Inside Mies van der Rohe's LOST House in Wyoming [Resor House]

[@stewarthicks]

What are your thoughts on the Resor House? How's it different from or similar to the Farnsworth House?

[@RENO_K]

I'm far from being an architect but I personally feel like you should revisit this house at a later date with the terrain modeled. This house is genuinely amazing but since it started with Collages of the view outside, then added layers of columns and interior pieces, we'll need to see the interior together with the landscape to appreciate it fully. Thanks for the video, appreciate all the effort!!

[@eliaustin8520]

Can you do the brick country house? I’ve seen a few models but they’re usually cartoons that lack attention to detail. If you do model the brick country house I would love to see the bricks texture mapped in the correct directions thanks! Awesome Chanel!

[@philipfrancis2728]

I am wondering about those two free floating wall sections that “enclose” the area in front of the stone fireplace. Is Mies making an attempt at an aedicule or inglenook? I don’t understand blocking the views out into the landscape?

[@lisakilmer2667]

I enjoy your virtual tours. The way people shape their shelters is fascinating and this house is especially intriguing. The first impression from your tour is that the exterior is quite attractive with its contrasts of stone and wood versus glass and shiny columns, although the lack of a front door is kind of an unacceptable oversight. (Side note - how did Mies plan to address the creek and avoid Fallingwater's foibles?) The main impression of the interior is the strong contrast between darkness and light - even your software shows a glare from the windows which is swallowed by the dark wood surfaces. The placement of floating wooden walls blocks views through the exterior glass walls, creating a cave-like portion of the central living space. This looks odd on a "walk-through" but might be eminently live-able, unlike the Farnsworth House. Clearly, Mies boiled down many of the Resor ideas for the Farnsworth House, reducing the multiple wooden walls down to one central wooden box. Even on video, I find the Farnsworth House quite unpleasantly fishbowl-like. It behaves/reads more like a lanai encased in glass than anything else I can think of.

[@0cer0]

Shigeru Ban’s ”Picture Window House“ might help to understand this posthumously…

[@richtraube2241]

I worked in a Mies building, the University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration. It is rigorously symmetrical, down to the placement of the terrazzo tile flooring and the office layouts. One of the IT people made a a map of each floor using Excel and all of the structures fall on the spreadsheet's grid lines. I enjoyed seeing the play with asymmetry in this video. Thanks for sharing the VR resources.

[@franciscogamez1603]

Keep making these videos of lost architecture, they are so good!

[@pyhead9916]

Your video's make me feel like I'm back in Architectural History class. some 30 years ago.

[@ShowItBetter]

Behrens: Hey Mies, I was thinking that if we drank less beer we could get more work done... Mies: .....Less is more.....less is more! *chugs his beer

[@stewarthicks]

😂

[@rinorsaiti]

Can’t believe it! I discovered and fell in love with this project about a month ago. I couldn’t find any recent, focused analysis of it until right now. Was happy digging through the stuff available online on my own but this is amazing. Perfect timing - thank you!

[@stewarthicks]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@anthonymatthews3698]

I’ve been fan of Mies forever and I don’t recall ever reading about the Resor house in the literature. Thanks for the vid!

[@Taramushi]

I'd love want to see more walkthroughs like this in general, even if the modeling takes time. Even with blueprints, floor plans, drawings or photographs, one thing that never translates properly for me is both the sense of scale and how it feels to move through the space. Lines on a chart just can't beat a first person perspective.

[@omeir102]

So lucky to have had you as a professor Stewart! It's clear you extensive knowledge and experience is leading to great KZbin content! Excited to see more!

[@panchora99]

I am no architect, but I do enjoy watching these videos. So glad I subscribed.

[@AntneeUK]

I've really enjoyed the "lost" videos, Stewart. Whether never-built, or knocked-down, this is important preservation. The perspective you offer on these is also fascinating. Thank you 👏

[@RENO_K]

This is an amazing piece of architecture that put's it's view outside as it's basis to work from. I'm a photographer and I felt a strong connection with staged photography in how everything is framed perfectly and yet landscape photography mixed in it. The house gave a sense of immovability while the landscape changes. I would love to live in a home like this.

