Farnsworth, Smarnsworth...

(I don't support dumping Farnsworth in the trash. I'm merely making the point that this house's architectural value has more to do with its surroundings then the building itself.)

I'm not familiar with Illinois state laws but I'm going out on a limb to say that if Farnsworth wasn't a historic landmark in architecture then it wouldn't have been allowed restoration after the first time it flooded (flooded 6 times in 60 years).

Side note:
I have a problem in general with those who build in places where they know there is a high probability of their property being destroyed and there is a severe compromise in life safety. The residents/victims of California's wildfires and Florida's hurricanes come to mind. You can also add the city of New Orleans to the list too. People, the Dutch have been living below sea level since the beginning of time. How come we never hear about problems over there? Maybe its time to look for answers somewhere else besides the United States.

Back to Farnsworth:
Apparently, it falls in a 100 year flood plain. "Using historic weather and hydrograph data, experts derive the estimated rate of flow or discharge of a river or creek. The floodplain map affects building permits, environmental regulations, and flood insurance."

I know Mies put it on stilts in the first place to avoid flood waters but I don't think he anticipated the water rising 2 feet above the finished floor. Perhaps its time for the area to be reevaluated by the civil engineers and hydrology experts.

The question also remains whether or not Farnsworth should be an architecturally historic landmark in the first place. Many argue that the original client didn't even like the house and that there are so many design related problems (mid-century modernism as a whole, really) that it should be shown as an example in architecture schools of how not to design a building.

My opinion: I've never been to Farnsworth. It looks nice in the pictures but you know what always caught my eye the most? The beautiful, natural surroundings. I wouldn't spend a dime fixing it up, putting it up on higher stilts, or moving it somewhere else. Salvage what you can and let nature take back the land that the "nice looking" godforsaken building has occupied all these years.

Some of my peers are aware of my view on some historic preservation projects. Farnsworth, some of Frank Lloyd Wright's houses, Biltmore, and Blandwood all have something in common that I absolutely hate. They are houses, not HOMES. People don't live in them. We live in a society that invests in preserving these places yet we don't do enough for the people who don't have a home to call their own. I'm done ranting.