Van der Home - Renovating Mies

2017-12-22T14:19:00-05:00

It’s said that there are two kinds of architects: those who will only live in vernacular homes and those who would only live in a home of their own design. Now I know why. My partner Laura and I ignored both options and bought a townhouse designed by Mies van der Rohe. With my colleagues at Dash Marshall, made limited renovations after devouring all of the books about Lafayette Park, looking for clues as to what Mies would do if given a do-over.

Bryan Boyer writes about renovating a Mies Van Der Rohe townhouse in Lafayette Park, Detroit.

"First, the original condition of these houses was not actually that nice when you got down to the small details like closet hardware, appliances, and lighting. Bathrooms and kitchens from the 1950s were not all that great, nor are we so devoted to history that we want to live with an antiquated stove just to satisfy the ghost of a dead architect.

The original Lafayette Park stove folds down like an electrified murphy bed. I applaud my dedtheiricated neighbors who have kept them up.

Second, as I spent time with Mies’ archives at MoMA I was drawn in by the numerous versions of our house that were never built. There was the plan that had two bedrooms instead of three, with the space of the final room devoted to an upstairs sitting room divided only by a curtain. Interesting."

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Van der Home - Renovating Mies