Wednesday, March 27, 2024
2pm - 3pm ET

The Farnsworth House was designed by Mies van der Rohe in 1945 as a country house for Dr. Edith Farnsworth. Completed in 1951, the house is located on a site within the Fox River flood plain in Plano, Illinois. 

This presentation is broken down into two parts to discuss the various restoration projects and outline the repair approach from both the architect; and contractor.

The first half of the presentation will focus on the repair approach to the design. We will review the history, ongoing flooding challenges, and various repair projects. We will discuss the technical and material challenges that are present on the house enclosure and steps being considered to further preserve the structure.  We will specifically focus on glass replacement and the most recently completed lower terrace repairs.  

The second half of the presentation will focus on the contractor’s approach to the repairs.  This part will be presented by the stone paving subcontractor for the lower terrace repairs with a focus on procurement of the travertine pavers. This project included travertine paving, waterproofing, concrete, precast concrete, and steel framing repairs.

Bruce Kaskel has assisted the WJE team at Farnsworth since 2012, specifically on the glass and window frame issues. Bruce’s expertise is in glass and metal building wall systems, a Fellow of ASTM, and a long-time Board member of the Insulated Glass Certification Council. Bruce was the project manager on design of repairs to the US Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel that is currently under construction.

Kim Lis has been an integral part of the Farnsworth project and led the construction phase for the recent lower terrace project. Her work focuses on the evaluation, testing design of repairs for modern and historic structures with a focus on plaza restoration.  Kim has worked on the Edgewater Beach Apartments and Pioneer Plaza in Chicago.

Peter Weis of W.R. Weis Company – Stone Paving Contractor - Established in 1991, W.R. Weis is a widely recognized stone contractor who has worked on numerous historic projects such as the McGraw Hill Building, Wacker Drive Reconstruction, Harold Washington Social Security Center and Aon Plaza in Chicago. 

AIA Learning Units Request 

Learning objectives:

1.  Understand the history and historic significance of the house and site.

2.  Review repair approaches used for the enclosure, with consideration of existing details.

3.  Review the approach to specifying and selecting finish paver materials. 

4.  Understand how construction logistics, contractor approach, and quality control measures influenced the finished product.