Repositioning the historic Schweikher House

Upon its com­ple­tion in 1938, the house was as a sim­ple and mod­est assem­blage of 2,400 sq ft. In essence it is a three-room open plan struc­ture with beau­ti­ful spaces for liv­ing, sleep­ing, and working. Located on a farm field on the rural edge of Chicago’s urban energy in what was then the town of Roselle (later to become part of Schaum­burg), the house staked its own dis­tinc­tive posi­tion in the world of Prairie School evo­lu­tion and Inter­na­tional Mod­ernism. The Schweikher House is the only listing on the National Register of Historic Places in Schaumburg, Illinois.

This project was created and produced by Segura and MAS Context. It is part of an ongoing effort by MAS Context to support preservation efforts that involves essays, lectures, and other types of public events. Some of them include essays on midcentury public schools in New Orleans, Goldberg’s Prentice Women’s Hospital in Chicago, Sert’s Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School in Cambridge, and Fisac’s Pagoda in Madrid; lectures on Brutalist buildings in Boston, and modernist buildings in Mexico City; the US premiere and international digital premiere of Starship Chicago; and public events commemorating the 90th anniversary of architectural photographer and historical preservationist Richard Nickel.