For the 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago, George Fred Keck designed the first glass house in America with visionary modern designs including new domestic amenities. His groundbreaking House of Tomorrow was the first glass house in America, predating the same uses and adaptations of these materials and methods driven into popularity (or notoriety) by modernists such as Mies van der Rohe by more than 15 years. By furthering efficiency issues from the House of Tomorrow, Keck and his brother William built mid-century homes throughout the Midwest with innovative new designs to become the first “solar architects.” This exhibition shows how their development of passive solar energy and other modern construction methods were early precursors to the sustainable building practices of today—which are more relevant than ever before.

The all-glass House of Tomorrow showed millions of attendees at the 1933 World’s Fair, “A Century of Progress,” a new, technology-driven vision of what domestic life could be in the future. The house featured many new ideas from the first GE dishwasher to a personal airplane hangar; however, it was through this house that the Kecks found a new way to harness solar energy, leading them to make energy efficiency breakthroughs throughout their career.

The exhibition features a display of the history and application of solar energy using Keck’s design for the House of Tomorrow; floor plans, blueprints, and pieces of the original structure; a dedicated gallery illustrating the mid-century solar homes by the Keck brothers; a commissioned artist project by Jan Tichy centered on glass and light; the evolution and contemporary uses of groundbreaking solar and energy-efficient building technologies. The Museum will be the site of interpretive STEAM activities for school-aged children. And an accompanying exhibition by Jan Tichy invites visitors to explore Mies van der Rohe’s 1952 McCormick House as an environment of movement, light, activity, and wonder.

Sponsored by the DuPage Foundation, Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, Artis, Room & Board, and Chicago Bauhaus & Beyond.