Mies van der Rohe town house with walls of glass ticks all the boxes for artists, architects – Detroit Free Press

Judy Rose| Special to the Detroit Free Press

Detroit town house was designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

Classic Mies van der Rohe townhouse in Detroit's LafayettePark has a beautiful setting and glass walls.

Tanya Wildt, Wochit

Set in Detroit's Lafayette Park, this town house by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe is a meticulous piece of mid-20th century architecture, updatedwith a cool Ikeakitchen.

Ludwig ("Less is more") Miesdesigned 162 of these town houses, and they are closeto identical but for changes made by owners. Like row houses, they're joined side-to-side in small groups.

They're part of the gracious park and residential mix that forms Lafayette Park just east of downtown close to the city, close to the Detroit RiverWalk, close to Eastern Market,designed and built in the 1950s under the aegis of urban renewal. The other neighborhood components are 24 one-story courtyard houses and two high-rise buildings.

The area is so well-known in architectural circles, said the unit's ownerJennifer Reinhardt, "You look out and see people with cameras, you see Japanese tourists."

This town house has the advantage of looking out into the neighborhood's Plaisance Park, which makes the view from its living room even more spacious.

"I love the landscaping," Reinhardt said.

She noted that Mies and fellow planners, including landscape architect Alfred Caldwell, filled the grounds with young honey locusttrees,which have since grown into a leafed canopy overhead. From a drone shot above, this area looks like woods.

"To think they were planning 40 years ahead," Reinhardt said.

Mies was a proponent of International Style, which emerged in the 1930s. Steel beams carry the weight of his buildings,not wood bracing, nor stacks of stone or brick. That means the exposed walls can be all glass,and in these townhouses they are both front and back.

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Infront, the floor to ceiling glass goes down the side of the entrance and the dining room.At the rear, it's theliving room,with the park view beyond.

In this town house, the living room, dining room and three bedrooms are all the same spaces as designed,all with one glass wall.

The long galleykitchen, which runs along oneside of the building and gets its light from both ends,has beencompletely updated.

It has new black textured cabinets now with stainless steel handles. Appliances are all built-in stainless steel. Its counters are gray granite, and its backsplashes are amix of small blue tiles.

The main floor powder room also has a contemporaryupgrade. It has a floating cabinet now, suspended to give the sense of more space. Its sink and counter are poured concrete. Its floor is concrete tiles.

This row of town houses has one difference from the others. All its units have geothermal heat, which keeps the energy cost low, Reinhardt said.

Realtor Jason Hill said these town houses are especially desired by people whose fields are related to architecture, art,preservation or city planning.

"They like the minimalist style, the art gallery feel,."Hill said.

That would include Reinhardt, whose specialty is preservation planning. After working here for anonprofit group and then for the city of Detroit, she's headed to a job in a new location.

Where: 1415 Nicolet Place, Detroit

How much: $369,000

Bedrooms:3

Baths: 1

Square feet: 1,400

Key features: Classic Mies van der Rohe townhouse in LafayettePark. Beautiful setting, glass walls, close to downtown, Detroit River, Eastern Market and more. Co-op ownership.

Co-op fee: $1,077 per month. As a co-op fee this covers more than the usual condo fee gas, cable, internet, water, property taxes, security and more.

Interesting fact: The great architect beganlife as Ludwig Mies, with Mies meaning misery in German. But he expanded his name to suit the stature he'd achieved. After several versions he settled on adding "vanderRohe," or, from the family of Rohe, his mother's maiden name. This puts him in the company of the self-named Le Corbusier, whose real name was Charles Edouard Jeanneret.

Contact: Jason Hill, Historic Realty Detroit, 313-220-4820.

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Mies van der Rohe town house with walls of glass ticks all the boxes for artists, architects - Detroit Free Press