[@jamesslate1026]

Mies van der Rohe always insisted upon using the finest materials for his buildings, marble, travertine, etc., which is why they have held up so well. The Lakeshore Drive apartments at 860 and 880 respectively, were built in the early Fifties, nearly seventy years ago, yet they haven't suffered many of the structural problems that have plagued newer condo buildings. It would be interesting to learn more about the architect's "white" buildings, including the highrise located at Fullerton and Lakeview, or the two-story penthouse at the top of the Commonwealth Plaza located at 340 W Diversey Parkway.

[@uwetrenkner9716]

Thanks for taking all the time to reconstruct the Resor house. From my amateur point of view the sides of the house do look very closed and repellent. The model is very dark, so it is not easy to see all the details in the house on the computer screen.

[@richtraube2241]

I worked in a Mies building, the University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration. It is rigorously symmetrical, down to the placement of the terrazzo tile flooring and the office layouts. One of the IT people made a a map of each floor using Excel and all of the structures fall on the spreadsheet's grid lines. *And* to start the map he figured out he only needed to do one half of the plan. He was able to "unfold" the half map and it worked perfectly. I enjoyed seeing the play with asymmetry in this video. Thanks for sharing the VR resources. I hope MOMA has SSA in their collection.

[@stvtppng]

How had i never heard of the Resor house!!!? Thanks MrHicks... it's amazing... I want to study it more.

[@egleck]

Thank you for the awareness of this awesome project. It's certainly a stepping stone to be aware of in the career of a really good architect.

[@Ruftinator]

My pretty firm belief that boxy buildings are boring has definitely been changed now that I've seen this design. To be fair, most of the time (where I live anyway) a square or rectangular building is in fact pretty boring to look at but the way he encompasses depth and some slight variation in the shape of the building is very interesting to me. From the way the windows have been inset by quite a lot to the angular wall with its rounded corners. Lovely design!

[@garethgriffiths1674]

We should recall that the Barcelona Pavilion is actually a reconstruction: built in 1929, demolished the following year and reconstructed in 1986, before which it was a favoured project for students to build in model form. But that's not to say that the Resor house will eventually be built.

[@OrangeRauy]

Wow, a really great house with a very distinct site location over the river! It has a lot of characteristic elements that even I as a layman can recognize from Mies's other designs. The way the open plan is structured by simple wall masses is quite akin to the Barcelona Pavillion but also to some degree the simpler Farnsworth House. But the way the fireplace separates the open plan into somewhat distinct rooms that you enter by, as you said, pressing against the big window wall actually reminded me of the almost 3 decades older Robie House. Together with the use of stone brickwork and wooden cladding in lieu of Mies's usual concrete and steel and the way the house integrates into nature, I wonder if this isn't a reconciliation between two of the greatest architects ever into an altogether great mixture. An Organic Usonian home by Mies van der Rohe! ;-)

[@HollyLHeflen]

Dude, love this video. I'm obsessed with the Farnsworth house.

[@kalmanfortoloczki432]

I've spent a decent amount of time at Mies' McCormick House which is part of the Elmhurst Art Museum. So, I was somewhat surprised to see that Mies really hadn't revised his approach to the organization of public, private and functional spaces in all the intervening years between the Resor House design and the building of the McCormick House.

[@tombader1453]

Another interesting reconstruction. Thank you! However, I am doubtful it could ever be constructed over a waterway these days. The Farnsworth house is elevated and set well back from the river and has still suffered from numerous devastating floods - an inevitable result of increased runoff with the surrounding suburbanization and perhaps climate change. Mies van der Rohe's grandson Dirk Lohan at one point even proposed installing a lift system beneath the Farnsworth foundations to protect it after a flood in the 90's. It was not implemented but I hear it may be reconsidered. I suspect the Resor House would have been vulnerable to similar flooding events with even more damage or even destruction by virtue of it's position directly in the mountain valley floodway. Regardless, these unbuilt house reconstructions are great. Thanks again.

