Gordon and other detractors implied (if not outright stated) that the design had communist connotations, at a time when McCarthyism caused Americans to disdain anything thought to be communist.<ref name="Davies 2007" /><ref name="Mays 2001" /><ref name="Spaeth p. 126">Template:Harvnb</ref> These detractors included the architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who unlike many of his contemporaries had liked Gordon's article<ref name="Beam pp. 239–240">Template:Harvnb</ref> and compared the house's style to totalitarianism.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 15" /><ref name="NPR Illinois v734" /><ref name="Schulze p. 259" /> Gordon's review spurred negative reactions from other architects (including those she had previously praised) and the architectural press.<ref name="Beam pp. 239–240" /> The review and its aftermath prompted Mies to end his friendship with Wright<ref name="Schulze p. 259" /> and to consider suing House BeautifulTemplate:'s publisher Hearst Communications, as he feared the article would negatively impact his business.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
The design highlighted the differing philosophies held by what Newsweek described as "the moderate humanists and the strict geometricists",<ref name="Newsweek 1953" /> and observers had mixed opinions about the design's simplicity and attention to detail.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 15" /> Writing in 1963, James Marston Fitch struggled to reconcile criticisms of the details and praise for his minimalist design, saying that it was like "praising the sea for being blue while chiding it for being salty, or admiring the tiger for the beauty of his coat while urging him to become a vegetarian".<ref name="NPR Illinois v734" /><ref name="Spaeth p. 126" /> Upon Mies's 80th birthday in 1965, a writer for the periodical Universitas described the house as "exceedingly demanding as a structure and ascetic as regards the amenities", with its impact yet to be determined.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Retrospective
After Mies's death in 1969, criticism of his work became less intense.<ref name="Mays 2001" /> The historian Reyner Banham called it an "extreme statement" that "left other architects little to do except to try to make even more perfect that which was already perfected".<ref name="Spaeth p. 126" /> When Palumbo owned the property, the Financial Times described the house as "an indisputable masterpiece and in meticulous state", contrasting with other wealthy people's gaudy structures.<ref name="Dannatt 2002" /> Paul Goldberger wrote that the house had "a brilliant clarity of vision, a potent sense of architectural space that forces us to see the world anew", despite its lack of traditional rooms,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and he later said it had "utter magnificence" but no privacy.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Paul Gapp wrote in 1985 that the house was among the world's "most architecturally celebrated residences".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The critic John Bentley Mays, writing in 1991, praised the building as a "simple, exquisitely proportioned oblong box" but criticized the restrictiveness of the design, which originally excluded space for art, curtains, or even mosquito screens.<ref name="Mays 1991" />
A New York Times writer in 2003 contrasted the house with "the suburbs rolling toward it",<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> while The Australian regarded the design's "advanced intentions and clever interpretation of materials" favorably, despite the un-ergonomic surfaces.<ref name="Davies 2007" /> A Wall Street Journal article called it "part fishbowl, part tree house and part transparent time capsule".<ref name="Myers 2011" /> By contrast, a writer for The International Design Magazine thought the house "suggested loneliness" because it lacked connection to the ground.<ref name="Sheets 2000" /> Maritz Vandenberg thought the design succeeded as an example of Mies's architectural principles and as an icon, but that it was structurally flawed, used materials inefficiently, and could not feasibly be mass-produced.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
The house has been described as one of Mies's most significant U.S. buildings.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Blair Kamin wrote in 2001 that the house was among Mies's "masterpieces",<ref name="Kamin o243" /> while Newsweek said the house "embodies almost everything for which Mies is revered" because of its materials, classical design influences, and elevated position.<ref name="McGuigan 2001" /> The critic Paul Goldberger wrote in 2004 that the Farnsworth House "deserve[s] to be ranked with the greatest buildings of all time", citing its simple yet "utterly composed" design.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Observers have also characterized the house as more an expression of Mies's architectural philosophy than a practical residential design.<ref name="Beam p. 156" /> For example, the architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, wrote that the house was "much more the expression of a will and a conviction that something great must be created and that this was the moment to do so".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Wall Street Journal wrote that the house "came close to perfectly embodying his motto, 'beinahe nichts', or 'almost nothing'",<ref name="Henning 2004" /> while Dirk Lohan said the design was the "ideal retreat" for his grandfather.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
