The Farnsworth House

In his first visit to our site on 12th January, our architect spoke about a historic house that the plot brought to mind - the Farnsworth House. I'd never heard about this structure and was curious to find out more.

The Farnsworth House / Mies van der Rohe

Built between 1945 and 1951, the structure, interior and furnishings of the Farnsworth House were all designed to provide a sense of connection to the landscape outside. I found out that this structure is considered an icon of modernist architecture epitomising the dictum "less is more".

In the words of its architect, Mies van der Rohe, "Nature, too, shall live its own life. We must beware not to disrupt it with the color of our houses and interior fittings. Yet we should attempt to bring nature, houses, and human beings together into a higher unity." There is more information about the Farnsworth House here.

Connecting to the landscape

At time of the initial site visit, I was still thinking in terms of south Indian or colonial design elements and I found the starkness of this design, disturbing. While the intent clearly was to have a minimal footprint, to my eye, the home in its entirety seemed alien in its environment.

However, the idea of building a home that provided a sense of connection to the landscape outside, resonated with me. This theme stayed on to be the driver of our design efforts going forward.

...Weekend Sanctuary Or Work From The Hills ?

...South Indian Coffee, Darjeeling Tea, or something else ?