Farnsworth house Construction Details

Student Name: Naveen Jamal Student ID: 201110147 Instructor: Ms. Zeineb Naouar

General History

The Farnsworth House was designed and constructed by

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, designed by Philip Johnson .

1945-51

The steel and glass house was commissioned by Dr. Edith

Farnsworth.

Widely recognized as an iconic masterpiece of International

Style of architecture.

In September 2008, the house was flooded by rains from the

remnants of Hurricane Ike.

Architecture

The materials of his buildings, industrial manufactured products

like mill-formed steel and plate glass

The Farnsworth House addresses basic issues about the

relationship between the individual and his society.

Free and open space within a minimal framework, using

expressed structural columns.

Construction Materials

The basic structure of Farnsworth House consists of eight

wide-flange steel stanchions.

Farnsworth House is probably the most complete and

refined statement of glass-and-steel architecture.

Steel frame – allowed open plan interiors.

All the building parts are factory made.

Used heavy steel sections.

Laminated glass plates

Construction Materials

Steel-jointing technique.

Mies used conventional bolted connections in the less

visible parts of his structures, but in exposed positions

he wished his elegant steel members to be displayed

cleanly.

Farnsworth House are rigorously restricted to

travertine (floors), wood (primavera for the core walls,

teak for the wardrobe) and plaster (ceilings).

Material Advantages

Steel Frame structure

High strength/weight ratio.

Properly designed steel structures can have

high ductility, which is an important

characteristic for resisting shock loading

such as blasts or earthquakes.

Well-defined stress level.

Steel structures can be erected quite rapidly.

Material Advantages

Glass

Low cost.

Ease of construction.

Environment friendly.

Allows natural light to come in .

Moderate resistance to floods caused by rain.

Keeps the inhabitants in touch with nature (Integration with nature)

Building structure

The house is elevated 5 feet 3 inches (1.60 m) above a flood plain

by eight wide flange steel columns.

Steel columns attached to the sides of the floor and ceiling slabs.

The slabs' ends extend beyond the column supports, creating

cantilevers.

A third floating slab, an attached terrace acts as a transition

between the living area and the ground.

The house is accessed by two sets of wide steps connecting

ground to terrace and then to porch.

Concept

He applied the concept of an unobstructed space that is flexible for use by people.

The interior appears to be a single open room.

An icon of the architecture of the Modern Movement.

The building is organized in two rectangular platforms.

The first, accessed through four linear steps, has no walls or a roof and acts as a terrace, being supported above the ground by four steel pillars.

Concept

Concept

Desire for transparency.

On the other hand, the separation of the house from

the land on which it sits by pillars has been associated

with an idea of purity, in this very traditional Japanese

architecture.

Plan & Section

Structure

Farnsworth House is the ultimate expression of minimalism.

The minimum elements include 8 columns, separated by a

distance of 6.60 meters, supporting the two slabs that form the

floor and ceiling.

The interior, with a clear height of 2.85 meters, is only the

fragmented into a block of sanitary services that contains the

toilets.

The 2.75 meter terrace slab, supported by only 4 columns and

leading to the entrance helps to emphasize the immateriality of

the house.

Structure

The floor is set in two layers, between which is the plumbing and drainage system.

The domestic plumbing elements and also the rainwater run-off spill into a central circular chest.

The roof, while mostly flat, is slightly inclined towards the center to force water to run toward the edges.

Structural Analysis

YouTube Video: “3D Farnsworth House & Design

Concepts”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPsRc4Xhuf0

Structural Analysis

Screen shots from another structural analysis video

Structural Analysis

3-D model of skeleton frame and one way slabs

Windows

Construction Properties

The glass acts as if it’s a wall covering the distance

from floor to ceiling; defeating the traditional design of

walls.

Two simple slabs made of steel make up for the floor

and roof of the building.

It is elevated from the ground by about 1.6 meters.

Construction Properties

Construction Properties

This unorthodox design of the house (the fact that it is

elevated above the ground) show the foundation the

house stands upon, the pile like foundations can be

seen with the naked eye.

A terrace is also apparent in the design making up as

engineers would call a cantilever.

Construction Properties

Construction Properties

Construction Properties

Construction Properties

Door and Window section

Heating System Plan

Reference

http://theglasshouse.org/programs/conversations/transparency/

overview/

http://theglasshouse.org/history/bios/vanderrohe/

http://www.architecturaldigest.com/architecture/2012-

09/architect-philip-johnson-glass-house-modernism-article

http://architectuul.com/architecture/farnsworth-house

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/gsapp/BT/GATEWAY/FARNS

WTH/farnswth.html

Thank You.