The Edith Farnsworth Home has been reimagined

The Edith Farnsworth Home, designed by modernist structure grasp Mies Van der Rohe, has existed by means of three separate phases – three lives, if you’ll, since its completion in 1951. Its first life displays its namesake – Edith Farnsworth. Its second life is that of the residence of Lord Peter Palumbo, who put his personal distinctive marks on the home and its surrounding panorama. Its current manifestation because the property of the Nationwide Belief for Historic Preservation and Landmarks Illinois, which bought the home in Could 2004, and opened it to the general public, resonates with its standing as an architectural icon.

Uncover the third iteration of The Edith Farnsworth Home

Over its lifetime, the home has undergone vital periodic flooding, with particularly extreme flooding occasions in 1996 and 2008 that necessitated in depth restorative work. Whereas varied flood mitigation methods have been proposed, plans to relocate the home to increased floor have been met with vital pushback and largely dismissed, in keeping with Mark Stoner, Senior Director of Preservation Structure (Graham Gund Architect) for the Nationwide Belief for Historic Preservation, who directed the restoration course of.

‘The home was inbuilt its location for a purpose. And if we have been to uproot that and to maneuver it anyplace else, no matter what has occurred round the home, it might lose its context and it might lose its function as a home, and it might change into nothing greater than a chunk of paintings,’ Stoner stated.

In truth, Mies sited and designed the home for its particular location, in keeping with Michelangelo Sabatino, PhD, Professor of Architectural Historical past and Preservation and Director of the Ph.D. Program in Structure at Illinois Tech – Illinois Institute of Expertise in Chicago. Sabatino not too long ago authored The Edith Farnsworth Home, which chronicles the historical past of the home by means of its varied manifestations.

‘This was a rustic home. And it was very a lot linked to the land. For instance, [in an aerial view photo from the book], are you able to make out the place the home is? No, it is hidden right here. So, that is the purpose that I am attempting to make within the guide, that it is a nation home, and it is linked to the land. My huge level is how Mies designed the home in relationship to the land,’ Sabatino stated.

Past efforts straight associated to flood mitigation, Farnsworth Home not too long ago underwent a lot wanted restorative work, primarily, substitute of the enduring glass panes that, together with the metal body, comprise almost its total construction. The steel framework across the panes was additionally handled with waterproofing supplies to alleviate additional moisture and corrosion and decrease the danger of glass fracturing, Stoner stated.

‘Flooding occasions are huge offers once we discuss in regards to the glass. Now, so far as I do know, no glass was damaged straight due to flooding. However actually, once we speak about metal and water infiltration each inside and outside, it is an absolute contributor to corrosion throughout the body,’ Stoner stated.

When the newest work started at Farnsworth Home, two authentic glass panes remained unbroken and in place. Nevertheless, eradicating the panes intact – together with the 2 originals – proved to be inconceivable, so the contractors lower them out in sections. Sections from one of many authentic panes have been preserved for the Nationwide Belief as attainable supplies for awards, whereas sections from the second authentic pane have been scrapped, Stoner stated.

‘The unique polished plate glass is kind of truthfully a very harmful glass from trendy requirements. When it breaks, it breaks into shards. We determined that this is able to be the time to take away that tumbler, clear the frames up,’ Stoner stated.

The landmark standing of Farnsworth Home imposed extreme constraints on the aesthetics of the substitute of its glass panes. Written permission was required from the Easement Committee of Landmarks Illinois – which specified matching the looks of the originals as carefully as attainable to the originals, whereas minimizing the danger of breakage. Because of this, thicker glass panes that would supply insulating qualities however would obscure the transparency of the home have been weren’t an choice. Stoner stated.

‘As an alternative of placing the unique polished plate glass again, we determined to put in new tempered glass that matched the specification of that authentic glass. From a historic viewpoint, we’re incumbent preservation preservationists and stewards of the constructing [which mandates that] we preserve the constructing precisely because it was initially constructed and accomplished. [But] we do not fabricate polished plate glass like this anymore.

Once more, that is for security causes, that is for manufacturing causes. However the glass that we have put in has the identical specs and quarter inch shaft thickness as the prevailing glass or the unique glass was. We needed to go to a specialty fabricator, AG Nora, a glass producer north of Toronto,” Stoner stated.

The restoration work coincided with a celebration of the 20^th anniversary of the opening of the home to the general public held at SR Crown Heart on the Illinois Tech campus in June 2024. The celebration additionally featured the publication of Sabatino’s guide.

As a part of its ongoing celebration of the 20^th anniversary of the opening of Farnsworth Home to the general public, Nature+Tradition options excursions, occasions and particular programming. Two exhibitions are presently on show: Beatriz Morales – Calipso, by means of 8 December and David Wallace – Panorama and Gentle, prolonged by means of December 2024.