MOMA Home Delivery Part Two: System 3

The one house at MOMA that I know I could live in full-time, or a variation of which I could live in, is System 3 by Oskar Leo Kaufmann and Albert Rüf/KFN Systems. The house is simple in a very elegant way. The fit and finish, although a little plain and dirty from the thousands of people traipsing through it with "city feet", is amazing. It looks like a very large piece of high-end Scandinavian furniture.

[caption id="attachment_208" align="aligncenter" width="475" caption="A panoramic shot of the System3 house by Oskar Leo Kaufmann and Albert Rüf/KFN Systems"][/caption]

The system is created by two distinct areas. The first contains, as defined in the MOMA companion book, the "servant space" which is delivered as one finished piece. This is where the kitchen, more "ette" than kitchen, and bathroom reside. The second, built by assembling premade walls, floors etc, is a more open living space which contains areas for eating, living and sleeping. The two sections are joined longitudinally. The entrance is through the servant space. In the picture above the kitchen is in the two tall windows to the right, then the entrance, the stairwell leading to the roof is marked by the miniture circular windows and diagonal stripe then the bathroom in the last window.

[caption id="attachment_205" align="aligncenter" width="475" caption="The kitchen shot from the eating area."][/caption]

The kitchen, seen above, at first glance would seem not to be one for cooking large gourmet meals. However it would be an interesting experiment to see just what you could accomplish in it. I'd love to try a nice lobster dinner or maybe Beef Wellington. Maybe even just feeding a family of three would be a more appropriate, and more realistic, experiment.

[caption id="attachment_206" align="aligncenter" width="475" caption="The wall ovens in the kitchen"][/caption]

I would like it if the "servant" side were just a little wider, not much, just a foot or three. A full sized fridge would be a plus. The great thing about the system is that you can combine multiple modules to create larger spaces like a bigger kitchen, more bedrooms etc.

The furniture in the house consists of a couples tables, one inside and one outside, a bed platform and...well, that's about it. I think that this is a minimal set just for the show. Still, elegantly simple.

[caption id="attachment_207" align="aligncenter" width="475" caption="The outside table"][/caption]

This is an example, I think, of why the true manufactured home where the house is assembled from large modules rather than pieces (walls, floors etc) maybe the answer to "Home Delivery". It was clear that the houses where the "bits" were larger and more completed when delivered and finished led to homes that appeared to provide a higher level of quality.

[caption id="attachment_204" align="aligncenter" width="475" caption="The windows in the "bedroom" end of the public space."][/caption]

The System 3 was our favorite hands down. If you have a chance to see it before the exhibit closes October 20th.

[caption id="attachment_203" align="aligncenter" width="475" caption="The System 3 "][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_209" align="aligncenter" width="475" caption="The System 3 shoy from the deck of Burst*008"][/caption]

MOMA Home Delivery Part One: mch

This is the first in a series af posts based on our visit in August 2008 to the Museum of Modern Art (NY) and it's "Home Delivery: Fabricating the modern dwelling" exhibition.

The Micro Compact Home by Horden Cherry Lee Architects and Haack + Höpfner Architects is small, just 76 square feet but it is packed all the things you need to call it a home. Being thin would be an asset too.

[caption id="attachment_191" align="aligncenter" width="475" caption="The Micro Compact Home"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_194" align="alignright" width="200" caption="The kitchen/bathroom wall."][/caption]

Billed as "smart living for a short stay" by it's creators the m-ch echoes themes and packaging tricks from traditional Japanese Tea Houses, boating interior design and european train compartments. The home is highly organized and a great amount of thought has gone into the placement of everything. 

With the Micro Compact Home, Horden with his team and associates takes a good run at Corbusier's "machine for living" theme and bring it to a wonderfully 21st century conclusion. We say conclusion because we honestly don't see any way to make a livable house any smaller and still offer the comfort and convenience that we modern people demand.

