Glass House The

The German-born Mies Van Der Rohe (1886-1969) probably is best known for his urban skyscrapers, including the pair of black steel-mullioned high-rises that anchor Federal Plaza in the Loop. The getaway retreat he designed for physician Edith Farnsworth 60 miles southwest of Chicago at a then-extravagant cost of $73,000 likewise has a no-frills design, but on a drastically smaller scale.The architect placed the 28-foot-by-54-foot home on a raised pad that hovers five feet above a flood-prone meadow. Ten-foot-tall glass panes serve as the homes exterior and interior walls. Inside, linear swaths of living space wrap around a rectangular, primavera wood-coated core, which conceals bathrooms and utilities. The 1,500-square-foot dwelling is one big room or perhaps its a series of rooms separated by corners.