Greenwald House Weston, Connecticut, USA, 1951–56
The house is based on the same principle as the McCormick House, placing a single-storey of the Lake Shore Drive Apartments at ground level into the landscape. In fact, the house’s façade is made of actual unused elements of the high-rise building’s façade. The entrance leads directly into the central living room, which is flanked on either side by two wood-panelled service cores. Next to the entrance is a freestanding storage cabinet that serves as a divider screening off the bedroom. A second entrance leads directly into the kitchen. A low wall of rough-hewn stone creates a step in the terrain allowing the surrounding woodland to be appreciated from a podium. The house, built for the brother of Herbert Greenwald, Mies’ most important client at the time, was extended in 1959–60 by two bays according to plans by Mies’ office. Later, a further extension and pavilions were added that are grouped around the building.1 The interior was also subsequently altered. 1 For further information on the alterations and additions, see: Paul Gold berger, “Modifying Mies – Peter L. Gluck Rises to the Modernist’s Challenge”, in: Architectural Digest, vol. 2, 1992, pp. 72–82.
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Exterior view Interior Floor plan