how to make natural light work for the benefit of this
house. Therefore, having used wood as the main interior material for the house
meant that the natural light made the house look very homely.

The house is a big rectangle building with a flat roof,
organized into four alternating spaces that are parallel with the upper level.
The biggest room of the house is the two-story living room which takes up most
of the house from the right of the door. The whole of the front wall has a
built in two story bookshelf which was useful for Margaret since she was a

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Louis Khan, I believe was clever in the choices he made with
what materials to use for his building. Having such a huge amount of natural
light coming inside means that the materials you use are highly important in
making sure how you manage and use the light to your advantage which I strongly
believe Khan did. The kitchen (located on the ground floor in the far left of
the house), was designed by Wharton Esherick who was a craftsman as well as
Margaret’s uncle. He used copper and wood to create the kitchen. The
floorboards were wooden, and the kitchen counters and cupboards were made of
the same dark copper and wood materials as the floorboards. Although the
kitchen only has one window, the natural light that is allowed in reflects
around the room and over the materials, giving it a homely, cosy effect
overall. Most kitchens (whether modern or not), usually do not have the same
materials as the rest of the house. Most modern houses tend to be very spacious
and thoroughly thought through by the architect or designer. They also usually
have wide windows or large sources of natural light to make the area seem
bigger, but also more pleasant. What I find interesting and unique about this
kitchen is that the materials used have been though by and used throughout the
whole house. Khan intended for the house materials to complement each other
from the kitchen to the bedrooms, from the bathrooms to the living rooms. Having
a bookshelf that also complimented this use to material also added to the
homely wooden house effect.

Esherick house was a house with a beautifully carved wood
kitchen (designed by Wharton Esherick), and the rest of the house made up of
wooden/timber materials. Featuring huge windows that allowed lots of natural
light. This provides a very energy efficient kind of technology that would have
reduced the amount of electricity consumption used in the house. The large
windows also enabled the residents to feel close or ‘at one’ with nature and
the outside world. Therefore, the house’s location was purely intentional and
aided to Khans inspiration of the kind of house that he wanted to build and the
kind of scenery he was creating around his house. The big trees and the natural
background provided a reasonable use for the use of many windows. Having a well-lit house means that the materials used inside
the house need to be thought through and considered to not only make full use
of the amount of natural light used, know what materials look best with large
amount of natural light, and what materials over time will last longer
considering the amount of light that will be shining directly onto them for
long periods of time. Coming up with wood and timber based materials was a
clever call for Khan because the natural light reflects and responds very well
to the timber surroundings in the house. It also adds a homely and welcoming
atmosphere within the house. The double heighted living space featuring a
built-in bookshelf makes the room seam grand as well as elegant, in addition to
the wide windows.

The use of a bath
bed does not really make much sense or have much logic with most ordinary
households however, it is an idea that Khan thought of to make the house adaptable,
since there is only one bedroom and I fell that he wanted to make use of space
within the house.

I feel that Khan wanted to design a modern but resourceful
hideaway for Margret giving her a house that acted as her private bunker when
she wasn’t at work. Therefore, adding personal touches like the building in two
story bookshelves may not appeal to a normal household, however this was very
relevant, and this applied directly to her.

a house that meant something to his client (Margaret Esherick), meant that he
needed to come up with interesting ideas not only to please to his client, but
also make his ideas modern and unique in relation to the architectural world. I
believe that Khan wanted to create a mini world for Margret which is why the
use of many windows was necessary for her not to forget reality. To make her
feel at one with nature as well as already partaking in an isolating activity
(reading), is quite interesting. I loved that he combined two opposite factors
being reading (which is an isolating activity which can separate one from
reality; and nature, which makes you aware of reality that can