Send us your flood mitigation ideas!

We have been commended for our candidness in discussing the restoration work resulting from our September high water damage.  We have been condemned by a few for not doing enough to abate these continual floods, so in an effort to make this process just as open, we are inviting your comments and ideas regarding the flood mitigation efforts.

We are interested in those ideas that consist of either permanent solutions to continual flooding or emergency measures meant to minimize the impact of reoccurring floods. We ask you to let your ideas flow through the keyboard and to us, where we will post them on this blog along with a response. Then, everyone else will get a chance to comment.

Please send us your contact info by filling out this form and we’ll touch base immediately on how to submit your ideas.

Before you get started though…

We have, over the course of our five years managing this property, continually investigated solutions to the threat posed by the river.  To that end, we begin this discussion with a list of previously proposed ideas:

1. Placement of a pontoons under the building
2. Longer column extensions that slide out of their footings
3. Szikorsky Helicopter to lift the 300 ton house
4. Hydraulic jacks to raise it in place
5. Building up the site flood plain by 12 ft.
6. Move the house to high ground
7. Retractable flood walls surrounding the house.
8. Waterproofing everything inside the house (vinyl upholstery, plastic laminate wood?)
9. Inflatable raft under the house
10. Internal sandbags around furniture and core
11. Dikes and dams
12. Moats
13. Fixed Moment Frame below the soil
14. Sandbags
15. Temporary flood walls
16. Reverse aquarium designed to rise out of the ground
17. Giant Zip lock bag
18. Steel waterproof shutters

 When considering these ideas we evaluate them against the following criteria:
• Cost
• Sensitivity to Preservation Initiatives
• Practicality

These are the same criteria the experts will use in considering your ideas.

Helpful Information
The Farnsworth House was constructed approximately 100 feet (30.5 meters) from the banks of the Fox River.  The architect, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, designed the house at an elevation he believed would protect it from all but the most severe of high water events. The interior level is elevated at approximately 67” (170 centimeters).   The property experiences high water annually, with the river overflowing its banks most commonly in early spring and early fall.  Current research leads us to believe that the interior of the house has received flood waters on 6 occasions beginning in 1954 and becoming more frequent over the years having flooded in 1996, 1997 and 2008.  Significant residential and commercial growth in the area is often attributed to the increased threats posed by the river.

It may be foolhardy to believe that we can battle the power of Mother Nature.  The Fox River Basin has a drainage area of 2,580 square miles (6,682 square Kilometers) and includes parts of both Illinois and Wisconsin.  Altering the path of the river or erecting dams seem to be well beyond our scope of influence.  Therefore, we put forth this challenge to search for ideas limited to the Farnsworth House and its 62 acre site.

Happy writing! We look forward to everyone’s responses and posting them to this site!

Whitney French
Site Manager for the Farnsworth House operator - Landmarks Illinois
Help Save the Farnsworth House by Donating Today.

A Glimpse Into the Age-Old Question - “Do Birds Crash Into the Farnsworth House?”

This photo is tragically humorous.  Could this woodpecker have died of exhaustion?  It apparently made some bad choices.

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This is a male yellow bellied sapsucker, an Illinois woodpecker fairly common to see at this time of year. The poor guy was just lying on the deck when I went down to close up the house last night. We are often asked if we get a lot of birds crashing into the Farnsworth House, and we truly don’t most of the year, but the past few weeks that answer has been different. The migratory birds have been stopping by quite a bit, leaving their in-flight deposits on the windows and occasionally stunning themselves colliding with the polished plate glass. At least four in the past few weeks met an untimely end in this fashion, but the woodpecker in these photos was on the upper deck, on the cantilevered section next to the column, no where near the glass. I couldn’t resist capturing the rather poetic irony. Sometimes you are better off admitting when a task is greater than your capabilities. 

Perhaps his ego got the best of him.

Whitney French
Site Manager for the Farnsworth House operator - Landmarks Illinois
Help Save the Farnsworth House by Donating Today.

Two Critical Projects

We are progressing on two critical projects, hoping to have some restoration completed before the winter freeze. Each of the projects has an exploratory discovery phase to determine the best solution before we proceed with the remainder of the work.

The first concerns the window sealants. The sealants are far from perfect because of their age and we are confident that there is moisture trapped in some of the pockets under the windows. We will remove the existing interior and exterior glazing sealants, remove the moisture in the glazing pockets and replace the sealants. We have chosen to perform the test at the south east window first. We are working through the contracts now.

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Our second pre-winter project is an effort to determine the level of saturation in the substrate below the travertine of the exterior surfaces. The plan here is to remove 15 travertine pavers and the mortar and gravel below them. We will then perform a complete inspection of the moisture retention and the damage caused by frequent high water and this most recent flood. Ideally, we would remove all of the exterior pavers prior to the winter freeze but this project is expensive and we must seek funding mechanisms before proceeding. 