[@Josh-yr7gd]

I was wondering if anyone would point out the practical consequences. Also, imagine the amount of mold the house would accumulate with it being surrounded by such a heavily moisture saturated environment.

[@mistert7958]

Climate change is a grift.

[@Remza_Obrva]

I assume video maker didn't like your comment because he is typicall modernist. Modern till water floods 😂

[@DanielAlvarez-zs9ut]

I dont really think that Mies designed his buildings as isolated objects. Probably at a superficial view is posssible to think that, but when you study his work you can se how his proyects always answer not just to an urban contexts but also to natural determinants. Theres a book in wich you can check what im talking about called "Mies: el proyecto como revelación del lugar - Cristina Gastón". Nevertheless I really enjoy your content due to your amazing videos! thanks for sharing

[@conor3000]

Another brilliant topic!!

[@limonx987]

Wow.. What a great job will done man keep up the good work 👍👍👍👍

[@ramones580]

Fantastic video, loved your content and the presentation. I really look forward to more videos like this one.

[@SHHEMP1]

love the open design/open plan. i found using that amount of stone inside was too much for the eye. love the little round window

[@Spencergundersenmusic]

I love the asymmetry of the central living space! It would be awesome to see how someone might have decorated the space. With that in mind, would you ever/have you done a video on the relationship between interior design and architectural design?

[@christophermoody1448]

It's unfortunate that it was not built because of financial considerations, which is interesting when its compared to the Farnsworth because the client, Dr. Farnsworth shared a similar objection regarding the cost of the house. It's very interesting that the Resor House exhibit a real connection with the landscape which is always a good thing. However, with the heavy, dark stone and wood paneling, including the partitions, it felt a little too heavy. There were moments that were intriguing like the nook nearby the garage entrance that looks out in the water, with the accompanying port hole. The stairs leading to the entry fireplace is another nice moment and the passage between the glass walls and wood partitions looking out at the water are, again nice moments. Another great video! Thanks for sharing.

[@curtklebaum]

So well researched and presented! As for the house, it is the Ur model ranch house that has been taken up by the new Western would-be land barons of our day. The Resors were the vanguard. It is sad how the river has been channeled into a sort of culvert situation; it would be very unpleasant to visit the waters' edge adjacent to this structure.

[@bonzomio]

Thank you, Stewart, for making these fun and informative videos! IMHO - The Farnsworth house is more sophisticated/stylized, glamorous and transparent than the Resor House ... different context. Interestingly and shamelessly, the Glass House (Worthy of a study) is a cover of the Farnsworth House (Same epoch).

[@littlenest]

Love these videos! Kind of sad that this didn't get built :(

[@stevenikitas8170]

I used to work in New York City just around the corner from the Seagram Building. I spent many hours sitting on the plaza there. It is his ultimate building. All architecture buffs should see it in person.

[@jrricafrente8531]

Good work Stewart! Please feature more unbuilt houses/ bldgs by Mies and Le Corbusier.

[@123stec]

Great job! I did a reconstruction of one of the unbuilt projects of MvdR back at my final paper for civil engineer bachelor. The subject was the structural analysis and feasibility of 50x50 House. It was an amazing experience back then, however the results were not complying with EU norms of these days, considering that the main constrain of the study was to maintain the general proportion of the structure as per Mies drawings.

[@1988suprared]

The Resor House was one of the influences in my design for my own home. B.of Arch., IIT 1970.

[@mox.kartal]

Great video, as always Stewart :)

[@stewarthicks]

Thank you!

[@WGreen-Author]

That other fellow Wright, did Falling Water about the same time: two houses surrounded by nature, spanning flowing water, designed by two internationally famous architects. It might be nice to compare the two projects. Two rivers, two master architects, and two clients...but only one client could afford to make history.

[@0cer0]

My thought, but Mies had to compromise here…

[@michellebyrom6551]

@@0cer0 all designs contain compromises. Existing structures like the columns defining the available space are a useful starting point. Budget, size, client taste preference, available materials, landscape features, all affect which ideas are developed or discarded. All these things can be viewed as limitations or the framework for play. Using those internal walls screening the panoramic view from the centre of the bridge section is too bold to be a compromise for privacy. Low storage walls would do that and define activity areas.

