‘Houses of Tomorrow: Solar Homes from Keck to Today’, a new exhibit at the Elmhurst Art Museum in Elmhurst, Illinois, celebrates the House of Tomorrow and its solar innovations as a precursor to technologies and materials still in use today. The project, designed by George Fred Keck for the 1933 Century of Progress World’s Fair in Chicago, was decades ahead of its time. As well as featuring new-fangled gadgets, such as a dishwasher and an ‘iceless’ refrigerator, the House of Tomorrow also represented an early manifestation of harnessing solar energy.
The Elmhurst exhibit features a dedicated gallery illustrating a range of midcentury solar homes designed by brothers George Fred Keck and William Keck, along with a newly commissioned art project centred on glass and light by Jan Tichy, associate professor of Photography, Art & Technology Studies at the School of Art Institute of Chicago. The show concludes with winning designs from a 2021 passive solar competition by Passive House Institute US (PHIUS).
‘Houses of Tomorrow: Solar Homes from Keck to Today’
Keck’s House of Tomorrow in construction. Photography: image courtesy of Robert Boyce
McCormick House – the midcentury residence that is part of the Elmhurst museum’s campus – features a related exhibit by Tichy entitled ‘Reflectance’, with a centrepiece solar light space modulator constructed with dishwasher racks and reflected glass from the House of Tomorrow. Tichy’s kinetic piece harnesses solar power to reanimate its mundane domestic objects while simultaneously reflecting light around the entire room. This part of the show also includes a collection of nearly 30 pieces located throughout the house, including artifacts from the House of Tomorrow and photographs featuring poetry by Isabella Gardner – who, with her husband Robert McCormick, was the first resident of the McCormick House.
‘(I wanted to) make the connection between these larger themes of solar architecture to the specific family that inhabited this space as artists; that reflected on what was happening around them and to them and all the way back to House of Tomorrow,’ said Tichy.
The exhibition launch also marks a year-long celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Elmhurst Art Museum. Several related events are planned, including lectures about the House of Tomorrow, family-friendly hands-on activities, a panel discussion on sustainable architecture and docent-led tours of McCormick House. All exhibits run through 29 May 2022.
Hedrich Blessing ‘House of Tomorrow, Chicago, 1933, Fred Keck’. Photography: Courtesy of the Chicago History Museum, Hedrich Blessing Collection
Hedrich Blessing, ‘House of Tomorrow Living Room’, 1933. Photography: Courtesy of Chicago History Museum
Hedrich Blessing ‘Greens Ready Built Model, 1945, Fred Keck’. Photography: Courtesy of the Chicago History Museum, Hedrich Blessing Collection
Hedrich Blessing ‘Howard Sloan House I, Fred and William Keck, 1940’. Photography: Courtesy of the Chicago History Museum, Hedrich Blessing Collection
McCormick House 70th Anniversary tour. Photography: courtesy of Hedrich Blessing Archive, Chicago Historical Society
INFORMATION
-
Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekMuch of our team was in Copenhagen for 3 Days of Design this week. For those left basking in the London heatwave, it was architecture workshops, photography exhibitions and two very different performances: ballet and Britpop
-
The best bars in London for bartending greatnessFrom chic hotel cocktail classics to game-changing flavour combinations, our resident drinks correspondent, Neil Ridley, explores ten of the best bars in London
-
Milan Fashion Week Men’s S/S 2026: live updates from the Wallpaper* teamFrom 20-23 June, Milan Fashion Week Men’s arrives in the Italian fashion capital. Follow along for a first look at the shows, presentations and other fashion happenings, as seen by the Wallpaper* editors
-
A New Zealand house on a rugged beach exemplifies architect Tom Kundig's approach in rich, yet understated luxuryThis coastal home, featured in 'Tom Kundig: Complete Houses', a new book launch in the autumn by Monacelli Press, is a perfect example of its author's approach to understated luxury. We spoke to Tom Kundig, the architect behind it
-
Tour architect Paul Schweikher’s house, a Chicago midcentury masterpieceNow hidden in the Chicago suburbs, architect Paul Schweikher's former home and studio is an understated midcentury masterpiece; we explore it, revisiting a story from the Wallpaper* archives, first published in April 2009
-
The world of Bart Prince, where architecture is born from the inside outFor the Albuquerque architect Bart Prince, function trumps form, and all building starts from the inside out; we revisit a profile from the Wallpaper* archive, first published in April 2009
-
Is embracing nature the key to a more fire-resilient Los Angeles? These landscape architects think soFor some, an executive order issued by California governor Gavin Newsom does little to address the complexities of living within an urban-wildland interface
-
Hop on this Fire Island Pines tour, marking Pride Month and the start of the summerA Fire Island Pines tour through the work of architecture studio BOND is hosted by The American Institute of Architects New York in celebration of Pride Month; join the fun
-
A Laurel Canyon house shows off its midcentury architecture bonesWe step inside a refreshed modernist Laurel Canyon house, the family home of Annie Ritz and Daniel Rabin of And And And Studio
-
A refreshed Rockefeller Wing reopens with a bang at The Met in New YorkThe Met's Michael C Rockefeller Wing gets a refresh by Kulapat Yantrasast's WHY Architecture, bringing light, air and impact to the galleries devoted to arts from Africa, Oceania and the Ancient Americas
-
A Fire Island house for two sisters reimagines the beach home typologyCoughlin Scheel Architects’ Fire Island house is an exploration of an extended family retreat for the 21st century
