Pilgrimage to Plano | Jason R Woods | Architectural Photography

Farnsworth House in Plano, IL by Ludwig Mies van der Rose. Photo by Jason R. Woods.

Farnsworth House in Plano, IL by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Photo by Jason R. Woods.

I’m not entirely sure what I can say about this house that hasn’t already been said in the last 65 years, but I will add that considering its age, its message is still crystal clear and reverberating throughout the design world as we speak. I’m sure if you scour the internet enough, you can find hundreds of images that are exactly like the ones I made on my visit. Visiting Farnsworth House was less about making interesting pictures and more about experiencing a hugely influential piece of design that changed the course of history, and in some ways, my life and career as an architectural photographer.

I first realized the phenomenon after seeing Marcel Breuer’s Saint Francis de Sales church in Muskegon in person, but this is absolutely a place you have to see for yourself to fully understand. The setting, the scale, the proportions, the light, the details, the materials all add up to an immersive experience that is simultaneously soothing and overwhelming. It makes you reconsider your life, what you find truly important about your own dwelling, your material items and your relationship with nature.