July 17, 2016

Chicago Bauhaus and Beyond hosted a great tour of the 1940 Sloan house, designed by Keck and Keck. Widely regarded as the first passive solar house, it was instrumental in the development of Keck’s architectural ideas for capturing solar heat gain in Winter while blocking sun out in the Summer, using careful calculations of the position of the sun. The house has been in the same family for over 70 years and the current owner, who has lived there the past 40 years, told us about his experiences living there. Another great CBB event!

The ground-breaking original passive solar home blends into the suburban neighborhood in the front, with all the excitement to come in the interior and back roofline.
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Spiral staircase to the finished basement
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Living room original fireplace
Large windows were originally single pane glass because thermopane had not been invented yet! Overhanging eaves on the South side of the house keep sun out in the summer.
The large living room had an unusual ceiling detail and the original wood panelling. The current owner at left of Joan Gand.
The homeowner with architect and passive solar expert Nate Kipnis
Informative talks by Jim Laukes of the Society of Architectural Historians and Nate Kipnis, architect, as well as the owner Michael Rapp (center). Jim helped us make contact to arrange the tour.
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The owners planted the stately Elm tree that shades the screen porch over 40 years ago.
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