While DWG represents Eisenman’s legacy of 2D line work, contemporary software like Revit or ArchiCAD struggles with House VI. Why? Because House VI is a diagram . BIM wants all walls to be vertical and structural elements to be continuous. Eisenman’s columns float; his floors slide.
House VI, commissioned by Richard and Patricia Ware, was designed as a weekend retreat. The project marked a significant turning point in Eisenman's career, as it showcased his ability to merge conceptual rigor with practical application. The house is situated on a 14-acre site in Cornwall, Connecticut, and features a total living area of approximately 2,400 square feet. peter eisenman house vi dwg
. These drawings are typically available for preview on their site and include comprehensive plans and elevations. While DWG represents Eisenman’s legacy of 2D line
If you cannot find a DWG, you can trace Eisenman’s original drawings from his book "Houses of Cards" (1987). Scan the diagrams at 300 DPI, import them into AutoCAD, scale them using a known dimension (the column grid is 5x5 meters), and trace. This is time-consuming but deeply educational. BIM wants all walls to be vertical and
Before opening a DWG file, one must understand the ideology behind the lines. Eisenman, a member of the "New York Five," rejected functionalism ("Form follows function") in favor of formalism ("Form follows form").
If you are converting the into a BIM model, you must create "Ghost" structural families and override system families. The lesson? Eisenman’s house is a critique of the very logic that BIM software enforces. Using the DWG is an act of architectural resistance.
In the DWG, zoom to coordinate X: 24’-0”, Y: 16’-0” . Notice the column is rotated 45 degrees relative to the grid, yet it supports a horizontal beam. The dimension line shows a 4-inch gap between the top of the column and the bottom of the beam. That is not a construction error; it is the drawing's thesis.