© Dayna Bateman

I came across Ludwig Mies van der Rohes’s Farnsworth House in this month’s issue of Elle Decoration. Based in Plano Illionois, the house was built between 1946-1951 as a retreat for professor of medicine, Dr Edith Farnsworth. These photos were taken by Dayna Bateman.

Set in a clearing of trees on a 60-acre estate that overlooks the Fox River to the south, the house’s elevated steel frame and horizontal slab structure appear to be serenely floating in the landscape.

Floor-to-ceiling glass walls take in the stunning pastoral surroundings and provided visitors to Farnsworth with the chance to reconnect with nature during their stay.

After being purchased for $7.5 million by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Landmarks Illinois in December 2003, the house now operates as a museum, open to the public, with tours conducted by the National Trust.

- A.Morris