Residential Masterpieces 30: Mies Van Der Rohe Farnsworth House Plano, 1945-51

Built between 1945 and 1951, the Farnsworth House in Plano, Illinois, is among Mies van der Rohe’s most famous works. Having relocated to the United States just prior to the war, he embraced the new opportunities the country provided for his modernist vision. The house appears in the same style as others in a series of buildings from the architect’s American period, and is considered something of a prototype. Commissioned to design a weekend retreat for a prominent Chicago psychiatrist, Van der Rohe created an enchanting space that was at once both a sanctuary and a monument to modern architecture. With photographs and text by Yoshio Futagawa.