Studying canonical or exemplary buildings brings the researcher and the reader closer to the methods and design processes of the masters who shaped humanity through architecture. This work focuses on the study of the house for Edith Farnsworth, an archetype of the finest modern architecture designed by the German architect Mies van der Rohe in the mid-20th century. The analysis unfolds by tracing—from the initial design schemes to the construction of the house—a series of architectural operations the architect employed to achieve this sublime building.
Mies, an astute reader and student of philosophy, proposes through his work to transpose a series of philosophical notions into architectural operations. To do this, he employs Baukunst, a principle formed by the amalgamation of two German terms that, in turn, encompass two spheres of human activity, resulting in a new concept. Mies transcends mere "construction" (Bau) and elevates it to the realm of "art" (Kunst) to achieve a building that represents the "spirit" of its time.
