The Miller House / Girard / Saarinen
Commissioned by industrialist J. Irwin Miller and his wife Xenia Simons Miller in 1953, the Miller house was designed by Eero Saarinen and Kevin Roche, with interiors by Alexander Girard and landscape design by Daniel Urban Kiley. It's located in Columbus, Indiana and was completed in 1957.
It was so great to see this in person.
That's a custom low back Eames Sofa Compact. It's brass and was shortened because it blocked the view.
This letter shows the Millers had issues with the sofa compact right from the get go. Girard solved the problem with the custom version. I wish it went into production. I dig the height.
The letter is from the “Documenting Modern Living: Digitizing the Miller House and Garden Collection.” The project created a digital archive of the correspondence, drawings and blueprints, textile samples, and photographs that document design, construction, and maintenance of the Miller House and Garden. It's a fun thing to dive into.
Source: Archive at the IMA
The fireplace was a complicated aspect of the design. Saarinen associate Balthazar Korab developed a number of prototypes, seen here. Part of the complication is that the the fireplace had to house a drainage pipe to move water off the roof. There is actually a tube running down the otherwise floating fireplace. It's mostly obscured by the glass screen.
Source: Library of Congress/Korab Collection
I think they made the right call.
Source: Library of Congress/Korab Collection
Eventually, the Millers added art to the walls, including the Pierre Bonnard painting seen here. Xenia lived in the house until she passed in 2008. The art was then sold at auction. The Bonnard sold for $6 Million. The wall is now just bare marble, which I kinda like better.
Source: Library of Congress/Korab Collection
The dining room is a custom Saarinen table, which is lit underneath. The center cut out is a water feature. You can nerd out on the design here.
The Miller's obviously had great taste and that included art. They had a Picasso in their dining room.
Source: Library of Congress/Korab Collection
It sold for $8 Million.
Source: Christie's
They also had a Henry Moore in the yard. It also sold at Christie's for $8 Million
Source: Library of Congress/Korab Collection
Here is a sample of their collection. Pretty major stuff (understatement).
Source: Archive at the IMA
Herman Miller vs. Knoll
Irwin Miller in his Office at Cummins. He was the driving force that turned Columbus, Indiana into a modern architecture mecca. More to come on that.
Source: Life