Architectural influence
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The house has been cited as a major work of 20th-century residential architecture,<ref name="Dannatt 2002" /><ref name="Beam pp. 5–6">Template:Harvnb</ref> as well as a major modernist and International-style work.<ref name="Visser i231" /><ref name="Bradbury q558">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1968, Fello Atkinson cited the Farnsworth House as one of three highly influential Mies designs, along with the Illinois Institute of Technology Academic Campus and 860–880 Lake Shore Drive.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The writer David A. Spaeth said in 1985 that the house's impact "cannot be overestimated however much it was (and is) discussed and debated",<ref name="Spaeth p. 121" /> while the critic David Holowka said its influence was comparable to the novel Huckleberry FinnTemplate:'s impact on modern American literature.<ref name="Beam pp. 5–6" /> Beam cites the Farnsworth House, and other modernist designs by Mies, as having influenced the work of U.S. West Coast architects such as John Entenza.<ref name="Beam pp. 161–162">Template:Harvnb</ref> Franz Schulze characterized the Farnsworth House as one of Mies's most important residential works, along with the Villa Tugendhat of 1930.<ref name="Krause 1999" />
The postmodernist architect Philip Johnson cited the Farnsworth House as an influence for his Glass House in Connecticut,<ref name="Vogel d694" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> which was completed first but was reportedly inspired by an architectural model of Mies's design.<ref name="Myers 2011" /><ref name="Neumann p. 277" /> Though both houses have a open plan and glass walls, Johnson's house differed in key respects such as its classical influence, dark-colored frame, and ground-level positioning.<ref name="AF p. 160" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Other buildings have been inspired by the Farnsworth House's design, such as the Stahl House and Rosen House in California,<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> a weekend house in New York's Hudson Valley,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and works by the Australian architect Glenn Murcutt.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The Farnsworth House also inspired residential works in other countries such as Australia,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Canada,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Israel,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Ireland, England, and Belgium.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 24" />
The Farnsworth House significantly influenced Mies's own architecture as well.<ref name="Beam pp. 161–162" /><ref name="Blake 2001">Template:Cite news</ref> For example, his design for Crown Hall used a steel-and-glass facade with cantilevered stairs, while 860–880 Lake Shore Drive rests on stilts.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> Other details inspired by the house included Mies's frequent use of glass curtain walls<ref name="McGuigan 2001" /><ref name="Blake 2001" /> and his tendency to design open-plan interiors subdivided by furniture and art.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Wishing to mass-produce the Farnsworth House's design, Mies devised the 50x50 House, a glass-walled structure with a square floor plan, a utility core, and columns at the center of each elevation.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> The 50x50 plan (along with variants of different sizes) was never produced, as they failed to provide sufficient storage space, privacy, or a flexible floor layout.<ref name="Vandenberg p. 23" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> Though he designed many large public buildings in his later career, he stopped designing private residences after the early 1950s.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
Awards and landmark designations
In a 1976 poll of American-architecture experts, several experts ranked the Farnsworth House among the United States' best buildings.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The American Institute of Architects (AIA) gave the Farnsworth House a Twenty-five Year Award for architectural excellence in 1981.<ref name="Spaeth p. 126" /> Craig Ellwood, one of the Twenty-five Year Award panelists, said that "the nonsense we now call architecture" paled in comparison to the Farnsworth House.<ref name="Spaeth p. 126" /> Lohan Associates won an AIA honor award for their 1990s restoration of the house.<ref name="Kamin 2000" /> In celebration of the 2018 Illinois Bicentennial, the Farnsworth House was selected as one of Illinois's 200 great places by the AIA's statewide chapter, AIA Illinois,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and was recognized as one of AIA Illinois's "25 Must See Buildings".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2021, The New York Times named it as one of the 25 most significant works of architecture since World War II.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The house received lower rankings from the general public; a survey in 2007 found that it was not among Americans' 150 favorite buildings.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Despite its architectural influence, the building was not eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) until the 2000s, largely due to a regulation that requires most NRHP listings to be at least 50 years old.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2006, the house was added to the NRHP when it was designated as a National Historic Landmark.<ref name="nhlsum">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Media and exhibits