We live in fear that freeze thaw cycles through the Illinois winter will further heave and damage the stone, but winter is coming fast and these projects and fund raising for them will take some time. There is always a chance that the moisture retention in the bays is less severe than we project. There is also travertine work to be done on the inside, but the radiant floor heat is still functioning well and so the threat of freeze is less of a concern.

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Whitney French
Site Manager for the Farnsworth House operator - Landmarks Illinois
Help Save the Farnsworth House by Donating Today.

A Memorable Glimpse

As I’ve mentioned in previous blog postings we have removed the teak wardrobe from the House as it was significantly damaged during the flood. This has left an absolutely breathtaking view of the interior of the house. As a treat for those reading this blog, I thought I would share some of those views. They are nothing compared to seeing it person, but at least it’s a taste. Enjoy.

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Whitney French
Site Manager for the Farnsworth House operator - Landmarks Illinois
Help Save the Farnsworth House by Donating Today.

Fall Splendor

I’d like to thank everyone who made the journey out to the Farnsworth House over the past couple of weeks. In an effort to entice those who haven’t - here are a couple more photos of the wonderful fall splendor. Hope to see you soon.

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Whitney French
Site Manager for the Farnsworth House operator - Landmarks Illinois
Help Save the Farnsworth House by Donating Today.

A Beautiful Fall Day - Come Visit!

We saw our first few guests since the flood on Sunday.  Fall is definitely here.  It was wonderful to have the tour guides return and to feel some minor sense that we are emerging from the flood.  The people who came by were wonderful.  They were a bit astounded that the house has sustained damage but it still shows flawlessly, until you get inside and a see the details.  I ran around with my camera this morning to shoot some of the fall foliage.  I share those photos with you now so you can see how spectacular it is here today.

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We finally got some definitive answers from our insurers on Friday, but there are a many more details to sort through.  We are concerned primarily about two big projects we would like to tackle before the freeze hits.  The first project involves removing all of the sealants around the windows below 2 feet, drying out the cavity under the window and replacing the sealants.  The second is removal of travertine from the lower and potentially upper deck.  We fear that the clogged drains are preventing trapped water from escaping and that a hard freeze could heave and damage the floor surfaces.  We are busy assembling and reviewing the proposals for this work and will secure the funding before proceeding.

I really appreciate everyone’s patience as we open our limited tours.  It is a challenge for us to operate the tour program and oversee all of the details of restoration and recovery.  The economic crisis is hitting at a bad time and people have been hesitant to make reservations at our fund raising rate, so we have temporarily dropped the tour price back to $20 for the weekday unguided and limited weekend guided tours.  The operation here is based on two commitments I made to our Steering Committee when I first arrived.  The first is to preserve and protect, the second to make the house accessible.  We pride ourselves on assuring that our visitors have a rewarding experience when they are here and it is difficult for us to turn guests away, but we’ve been forced to do that so we can carry out our first task of restoration.  Please make a reservation before coming out so neither of us is disappointed.

Whitney French
Site Manager for the Farnsworth House operator - Landmarks Illinois
Help Save the Farnsworth House by Donating Today.

“Every Day Gets Closer To Normal”

Friday we hosted a parade of various professionals brought to us by Antunovich Associates, the architect of record for our Save America’s Treasures grant work. We met with sealant specialists, stone experts, painting contractors, a veneer authority, and a steel cabinet refinisher. Many of these folks worked on the restoration project in 1996 when Lord Palumbo was subjected to a 1,000 year flood which brought more than five feet of water into the house. It was fascinating to hear their recollections. We also celebrated the return of the missing stone step which has been expertly repaired by the Conservation of Sculpture and Objects Studio. Andrzej, the artist who performed the work, has volunteered his time and expertise to help us with the final cleaning of the stone. We also had an interesting discussion about using lasers to attempt primavera repairs.

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Things are beginning to look a little more normal. The portable dehumidification equipment and fans have now been removed, the primavera panels are temporarily reinstalled, and the furniture is back in place. It is still stunning to us everyday to see the house without the wardrobe, but there’s a comfort to having things slightly more settled. We still have a lot of work to do, but we are taking the time to debate the correct approaches to several items. The benefit that the house receives because of the partnership between Landmarks Illinois and the National Trust for Historic Preservation is that we offer a great series of check and balances to the process of restoration and preservation of the house.

