by B.J. Novitski

What better to welcome visitors to a working 1890s farmstead than an exhibit hall suggesting traditional forms. With an economy reminiscent of 19th-century Illinois farm life, the Chicago firm of Teng & Associates, Inc. has designed a barn-like structure for Kline Creek Farm . The new visitors center has an outward appearance appropriate for the historic farm context, but on closer inspection it reveals modern construction techniques and sensibilities.

The 2,400-square-foot (220-square-meter) Kline Creek Farm Visitors Center near Winfield, Illinois is the first stop at the 1,100-acre (450-hectare) Timber Ridge Forest Preserve, managed by the Forest Preserve District of Dupage County. The structure serves to exhibit artifacts from Illinois' farming history, to welcome visitors, and to start them along the footpath that leads to the farm.

According to Thomas Hoepf, AIA, principal design architect of Teng & Associates, his team wanted to design a building with a character appropriate for the historic farm context, but with modern construction methods. And they wanted to maximize its architectural charm despite a limited budget ($325,000).   >>>

Teng & Associates, Inc. designed a barn-like structure for the visitors center for the Kline Creek Farm, which still operates as it did in the 1890s. Photo: Barbara Karant The building exhibits artifacts from Illinois' farming history. Photo: Barbara Karant   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.