The Museum of Modern Art displayed plans of the house in 1947,<ref name="Vandenberg p. 14" /><ref name="Beam p. 69" /><ref name="Beam p. 71" /> and the museum featured the house again in a 1953 exhibition and accompanying book about postwar architecture.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The house was the subject of other exhibitions, including MoMA's 1950s traveling exhibition about 20th-century houses,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> a 1982 exhibit by the Arts Club of Chicago,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> a 2000 exhibit by the Chicago Architecture Foundation,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> and Phyllis Lambert's 2000s traveling exhibition Mies in America.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Two exhibits in particular, in the 1970s and 2003, helped bring attention to the house.<ref name="Neumann p. 281" /> The relationship between Mies and Farnsworth inspired Alanah Fitch's play Jessie and the Fat Man<ref name="Norwich 2003" /> and June Finfer's play Glass House.<ref name="Henning 2004" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
When the Farnsworth House became a museum, it was the subject of Saved From the Wrecking Ball, a documentary produced by PBS.<ref name="Stone j607" /> The house's history has been discussed in several books,<ref name="Fulford 2010" /> including The Farnsworth House (1997) by Franz Schulze,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Broken Glass (2020) by Alex Beam,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and The Edith Farnsworth House: Architecture, Preservation, Culture (2024) by Michelangelo Sabatino.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Its maintenance was discussed in the 2010 film Points on a Line.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A movie about the house, starring Jeff Bridges as Mies and Maggie Gyllenhaal as Farnsworth, was announced in 2017.<ref name="Kamin z313" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Although the film has not been released Template:As of, both of the leading roles were recast, with Ralph Fiennes as Mies<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Elizabeth Debicki as Farnsworth.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The house has been rented out as a filming location,<ref name="Beam p. 273">Template:Harvnb</ref> appearing in media such as a jeans commercial and a Kenny Chesney music video.<ref name="O Toole p. 32" /><ref name="Stone j607" /> The estate has been used for site-specific art and performances.<ref name="Beam p. 273" /> These include a light show in 2014 and 2019 by the art collective Luftwerk,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> as well as a 2025 multimedia exhibit called Inhabit.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In addition, the design was partly replicated in Michigan for the filming of the 2016 movie Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> The house has also inspired creative works,<ref name="Beam p. 273" /> including a video installation by the artist Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> a butterfly house by the artist group Bik van der Pol,<ref name="Spence 2010" /> and the multimedia show Modern Living by Brennan Gerard and Ryan Kelly.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Kendall County, Illinois
- List of National Historic Landmarks in Illinois
References
Notes
Explanatory notes
Inflation figures
Citations
Sources
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite report
- Template:Cite magazine
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite magazine
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite book
Further reading
External links
Template:Sister project Template:Sister project
- Template:Official website
- Farnsworth House Today: An in depth page from Columbia University, many diagrams and drawings.
Template:National Register of Historic Places Template:Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
- Pages with broken file links
- 1950s architecture in the United States
- 1951 establishments in Illinois
- Architecture museums in the United States
- Historic house museums in Illinois
- Houses completed in 1951
- Houses in Kendall County, Illinois
- Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois
- International style architecture in Illinois
- Ludwig Mies van der Rohe buildings
- Modernist architecture in Illinois
- Museums in Kendall County, Illinois
- National Historic Landmarks in Illinois
- National Register of Historic Places in Kendall County, Illinois
- National Trust for Historic Preservation
- Plano, Illinois