[@0cer0]

@@michellebyrom6551 Thank you, egghead, I know that. :) What I wanted to say: It’s not the easiest and most appealing job to finish something that was started by somebody else (…and - in Meis’ view - on a low level of quality).

[@mikehenson819]

I wasn't familiar with this house either. But Man I flat love it! Too bad it was never built.

[@GhostedStories]

Absolutely amazing!

[@80Design]

Getting into this party very late, but it strikes me how much Mies open interiors remind me of Niemeyer's projects with Alvorada and Planalto Palaces, for example.

[@andrestrivinolaverde3472]

Nice video, I love your chanel. I wish you make a video about Rogelio Salmona`s work, he worked with Le corbusier but he took distance of his style, looking for ancient architecture in order to find his own style.

[@animeaos]

Loved It. Excited to see even more :)

[@fabiochieppa7047]

Hello, great video. I am an Italian architecture student and my professor assigned me the 'Resor House' to study. Unfortunately among the many sketches, perspectives and official plans, I could not find a plan with measurements. Could you give me a hand in finding a plan with measurements? I would be very grateful.

[@stevenikitas8170]

Another Mies masterpiece, like everything he did. I knew a lady who had a Marcel Breuer house, which I visited once. In that house Breuer also used stone walls that went from the inside to the outside. It is a nice concept... I think Wright originated it.

[@TheMovingEye]

"How about some cost efficient pine cladding?" "No, you need black cypress, cut with custom made diamond saws and polished with panda fur by tibetan vestal virgins. It is ze only way." This is so typical of van der Rohe to opt for the pricey option. XD

[@ModernARQ]

Love your videos!

[@stewarthicks]

Thanks!

[@pamelah6431]

Cool video. Shame he wanted to block the main landscape view with those huge panels.

[@johnraffensperger]

Thank you for your wonderful videos and fascinating teaching. I wonder if Mies had envy of Wright's Falling Water house? This house seems not nearly as compelling.

[@rkalle66]

To me it seems more of a variation of the Tugendhat Villa at a rural site and beeing new in USA. His sense of space and views was becoming without compromises only after WWII.

[@hiteshmehta4017]

Awesome video!

[@stewarthicks]

Thanks!

[@sarmavlada]

I played with Enscape in sketchup, think you could find similar HDR image and not model environment to illustrate view. Only problem is they add around 25 MB in size. Thanks for going trough trouble of making model and great analyses for one of history greatest architects ,this will be great teaching tool for future generations.

[@adityawaglearch]

Thanks 👍

[@quinosonic82]

Cool. I had seen the collage, but just that.

[@LDVTennis]

What surprised me was the entry sequence. So much compression from the cantilever through to the stairs (or at least half of it). Is that just a visual distortion or would it actually appear as if one could hit one's head on the ceiling over the stairs? ... There is none of the lightness here of the entry sequence to the Farnsworth house.

[@huahindan]

Thank you

[@stewarthicks]

You're welcome

[@danielhyunsukim3871]

If I could suggest, could you do a video on vernacular architecture? In terms of typology, urban, landscape, and geographic context.. etc... I cant fail to notice that a lot of european designs show some sort of 'vernacular' design than other countries. I would like to also hear your thoughts on vernacular architecture in regards of copying and making something new

[@Sydanion]

Very interesting video on the house. Do you know where to find the floor plan including measurements as envisioned by Mies?

[@johnkeviljr9625]

Did the Resor's like the design? How much over budget was it? Is there any chance that an entity would undertake to build the Resor House? (ie; Monona Terrace by Wright). It would have been nice for Wyoming to have it's very own "Mies" building. Next, I think I would add some more edge reveal details to the Resor House. Also, maybe the interior ceilings should be white plaster as in his other buildings to lighten it up. Wood floors and wood walls only. Did Mies plan any skylights for those vast interior spaces? Great work with the story and the presentation!

