Prairie House Cladding Survey

Completing the cladding survey brings us one step closer to restoring the Prairie House. This is an important milestone, as it addresses one of the most iconic and expressive elements of the building, its skin.

Why It Matters
Not unlike an old barn, whose weathered cladding tells a story of labor and time, the Prairie House tells a story of living. Its cladding isn’t merely protection,  it’s memory. These overlapping, feathered forms speak to the intuitive hand of the architect and his builder. Yet, it’s not ad hoc. There's a consistent language, a grammar of craft that aligns artifacts with its landscape in remarkable harmony.

Much like an old barn whose weathered siding tells the story of labor and time, the Prairie House tells the story of living. Designed by Herb Greene, a visionary architect who studied under Bruce Goff, the house is not just built, it is created. Its outer plumage, composed of overlapping cedar planks and altered shingles, evokes senses of a living creature. It is expressive, tactile, and intuitive. Every element feels shaped simultaneously by the hand and by movement, like feathers laid one by one, over a form which responds to wind, light, and the body.

This project isn’t just about materials. It’s about restoring an American legacy,  a work of prairie modernism whose engagement with material culture is as psychological as it is technical. The vertically undulated planks resemble the shiplap of old homesteads; the shingles nod to the Arts and Crafts movement; and the black tar paper evokes the layered canyons of the ancient seabed surrounding the house.

What We Found
With the help of the team at W Design, the Prairie House was carefully documented through a combination of three-dimensional scans, historic photographs, and repeated site visits. The result is a permanent set of records that allow us to understand the house through its materials, repairs, and evolution. This documentation does not simply freeze the building in time. Instead, it illustrates the layers of history and intention, capturing the space between what was and what is.

The survey revealed a rich assembly of rough sawn red cedar planks, altered shingles, and countless details of repair that have become part of the house’s character. These elements come together to form an organic surface that exemplifies a form of prairie modernism rarely seen today. The house feels grown rather than built. Yet even this intricate exterior offers only a glimpse of the richly textured world that unfolds within.

What’s Next
We will be sharing the full survey and drawings with our master planning team. These materials will guide our future preservation efforts and ensure that restoration work is both faithful and sustainable.

If you are interested in getting involved, we invite you to join our monthly volunteer event, Love the Prairie. Held once a month, this gathering brings together community members to care for the site, learn about its history, and contribute to the restoration effort in hands-on ways.

Thank you for your continued support. It is because of you that we are able to take meaningful steps toward restoring this remarkable landmark and making its story part of our shared future.