Farnsworth House

Muram Samir Mohammed

Supervised by:Prof.Adil

2nd year
Farnworth House :

-About the architect.

-General Information.
-Building Architectural Analysis.
-References.
Mies Van Der Rohe :

A German-American architect . Born 27th march 1886. One of the

pioneers of modern architecture.
He was the last director of the Bauhaus a seminal school in modern
architecture.
He accepted the position to head the architectural school at the
Illinois Institute of Technology, in Chicago.
General information :

Designed and constructed by Ludwig

Mies Van Der Rohe.
Location: 59 km southwest of
Chicago’s downtown.
Area: 140sqm.
Construction material: Steel and glass.
Nearest City: Plano, Illinois.
Commissioned by: Dr. Edith
Built: 1951.
Farnsworth, a Chicago nephrologist.
Architectural style:
Modern architecture.
Description:

The single-story house consists of eight I-shaped

steel columns that support the roof and floor
frameworks, and therefore are both structural
and expressive. In between these columns are
floor-to-ceiling windows around the entire
house, opening up the rooms to the woods
around it.
The glass pavilion takes full advantage of
relating to its natural surroundings, achieving
Mies' concept of a strong relationship between
the house and nature.
Concept:
Mies applied the concept of an unobstructed space that is flexible for use by people,
and the interior is a one single open room.

Promoting the mythical idea that “less is more” which is promoting livability stripped
down emptiness and lack of possessions.

Also there is a strong desire of transparency a defensible space of intimacy as well as a

closet, and the idea of separation from the land on which it sits by pillars has been
associated with an idea of purity.
Construction Analysis:

Structure: Steel frame-work allowed open plan interiors, Mies used heavy steel
sections and laminated glass plates. All building parts are factory made. He also used
conventional bolted connections in the less visible parts of his structures, but in
exposed positions he wished elegant steel members to be displayed cleany.

Materials:

Floor: Travertine.

Roof: Plaster.

Wall: wood, primavera for the core walls and teak for the wardrobe.
“The floating entrance”

The ground floor of the Farnsworth House is

thereby elevated, and wide steps slowly
transcend almost effortlessly off the ground.
Mies intended for the house to be as light as
possible on the land, and so he raised the house 5
feet 3 inches off the ground ( using eight wide
flange steel columns ), allowing only the steel
columns to meet the ground and the landscape to
extend past the residence. In order to accomplish
this, the mullions of the windows also provide
structural support for the floor slab.
“Minimalism”

The phrase “less is more” gets repeated

Definition: In Minimalist architecture, design
elements strive to convey the message of
simplicity. The basic geometric forms, elements
without decoration, simple materials and the
repetitions of structures represent a sense of
order and essential quality.
Mies has a famous phrase “ less is more”
The floor plan in the farnsworth house is
completely open exploiting true minimalism.
Site Problem:

The Farnsworth house was constructed about

100 feet from the Fox River, Mies recognized
the dangers of flooding. He designed the house
at an elevation that he believed would protect it
from the highest predicted floods.
In 1954 the river rose flooded the house and till
now researches state that the interior of the
house has received flood water 6 times.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation
faced some problems with the maintenance of
the house due to flooding and livability of the
design.
Farnsworth exterior:

The man-made geometric form creates a

relationship the extraneous landscape
surrounding it to exemplify "dwelling" in its
simplest state. As Mies stated on his
achievement, "If you view nature through the
glass walls of the Farnsworth House, 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."
References:

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farnsworth_House

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Mies_van_der_Rohe#/media
/File:Ludwig_Mies_van_der_Rohe.jp

- https://issuu.com/jenny-diaz/docs/glass_house_presentation_set_2

- https://www.slideshare.net/NaveenJamal/farnsworth-house-constru
ction-details