Farnsworth House is part of Phaidon's Architecture in Detail series, an award-winning collection of books designed for an audience of students and professionals. Each volume focuses on a single celebrated building, and the series covers a wide range of periods and building types, from houses to public buildings, from the majesty of St. Paul's Cathedral to the intimacy of contemporary homes in California. Each building has been selected for its exceptional character, innovative design, or technical virtuosity. Each volume contains a detailed introductory essay and over one hundred photographs and line drawings. They include specially commissioned photography, technical drawings, and working details of each building.
This book illustrates the only residence ever to be built by the pioneering architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in America, Farnsworth House (1948-51) exemplifies the central tenet both of the 'international style', by inverting the conventions of traditional architecture, and of Mies' own design philosophy.
Commissioned by Dr. Edith Farnsworth to build a weekend retreat, Mies designed the house as an envelope of glass and steel floating over the Illinois Fox River flood plain. Its minimalist interior was intended for a simpler, cleaner, and healthier lifestyle. Before its actual completion, however, architect and client had fallen out over expenses and practical problems with the house. By the time Lord Palumbo bought it in 1972, Farnsworth had changed many of the interior elements dictated so precisely by Mies. Following a ruinous flood in 1996, the house has been faithfully reconstructed to its original conception.
Richly illustrated with detailed drawings and specially commissioned photography, this latest book in an award-winning series provides an in-depth account of this icon of twentieth century modernist architecture.