Today was a landscape day, beginning with a visit from two wood experts, a forester, and a furniture maker. We are examining the safety of the site since losing the giant Basswood and we are searching for ways to responsibly reuse the materials. My crew (Deena and Scott) and I spent several hours clearing the upper path in preparation for tours. The lower path is still too muddy to traverse. The mosquitoes are pretty outrageous, but the fall colors are beginning to show and a few more cool nights should kill of the majority of the bugs.

I’m looking forward to sharing this state of the house’s repair with visitors and I’m really anxious to see our volunteers again. Everyday gets us closer to normal.

Whitney French
Site Manager for the Farnsworth House operator - Landmarks Illinois
Help Save the Farnsworth House by Donating Today.

Special Tours Now Offered with Fees Used to Help Flood Restoration

I’m pleased to announce that we are opening the Farnsworth House for special tours through October 2008. Every Wednesday at 1 p.m., I will lead a tour of the house for a $100 donation. I’ll show you first-hand damage; recount the hours just before the flood; explain the effort currently underway with contractors, conservators, and our board of directors; as well as be the first to reveal the stunning views of the interior seen for the first time without the teak wardrobe.

On the weekends, for a donation of $50, there will be special docent-led tours. Visitors will experience an expanded standard tour with views of the flood-damaged property and learn about our current restoration efforts.

Click here to see what times and dates are available for the weekend tour, or click here to sign up for a Wednesday site director tour.

These are truly unique and special tours we are offering during this very difficult time. We are still working very hard on all recovery efforts which will ultimately cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. We hope you will come out, support these efforts with a donation, and have an educational experience learning about what we are dealing with on a daily basis.

Whitney French
Site Manager for the Farnsworth House operator - Landmarks Illinois
Help Save the Farnsworth House by Donating Today

Work Slows As Insurance Negotiations Continue

Forward momentum is at risk as we have been stalled negotiating with our insurance provider.  We had made arrangements for the furniture to be moved to an offsite facility so it would be protected during our work, but with our coverage parameters in question, we have delayed further spending until these questions are answered.  We are now scheduled to move the furniture back into the house, with the exception of the wardrobe, and we will continue to collect recommendations from professional consultants, conservators and contractors.

The most significant and costly damage has occurred around the core. We will have to reconstruct the three doors (two bathroom doors and the mechanical room door) as they have swollen and can no longer close.  The wing walls have expanded and the seams are gaping, the core has some significant areas of delamination, and what appears to be glue induced discoloration of the veneer below the flood line.  The kitchen cabinets are showing rust and there are still several locations we haven’t managed to investigate because the analysis requires further deconstruction. 

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We have plans to remove the sealants from the lower edge of the windows to dry out the cavity below and then reapply the sealant, and this will be an expensive undertaking.  We believe it is necessary to lift some travertine to investigate and potentially dry out the bays below, where the drains are clogged, to prevent damage from the winter freeze, which is not far off.  All of this pending work is still being assessed and a parade of architects and tradesman continue to visit so that we can properly scope and estimate the jobs, but until things are settled with the insurance provider, we are at a standstill with completing anything but the most critical work.

Whitney French
Site Manager for the Farnsworth House operator - Landmarks Illinois
Help Save the Farnsworth House by Donating Today.

Despite Mother Nature, Wardrobe Removed

Monday saw a lot of tasks being scheduled including some of the final cleaning, decontamination, and continued dehumidification. Giertsen, our restoration specialists and flood recovery contractor, really stepped up to the plate and did not only their own job, but also jumped in to help us relocate the teak wardrobe. The Giertsen team scrubbed and cleaned, disinfected, sprayed highly dehumidified air into all the cracks and crevices of the house, measured, monitored, and metered. They wrapped up most of the cleaning by days end, and left equipment behind to continue with the drying out process.

The Chicago Conservation Center sent a team out to pick up the wardrobe. The drawers and some of the chrome “closet organizers” from the interior were removed and the piece was shrink wrapped. Of course, as luck would have it, it rained all morning. Between getting trucks stuck in the mud and moving from “plan A” to “plan B” to “plan C” and back to “A” again, we finally managed to get the wardrobe tucked away and hauled off to safety. As of the end of the day yesterday I received word from the CEO that the wardrobe had indeed been secured in their facility. We will have a few conservators and consultants review the piece and make some recommendations.

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Tuesday we performed some landscape assessments with a team from the Illinois Institute of Technology and I spent a lot of time on the phone arranging for more estimates and speaking with more specialists. There is a lot of pressure to re-open for tours, but the grounds are still really saturated and the mosquitoes are unbelievably thick. We are constantly discussing strategies for allowing public access because interest is so high and hope to have a sound proposal constructed in the next few days for what an abbreviated tour schedule might look like. Stay tuned.

Whitney French
Site Manager for the Farnsworth House operator - Landmarks Illinois
Help Save the Farnsworth House by Donating Today.