Custom Ironwork
Columbus, Indiana

The Miller House, designed by Eero Saarinen with interiors by Alexander Girard and landscape by Dan Kiley, is one of the most significant works of residential design of the 20th century. The house was designated a National Historic Landmark while Irwin and Xenia Miller were still living there, the first time that has happened in the history of the program.

After the death of Mrs. Miller, family members donated the house to the Indianapolis Museum of Art. As part of the agreement with the city, the museum was required to add gates to the entrances and we were asked to do the work.

This project shows how disparate elements and ideas can be applied to very pragmatic requirements and functional limitations to create a harmonious whole. Two gates were needed-for the main entrance off Highland Way, and the old service entrance, now visitor entrance, off Washington Street.

Both gates utilize an existing gate in the garden, designed either by Kiley or Girard, as a jumping off point. Because of the house’s new role as a public institution, it was necessary to include an address. The “bow tie” figure, which functions as the facility’s sign, was pulled from Girard’s abstraction of an M, which he used in rugs, china and elsewhere. The bird, which is purely decorative, is similar to those on the gate to the pool

Custom Light Fixtures
Columbus, Indiana

The previous owners of the house on Riverside Drive, seen the residential section of the site, asked us to design a chandelier and two sconces for the family dining room.

In brainstorming with the clients, we came up with the idea of linking the fixtures to the owner’s extensive teapot collection already displayed in the area. Because the room, part of the Robert A.M. Stern addition, already had a strong Arts and Crafts flavor, we also drew inspiration from a remarkable floor lamp floor lamp festooned with metal flowers, also from the same period.

Vintage light fixtures were customized and other elements added or adapted to achieve the final product. It would have been much easier to do with LED’s.

Site Furnishings and Improvements
Columbus, Indiana

The parishioners of North Christian Church, designed by Eero Saarinen and a National Historic Landmark, use the “moat” surrounding the building as a memorial garden. A large plaque on the wall identifies the deceased, whose ashes are in the ivy-covered slope opposite.

We were asked to provide better access, a hard walking surface, and a place to sit and reflect. The steps were rebuilt with handrails based on Saarinen’s precedent elsewhere in the building. The bench, a combination of concrete, stainless steel and wood, was carefully designed for comfort, with the thought that meditative focus is enhanced when the body is at ease.

Residential Play Structure
Near Columbus, Indiana

Designed shortly after the Lakeside Cottage, seen in the residential portion of the site, the Treehouse is in two parts-the enclosed house portion, that looks perilously unsupported, and the open platform. The two sections are connected by a swinging rope bridge.

The treehouse utilizes materials, color and design cues from the house. Instead of being refined and elegant, it is playful and spirited.

Custom Furniture

This 8 foot porch table is the summer gathering place for a large family. The table top is made of alternating bands of red and gray Vitrolite, an architectural glass popular through the 1950’s. It is supported on a base of steel and redwood. Representation of the means of assembly and support is integral to the design of the whole.

A little over-engineered, four people are challenged to move it.

Custom Furniture

The golden color of inexpensive prefinished maple plywood forms a foil for the facade of raw steel and medium density fiberboard. The frank use of materials, exposed fasteners and lapped joints were deliberate decisions rooted in the need for a simple, one person means of assembly.

Custom Casework in a Corporate Setting
Columbus, Indiana

The challenge of a corporate reception desk is that it be both a design statement and that it be as functionally prosaic as a cubicle workstation.

This desk is composed as a series of interlocking boxes and floating planes is a study in contrasting forms, materials and color. The green soapstone desktop hovers over the maple base. Panels of Etimoe wood, also floating, are used as accents and infill. The orange cast of the stain on the maple was required to match the selection by a previous designer.