[@wowtco03]

Hi Stewart, there's a typo in Your timeline of Mies' projects etc. The villa designed for a young family in Brno, Czech Rep., in 1928 is called Tugendhat, not Tugendaht, and pronounced [Tu-gn'd-Hat]. Thank You for the ever thoughtful content though. As an art historian not specialized in architecture I always enjoy hearing architects talk about space, geometry and process - much more than fellow historians. Cheers!

[@wowtco03]

Oh, by the way, there's an interesting and relevant functionalist building bridging part of the river in the center of Prague, CZ, which speaks to the composition of Mies' Resor project. It's called Mánes gallery, built by Otakar Novotny in 1930.

[@michaelsathorar6173]

Awesome content

[@stewarthicks]

Thank you!

[@larrysorenson4789]

Here in Arizona there is a legend about an unbuilt FLW home that was to span two peaks atop mountains in Paradise Valley. The story is that in the late 1970’s the original family marched into the building department and presented the ORIGINAL DRAWINGS for a building permit. I’m sure that you can imagine some unlicensed plan checkers staring at a masterwork and having absolutely no idea of how to reign in the design to suit their agenda. And they succeeded in thwarting the plans to blight the pristine craggy tops with some sort of home. I am sorry that i never looked further into the story. Maybe the hypothetical event tells more about bureaucratic obstructionism than the completed work ever could. Larry in Glendale, Az.

[@Jero-lr8jt]

Amazing

[@AIRPLAYBROADCASTON]

I really enjoy your channel

[@stewarthicks]

😀Thank you!

[@HF7-AD]

Makes me think of the Williams house by Amancio Williams in Mar del Plata, Argentina

[@lastfire77]

just want it said, I was here before 25k, before the soon 50k, and hopefully soon 100k ;)

[@StardustMonkey]

Who are the 3 people that went out of their way to dislike this video? What is wrong with you? Do you have a mental problem? This is someone modeling an unmade work from a famous architect and discussing it very fairly and without hardly any criticism or strong opinions. It’s like one of the hardest things ever to dislike or have a negative opinion of… you guys suck just let this guy make his cool videos and move your annoying selves on to debating which action figure franchise is actually satan

[@darkkhof]

Why I can’t comprehend the strait horizontal lines and square shapes to be a part of the scape? The villa doesn’t look natural with surrounding although the stony wall was a very add value if I was in his place I would mix the villa more with the environment and gave it the lion share of the design as the interior looks grim and unnatural

[@bananasplease666]

this is trippy because my house is also somewhat of a glass bridge over water (more of a ravine with a creek), so i wonder if there was any inspiration from this particular architect.

[@LauraMoncur]

He stayed at the ranch?! And then designed a home with a flat roof?! What part of Wyoming winters did he miss?

[@nonsuch9301]

No offence but this is the first of the 'Lost Architecture' series I'm genuinely sad not to have seen built. Fifty years ago as a young boy I lived in a house that was ,in effect, a copy of the Farnsworth House at least from the outside and most of the interior( the internal layout had been altered so the final third of the building hosted two bedrooms) . I had never heard of Mies van Der Rohe at the time , but even as a young boy the building made a significant impression on me. One that has lasted to this day.

[@Jim0i0]

Very cool. I'll have to get my 3D mouse to play nice with the link.

[@henrybrice01]

Where did you get the mas board? I won a giveaway from rob years ago when he first started the brand and got that same deck!

[@stewarthicks]

He's my brother and gave it to me!

[@henrybrice01]

@@stewarthicks Small world! We skated together once in Toledo where I’m from and once again at the Streets Skatepark somewhere in Michigan. Now I’m a senior in architecture school at BGSU and watching your videos!

[@richassenberg1035]

Stewart, what lighting software plug-in are you using with rhino, it looks really good. BTW I live in Jackson thanks for the vid.

[@stewarthicks]

Awesome! It's called Enscape.

[@richassenberg1035]

@@stewarthicks thank you for sharing check us out on Instagram studio_kt814

[@panchora99]

Sometimes I wonder how architecs and builders of old would react to modern building tecnology. How would they adapt or change their designs based on what we are now able to do.

[@trollala_555]

was this building designed before or after falling water?