The home contains (remember 76 square feet) two double beds, a table and seating area for five, HVAC, kitchen, full shower bathroom, two flat-screen tv's, internet and telephone. Optionally you can add passive solar elements, solar panels and wind turines for power generation. MCH seems perfect as an additional space for out of town guests and is actually being used in an experiment on the campus of Technical University Munich. Known as the O2 village (named after the sponsoring German Telecom Company) the experiment houses six students and thier professor and creator of the mch, Richard Horden. The students were originally supposed to stay just one semester but have become so enamored with thier little village that they have all requested extensions and wish to stay the whole academic year. 

[caption id="attachment_193" align="alignright" width="275" caption="One bed is located over the dining/workspace."][/caption]

I have to admit that standing inside the MCH you do feel a little, well, confined. This could be just me who at 330 pounds may need a little more space than most. Also, since there was a line to get in to the MCH there was not much time to relax and experience what it would be like to live in the piece for a period of time more than the four minutes or so that I was allowed. Still, even though there were about 75 people in the lot where the houses are located next to MOMA, the inside was tranquil and quiet. I could imagine using one as a writer's studio.

The fit and finish of the house was on par with the System 3 and Celophane houses. Far better than the Burst 008 and less "goofy" than the NOLA house.

Still, at 2.2 tons the house can be trucked, or airlifted vitually anywhere. One would assume that tv and internet would then be satelite-based. The projected cost of the production home is €50,000 ($72,077 as of 09.21.2008).

I have an idea where I could put some of them already.

Horden Cherry Lee Architects

Haack + Höpfner Architects

Interesting Tid Bit

In re-reading the Home Delivery companion book for the exhibit at MOMA I came across an intersting tid bit, which I then saw reprinted in Metropolitan Home.

The cost per square foot for Ray and Charles Eames Case Study House #8, adjusted for inflation was $8. Contrast that against the average US cost per square foot of a traditional "stick built" house of $118. That means for a 2500 sqft house that's, if my math is correct, $295k for the traditional house and $20k for the Eames type house.

The savings come from using off-the-shelf industrial components in the house. This is the same approach Walter Gropius used on his home in Lincoln.

[caption id="attachment_186" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Eames Case Study House 8"][/caption]

Farnsworth Closed but Ok?

[caption id="attachment_178" align="alignright" width="475" caption="The water damage in Mies van der Rohe's Farnsworth House. Photo from The National Trust for Historic Preservation."][/caption]

The National Trust Blog at  reports that the waters, which had reached 18 inches above the floor at Mies van der Rohe's Farnsworth House in Plano Illinois, have receeded enough to allow access to the house without a boat.

It appears, again according to nthp.org, that the last minute creative measures put into place as the waters rose by staff and volunteers to raise and protect the furniture, rugs and curtains were effective. Furniture was raised on plastic milk crates and other furniture and rugs were placed on them. Curtains were bagged from the bottom up in large garbage bags, tied off and left to hang 5 feet or so off the floor.

The scope of the rise in the Fox River and subsequest damage to the house becomes even more stunning when you remember that the house is raised on 5' posts.

Landmarks Illinois, the dot org that manages the property is taking donations for the restoration here.

Closed to Tours:
In an announcement of the NTHP website it was stated that the house will remain closed through 2008. This includes people who already hold tickets. We don't think anyone, while disapointed, would not understand why.

[caption id="attachment_177" align="aligncenter" width="475" caption="Water has receeded at Farnsworth House. Photo from The National Trust for Historic Preservation."][/caption]

Farnsworth House

Tom Anderson and Gina Federico of ModernHouseNotes reported today that Mies van de Rohe's Farnsworth House is underwater.

All the flooding in the midwest has inundated Mies van der Rohe's Farnsworth House, near Chicago.

According to a posting in Flickr, the staff and volunteers of The National Trust were able to raise furniture and carpets on make-shift wooden tables. As of the 15th there was about a foot of water inside the house. Here is a video posted today on Youtube.

Below are some pictures from the the Landmarks Illinois.

Mies van der Rohe's Farnsworth House is underwater.

You can see where the management has tied the curtains up in garbage bags to keep them safe.

For more information on this story see the National Trust Blog, Preservation Nation. To Donate to the reconstruction go here