The Miller House and Garden Conservation Management Plan

A PennPraxis team is developing a conservation management plan for the Miller House and Garden, an internationally renowned mid-century Modernist landmark in Columbus, Indiana. The house itself was designed by architect Eero Saarinen, with interiors designed by Alexander Girard. Daniel Kiley designed the landscape that surrounds the house. The project was funded by a grant from the Getty Foundation's Keeping It Modern initiative and builds on PennPraxis' earlier involvement in the master plan for Newfields/Indianapolis Museum of Art, which owns the Miller House and Garden.

The Miller House was commissioned in 1953 by philanthropists J. Irwin Miller and Xenia Simons Miller. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2000 and donated to Newfields in 2009. The conservation management plan will focus on several maintenance issues related to the Saarinen/Kiley design, including skylights and surface drainage challenges and changes to the landscape materials. As part of the planning process, the PennPraxis team will build a framework to preserve and renew the home’s original design intent while also welcoming new audiences to the once-private home.