Farnsworth House Location: Plano, Illinois.

Situated along the banks of the Fox River, the house stands in stark contrast to the natural environment that surrounds it. Farnsworth employs an East-West axis along the river edge, and is situated next to a large maple tree to the South that acts as prot ector over the house. Date: Built 1946-1950 Project Size: 1500 square feet. The single functioning room is 55 by 28 feet. Materials: Steel framing and glass on the exterior, supported by steel pilotis. Interior elements include travertine marble, silk curtains, and primavera walls. Architect: Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969) Mies began his career in Europe, as a leader of the architectural avantgarde movement of the 1920s. This leadership took place after his early apprenticeship for Peter Behrens from 1908 to 1911. After the first World War, Mies joined the Novembergruppe artist movement and created the avant-garde magazine called G (Gestaltung). In 1920 Mies began experimenting with suspended floor planes and light vertical members, echoing the call from other architects to move to a more transparent, organic architecture. His most important works include the Barcelona Pavilion and the Seagram Building in New York, among a great body of work carried out in the United States. Among his United States architectural commissions, the Farnsworth house stands out. It is the most clear, most complete articulation of Mies aesthetics in design of a series of houses, as well as the modernist ideals he had learned from in Europe. The home was designed for Dr. Edith Farnsworth, a surgeon from Chicago. It was to act as a weekend country retreat for the busy doctor. Ultimately, the Farnsworth house shows the culmination of Mies van der Rohes minimalistic design concept. Every element of the house is stripped down to its simplest form, and the slightest details in color and shape are chosen to keep the house simple in contrast to the nature that surrounds it. Most importantly though, the Farnsworth house was designed for a specific experience. Meant for only one or two occupants, the small space consists of a very open floor plan, an d the glass walls allow for maximum views and light. Every moment of the changing seasons is taken into account; with the east- west orientation, the placement of the bed in the Northeast corner, and even the raised floor slabs are meant to accommodate seasonal flooding (spring access is by way of a canoe). Despite aesthetic contrast to the nature around it, Farnsworth works to interact with and complement the trees and river that make the landscape/ scenery surrounding the house.

I believe that the Farnsworth House has never really been understood. I myself have been in this house from morning to nightfall. Until then, I had never realized how colorful nature could be. Inside, neutral tones have to be carefully used since all colors exist on the outside. These colors change continuously and completely, and Id like to say that it is simply glorious. Mies van der Rohe.