20 Modern Homes From the Midwest
Here are 20 modern homes that hail from the Heartland.
Residents are allowed a small swath to plant gardens. "A lot of credit is due to the landscape architect," says Barlow, and "Mies's floor-to-ceiling windows make the spaces feel open, while at the same time the canopy of trees makes you feel protected. It's a private, quiet, green oasis within spitting distance of the freeway, and you'd never know it."
Built on a challenging hillside site and tucked behind a thicket of trees, the Bridgman, Michigan, house designed by Scott Rappe provides a modern weekend retreat for a Chicago couple. "One of my first responsibilities was getting the owners up to their house and essentially on one level. Because of the pie-shaped property, we needed to push the building up the hill to provide square footage for the program. By keeping the building perpendicular to the slope, using piloti on one side and a retaining wall on the dune side, we were able to insert foundations with minimal disturbance," says Rappe.
Dow Chemical put Midland on the map, but architect and local scion Alden B. Dow made it the most modern town in Michigan. Dow’s masterpiece is undoubtedly his home and studio in Midland. Designed in 1933 to be built in stages, the sprawling manse seems to rise out of a pond, its green copper roof and bright-white, geometric form seemingly birthed by the landscape. It’s a nearly perfect evocation of a guiding Dow dictum, "Gardens never end, and buildings never begin."
The residence is built on the same lot as the William Theisen mansion, a sprawling 20,125-square-foot house that was the largest in Omaha when it was completed in 1983. A family currently resides in the seven-bedroom, five-bathroom house, which features a swimming pool located on the western side of the house.
The deck is designed for all seasons. In the blazing summer sun, people can hang out under covered areas. In the winter and at night, a basalt-and-steel fire pit, powered by natural gas, keeps everyone warm. Burgum was conscious to go for an open flame rather than infrared heaters since it encourages people to gather around as a group for conversation. "When the sun goes down and the chill comes in, you can turn the fire on and it extends the evening," says Burgum. The privacy screen is lit with energy-efficient LED bulbs. Native plants and grasses soften the space and were selected for their hardiness and for being low-maintenance. The railing is ipe and the floor tile is natural basalt.
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