midMOD Monday- the other Miller House

(Sigh)​ It’s Monday again. And I've consumed the maximum amount of coffee this morning, but I just can’t quite snap out of that “wait-the weekend is over?” funk. Luckily, it’s midMOD Monday, so we can drool over some decadent architecture for a few minutes before getting back to the real world vortex.

Most architecture geeks know all about the iconic Eero Saarinen-designed house for J. Irwin Miller in Columbus, Indiana. But did you know that Saarinen also designed a small cottage in Ontario, Canada for Miller? Honestly, I didn’t know a whole lot about the project either, but I recently stumbled across a set of photographs by famed photographer Balthazar Korab, and I was BLOWN AWAY by the place.

​Between 1950-1952, Saarinen designed a small cottage for the Hoosier industrialist on the shores of Lake Rousseau near Windermere in the Muskoka region of Ontario. The cottage, a link of geometric cubes, blends unexpectedly with the dramatic natural forms of the surrounding landscape. The interior entertains changing vistas of the lake, while warm, natural materials bring a refined ruggedness to the cool modern pedigree of the residence. Judging by Korab's documentation of the property, the Irwin cottage is a pretty incredible example of Saarinen’s residential work (of which there is very little).
 
I plan to write more about Saarinen and Korab (one of the most prolific photographers of mid-century Modern architecture) down the road, but in the meantime, just enjoy the Miller House (Canada) portfolio and try, just try to make it through this Monday.

Photographs are courtesy of the Korab Collection at the Library of Congress.