Though the concept of sustainability wasn’t commonplace when Frank Lloyd Wright was alive, had he lived in the 21st century, it’s likely he would have been a considerable proponent of greener, more eco-friendly architecture. After all, he considered nature his god and often spelled it with a capital N. The recently listed Oscar B. Balch house in Oak Park, Illinois, offers a glimpse at what this could’ve looked like and features a number of climate-conscious additions added by its most recent steward.
On the market for just under $1.5 million, the prairie-style home was completed in 1911 and designed for its namesake, Oscar B. Balch, a partner at the decorating firm Pebble and Balch. According to the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust, Wright was first hired to remodel the firm’s storefront in 1907 and later commissioned by Balch privately. Defined by an angular stucco façade and art glass windows with wood mullions, the home was among the first of Wright’s to feature a flat roof.
In 2016, Samantha Lotti purchased the home and undertook a number of renovations to make the property more climate-friendly. “I saw this house as an opportunity to explore making these older houses more sustainable,” she told Crain’s Chicago Business. Among her updates were a geothermal heating and cooling system, installed additional insulation below the roof, and had custom storm windows designed and placed inside the original art glass windows. She also wired the roof for solar panels but didn’t install the system. Her goal was to reduce the home’s carbon footprint to net-zero, and though she told The Wall Street Journal that it wasn’t possible to reduce it to this degree, the effort has still made a significant difference.
According to The Wall Street Journal, it cost around $800,000 to install these changes. After purchasing the home for $1.3, Lotti’s asking price is significantly less than the money she’s put into the residence. “I think we should do our heart’s projects,” she told Crain’s. The Winslow House also located in Oak Park shares a similar story: It, too, was recently listed with an asking price less than the owner’s investment.
