Wolf Residence ,Toronto

• This residence, sited on the edge of a

wooded ravine in Toronto, employs off-
the-shelf industrial materials in an
elegant way.
• Although the area of the house is a
modest 3,000 square feet the effect is
one of unusual spaciousness.
• An exterior courtyard separates flexible
living spaces front to back: entry,
carport, three bedrooms, bath, and
playroom face the street, while living,
dining, kitchen, and master bedroom
open to the park.
• Built on unstable fill, the two story
house floats above the ground on steel
columns bearing on piles.
• Steel Studs, Open web
steel joists, metal
decking,
ventilation duct-
work can all be seen
from this picture. No
structural wall was used
at all.
• Concrete footing and
caisson were used for
foundation of the house
• The ventilation ductwork
follows the same simplicity,
shown in the model elsewhere.
The exposed ductwork, light
systems, and trusses are in line
with each other and are
organized cleanly throughout
the structure.
• As a result, the home's systems
can be exposed without a
cluttered appearance, allowing
them to become aesthetics of
the home at the same instance.
• The threshold of the Wolf house creates
a subtle transition from the ravine
environment to an industrial-like inside
space. The suspension cables used to
support the platform that leads to the
front door loosely resembles the
entrance of a naval ship. This relates to
Myers' experience in the navy and how
it contributed to his design.
• The way the platform is partially
suspended above the ground creates
a separation between the outside and
the inside space and already makes you
feel that you are entering a different
space.
Lighting Details
 Structure

• Structure
• Relationship with the body of water
• The volume of the Farnsworth House is situated above the terrain in parallel with the flow of the river. However, when the
water overflows it floods the margins and erases any reference to the banks. Mies designed a structure on pillars whose
surfaces would have minimum contact with the ground and which would not hinder the water’s flow. In this way the
horizontal planes are maintained, fundamentally separated from the original terrain.
• Static structure
• AXONOMETRIC VIEW
• In terms of static structure, the Farnsworth House is the maximum expression of minimalism, using only the minimum
elements necessary to assure the stability of the house. These elements form the eight columns, separated by a distance of
6.6 metres, which support the two slabs which form the floor and roof.
• Pillars
• The pillars, which are situated tangentially to the outer edge of the slabs, do not interrupt the horizontal planes. The floor
and roof conform in the same way. The pillars are formed by a continuous single-piece profile, from the floor to the top of
the roof. The vertical line dominates over the projection of the structure and parallel to the two planes- the lower one of
the floor and the upper of the roof- which helps to reinforce the equivalence between the two.
• Slabs
• The structure is formed by a steel framework, meticulously crafted with beams and columns, which supports the
prefabricated cement slabs used for the floor and roof.
• The slabs overshoot the structure of columns by 2.75m, creating corners free of columns which help to emphasize the
immateriality of the house.
• Facade
• The façade is made from individual panels of glass which run from floor to ceiling, fixed to the structure by steel frames.
 Structure
• An architectural work made of steel, laminated glass and Roman travertine panels for the roof and floor.
• Pillars
• All the steel pillars which support both platforms are square-sided and have been treated by sandblasting, to polish them
once in place. Later, they were painted white, so that their welds would be practically invisible.
• The connections are structural steel welded in a way which reduces their visual presence to a minimum.
• Floor
• The floor of the house is made of two layers which house a heating system between them (the so-called underfloor
heating), along with the drains for the domestic plumbing which run off into a circular central disposal unit. The run-off of
water from the roof also flows into the unit, it being a flat roof slightly inclined toward the centre.
• The travertine marble floor was placed in a way that the tiles are not interrupted or perforated, thus creating a smooth
transition between the interior and exterior.
• This detail, combined with the flat, continuous roof and the completely straight façades, make the house appear like a box
which has been “slid” onto the structure of columns.
• Facade
• The panels which form the façade of the house are simple glass with a thickness of 0.64cm, kept in place by steel frames
constructed with W-shaped angles and bars. A continuous curtain provides privacy and shade to the inside of the house.
• The only operable pieces of the façade are the double door and the two windows located in the lower part of the Eastern
façade.
• The effect of this completely transparent façade is a blurring of the usual boundaries which define the domestic setting. In
the Farnsworth House, the distinctions between the public and the private, interior and exterior, often disappear.
 Farnsworth House

• The Farnsworth House, an icon of the architecture of the Modernist

movement, is found situated in a natural setting, very close to a river, with
one of its sides facing toward a forest which separates it from the current of
the water, and another facing a small meadow.
• SITE
• The building sits upon two rectangular platforms. The first of these, to which
you ascend via four linear steps, has no walls or roof and acts as a terrace. It
sits above the ground on four steel pillars. From the terrace, another five
steps identical to the previous ones provide access to the second platform,
situated 1.5 metres above the ground and on which the house is supported
by eight steel pillars.
• The elevated plane above the ground is utilised as much for the exterior as
the interior, to avoid water leaking into the house at times when the river
overflows
 Steelwork
• The basic structure of Farnsworth House consists of eight
wide-flange steel stanchions A, to which are welded two
sets of
fascia channels to form a perimeter frame B at roof level,
and a
similar perimeter frame C at floor level - see figure 40.
•
Sets of steel cross-girders D and E are welded to the
longitudinal
channels, and pre-cast concrete planks I and N placed
upon these to form the roof and floor slabs respectively.
• The
loading imposed upon C by the floor construction is
obviously
greater than that imposed on B by the roof, but for the
sake of
visual consistency Mies has made them of equal depth -
an
example of the primacy of 'form' over 'function' to which
he
was in principle opposed,59 but which stubbornly
emerges in
almost all his mature work.™
 Steelwork
• 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, uncluttered by
bolts, rivets or plates; and here he defied normal practice by
using more expensive welded joints, preferably concealed and
invisible.
• If the weld could not be totally hidden he would have
the steel sections temporarily joined by means of Nelson stud
bolts and cleats, apply permanent welding, and then burn off
the holding bolts and plug the holes. The steel surfaces would
then be ground smooth to give the appearance of being
formed
of a single continuous material without breaks or joints.
• Finally, to ensure a smooth and elegant appearance he had the
steel
sections grit-blasted to a smooth matt surface, and the entire
assembly primed and given three coats of paint.