[@DC-iw9ug]

what a shame this was never built

[@HyzZzz]

Does this building look bigger than it is? (I think it does, but don't know the dimensions). Did Mies knowingly use techniques to achieve that? Can you make a video about the different techniques to visually alter the size of a building?

[@fernandogutierrez6538]

Gracias pachi

[@BR4570]

I'm subscribed to your channel and appreciate your style. May I offer a comment on this particular 3D model which struck me as a missed opportunity to teach your students something important: when you look at any Mies' sketch showing that fireplace wall, you can see him spanning the opening with a large stone header. Had you told your students to model this, they would never mindlessly apply stone or brick texture to a wall :((

[@AIMIJACU]

educational videos with a hot presenter is always the best combo

[@MauroMCarnielli]

It's very similar to "la casa del puente" of Amancio Williams. If you have time, you should check it out.

[@johnryskamp7755]

What happens when the creek floods?

[@radioandroid-bx5un]

Strangely reminiscent of Marcel Breuer's work in the US!

[@DemPilafian]

By the way, that location is not *"near"* Jackson Hole -- it's *"in"* Jackson Hole. Jackson Hole is a valley with towns including Jackson, Wilson, Teton Village, and Moose. Jackson Hole is named after the fur trader Davey Jackson.

[@kailee5694]

Would have been terrible if there was a lot of snow.

[@a213mokimhout6]

Modular by Le Corbusier please !!!

[@qers]

Unbelievable how modern this still looks. I've seen buildings that are supposed to look modern being built this year, that look dated compared to this.

[@computationdesign]

I was waiting

[@Stormer1633]

Be cool to hear your views on the Slow House by Diller & Scofidia

[@stewarthicks]

Good one! I'll put that on the list.

[@milootje007]

This was very interesting. Me and my wife just bought a 1961 very pure MCM house that is virtually untouched, i'd be very interested in what you'd think about it structurally and from an architects eye point of view. Obviously i don't want to force it onto you lol, but if you're curious about it out of your own interest let me know and i'll give you the link.

[@dshe8637]

I still can't get over how impractical and ugly these buildings are. The lack of privacy and comfort are actually depressing.

[@fredphilippi8388]

It should be clear, not ambiguous, where the front door is. The wood exterior cladding is attractive, but the all-wood interior (but for some stone) seems too much. I need some relief. (I know it is supposed to be ranch, but still....) Finally, the interior partitions that effectively block the view out through the glass walls seem oxymoronic.

[@FranzSdoutz]

Always omitted: Those 5 years before emigrating to the US ... (Reichsbank architectural competition 1933 )

[@user-dr2pg8fk2i]

Can you do a video on the flat out disregard/respect of nature with putting flat roofs in places they don't belong? Seems insane to even propose a flat roof somewhere that gets feet of snow regularly.

[@MM-sf3rl]

Looks like it would be cold in the house most of the time.

[@goose4150]

Can you also make a video about Patrick Bateman's apartment?

[@kevinn1158]

I'm not sure about the use of rough uncut stone like that in a design like this. It kind of says, "I'm not ready to let go of old school materials/production methods". I especially dislike it when new build houses use fake stone veneer to make the house “look” upscale. I have seen concrete that has somehow poured in pigment elements to give texture to the material. There's a couple new buildings here at the university of Toronto that has this done. One is a Norman Foster building for Pharmacy and the other is Cellular research building by Behnisch Arkitekten. And a Wood exterior? Wah. Can you say high maintenance? That's like falling in love with a woman who always wears high heels. Oh, I know you are American, but it seems only Americans say Foyer like it's origins are English. It's a French word. The rest of the world says Foy- Yeah. Don't yell at me teacher!!

[@kevinn1158]

@@gw2079 don’t worry, the rest of the world knows American attitudes. Thanks for attempting to clear that up.

[@kevinn1158]

LOL. I'm not American. Nice condescending comment though.

[@0cer0]

I barely dare to correct you, but it’s ”Tugendhat", not ”Tugendaht”. For German ears the original name of the family sounds like "Hasvirtue" might sound to english ears - and this gives a little bit of a poetic dimension to the whole project, doesn’t it?

[@stewarthicks]

Thanks for the correction!