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May 1, 2009
Deerpath Farm's Architect-Developer Wins Prestigious Award from AIA & Featured in Wall Street Journal
Lake Forest's Glade House a valuable national resource

Rick Phillips, FAIA, received a National Housing Award on May 1, 2009, from the American Institute of Architects for his Glade House located at 540 Green Bay Road in Lake Forest, Illinois. The AIA Housing Awards, which recognize the best in housing design, and emphasize the importance of good housing as a necessity of life, a sanctuary for the human spirit and a valuable national resource, were presented at the 2009 AIA National Convention and Expo in San Francisco. Phillips is the principal of Chicago architectural firm Frederick Phillips & Associates, and the architect-developer of Deerpath Farm, LLC, the award-winning conservation community just 30 miles north of Chicago in Mettawa, Illinois.

"Built in the historic district of Lake Forest, Illinois, and subject to strict municipal review, this house mediates between the common and the unexpected. In a community where large traditional houses prevail, this house seeks a return to simple agrarian forms, colors, and textures typical to the region, but lost long ago," states the AIA announcement. AIA Housing Awards Jury Chairman Kenneth Workman added, "These homes have been given awards because they challenge conventional notions of what shelter is."

The jury praised the Glade House: "Not every architect can design on an historic Olmstead site, in an historic district, and pull off a modern interpretation of an historic building with grace; this project and the architect deserve great accolades. The jury applauded the sympathetic approach to the vernacular farmhouse genre. The implied volume that the slender structural legs create is intriguing. [The] color palette is sympathetic to rural architecture - tones of gray."

Rick Phillips responded, "The Glade House was designed to take advantage of a beautiful outdoor space and provide a streamlined, luxurious, interior. The building pushes the envelope of tradition, yet remains firmly rooted in its historical context. The houses at Deerpath Farm are considerably more conservative, but also embrace their natural surroundings with ample windows and focused views."

The Wall Street Journal featured the Glade House on April 18, 2009: "Prize-Winning Residences: A look at the 10 winners of the American Institute of Architects' residential design awards". It is also featured in the books 1000x Architecture of the Americas (Braun, 2008) and Collection: U.S. Architecture (Braun, to be released early fall, 2009).

The Glade House - nicknamed "The Birdhouse" and "The Treehouse" by area residents - was designed and built by Phillips for his mother, long-time Lake Forest resident Katherine "Kay" Bennett, on the original Jones estate. This site has inspired three generations of well-known architects, and was first landscaped by Frederick Law Olmstead, the father of modern landscape architecture. Edward H. Bennett designed and built Bagatelle (the estate featured on the cover of the book Classic Country Estates of Lake Forest; W.W. Norton & Company, 2003) there for his wife Catherine Jones. Bennett co-authored the 1909 Plan of Chicago with Daniel Burnham, and consulted with Howard Van Doren Shaw on the planning of Lake Forest's Market Square. His architect son E. H. Bennett, Jr. (a founding member and Past President of the Lake Forest Preservation Society, and Phillip's stepfather), later transformed the Jones estate's stone barn (featured in the book Living Barns; Bonanza Books, 1984) into a modern home for his family. Rick Phillips said, "It has been a real honor to continue this legacy of architectural innovation in a location that holds such rich history for my family, Lake Forest and Chicago."

The general contractor for the Glade House was Tiedmann Enterprises of Lake Forest. The landscape architect was Stephen Christy, the former director of Lake Forest Open Lands Association.

In 2008 real estate agent Tracy Wurster introduced the Glade House to its current owner, Ingrid Biela, who said, "the moment we saw the Glade House, we knew it was something special. Although the house is modern, it is surprisingly very cozy. I never want to leave. I have told my husband Brian that this will be our last move." Wurster is now Deerpath Farm's exclusive listing agent with Prudential Preferred Properties. She remarked, "I'm so proud of Rick Phillips' accomplishment with the Glade House. Once he gave me the tour, I fell in love with this unique piece of real estate, and sincerely filled the role of matchmaker for the house and its buyer, who found it to be an exceptionally livable example of contemporary architecture in the American tradition. I'm also excited to introduce Deerpath Farm's more conservatively luxurious houses and generous open lands to those interested in living the country estate lifestyle just minutes from Market Square. Deerpath Farm has been the best kept secret in Lake County, but may not be for long."

Deerpath Farm is 42 homesites and 140 acres of protected native prairies, woods and wetlands which are maintained by Lake Forest Open Lands. Formerly a 200-acre dairy farm and country retreat owned by E. H. Bennett and his family, it now provides a showcase for the area's finest architects and homebuilders.

Frederick Phillips & Associates has provided site planning, architecture and interior design since 1976. Phillips received his Master of Architecture degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and briefly worked with the late architect Harry Weiss before forming his own Chicago firm in 1976. His work has received many awards and has been extensively published. Phillips currently lives at Deerpath Farm with his family in a house he designed which is featured in the book Dream Homes Chicago (2007, Panache).
AIA National Housing Awards

November 15, 2006

Deerpath Farm Wins Conservation Development of the Year
Award given to Rick Phillips, Deerpath Farm LLC; Mayor Barry MacLean, Village of Mettawa, and Don Fielding, Greengard, Inc. Engineering Consulting Firm

Deerpath Farm, a new conservation community in Mettawa, is the recipient of the first annual award for conservation development from the Lake County Stormwater Management Agency. The unique 200-acre land plan weaves forty-one acre homesites into140 acres of permanently protected open space that includes mature oak savannahs woodlands, restored prairies, and enhanced wetlands, creating more than just homesites, but rather a sense of place for its residents. These features tie in the most effective combination of stormwater management practices with open space to replicate and embellish the natural drainage system.

Deerpath Farm was thoughtfully planned and developed by the Edward H. Bennett family of Lake Forest, owners and stewards of the land for nearly 80 years. The Deerpath Farm Pattern Book guides the design of residential construction, and environmental disturbance is limited through careful placement of the houses on the homesites, which also benefit from individual conservation easements that protect the natural landscape. All public improvements, which include sewer and Lake Michigan water, were carefully installed within a 50' corridor to further limit destruction of the mature woodlands and meadows.

The Deerpath Farm conservation development benefits not only its future residents and the Village of Mettawa, but the Upper Des Plaines watershed as well. This award also recognizes other project team members, including Vince Mosca, Hey & Associates; Stephen Christy, Landscape Architect and Preserve Manager; Chuck Stewart, Urban Forest Management; Eve Lee of Frederick Phillips & Associates, planning and marketing consultant; Attorney George Covington; and Jack Tindall, Trustee for the Village of Mettawa.