Collection by Dwell
Dwell December/January 2013, Vol. 13 Issue 02: Prefab Comes Home
Balthazar Korab, quoted in a new book by John Comazzi, found that Eero Saarinen and Associates’ Deere and Company Headquarters from 1966 “was the most challenging of Saarinen’s buildings to photograph because the darkness and texture of the Cor-Ten steel creates difficult light and shadow conditions. For me it was a project of discovery—I had to discover the architecture over time.”
The butterfly-roof pavilion by architects Kate Simonen, Benjamin Parco, and Phil Kaefer connects to the low-slung home Joseph Esherick designed in 1954 via two covered walkways and an open-air tearoom. All three structures sit lightly on the landscape designed by Lawrence Halprin and updated over 50 years later by Gary Roth, a former employee.
Dutch architects MVRDV were assigned the beagle, a “curious and playful” breed the firm thought should have some power of its own. An optional cord attached to the portable birch plywood structure means Fido can use the entire thing as a pull toy. At rest, the pooch palace riffs on the traditional Snoopy-esque doghouse silhouette with its simple interior and gabled roof; at play, it becomes a see-saw reminiscent of MVRDV’s own Balancing Barn.