ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY AND THEORY: MODERNITY AND MODERNISM

Architectural History and Theory: Modernity and Modernism

Architectural History and Theory: Modernity and Modernism

Introduction

The glass house designed by Philip Johnson has been called one of the world's most beautiful and yet least functional homes. Johnson did not envision it as a place to live so much as a stage... and a statement. The house is often cited as a model example of the International Style. (Yukio Futagawa, 2006, 623-78)

The basic concept for Johnson's glass house was borrowed from Mies van der Rohe, who was designing the glass-and-steel Farnsworth House during the same period. Unlike the Farnsworth House, however, Philip Johnson's home is symmetrical and sits solidly on the ground. The quarter-inch thick glass walls are supported by black steel pillars. The interior space is divided by low walnut cabinets and a brick cylinder that contains the bathroom. The cylinder and the brick floors are a polished purple hue. Philip Johnson used his house as a "viewing platform" to look out at the landscape. He often used the term "Glass House" to describe the entire 47-acre site. In addition to the Glass House, the site has ten buildings designed by Johnson at different periods of his career. Three other older structures were renovated by Philip Johnson and David Whitney, a renowned art collector, museum curator, and Johnson's long-time partner.

Explanation

Philip Johnson used the Glass House as his private residence, and many of his Bauhaus furnishings remain there. In 1986, Johnson donated the Glass House to the National Trust, but continued to live there until his death in 2005. The Glass House is now open to the public, with tours booked many months in advance (Yukio Futagawa, 2006, 623-78)

Oral histories are recorded on film, audio tape and with still photography to develop a rich multimedia resource that emerging talents in film and design will use in creating new work. The first phase of this project, completed in July, 2009, resulted in two short films: Architecture & Influence capturing leading voices in architecture and architectural history--Robert A.M. Stern, Charles Gwathmey, Michael Graves, Vincent Scully, Richard Rogers, Norman Foster, Richard Meier and Jaquelin T. Robertson--as they share memories and insights about Philip Johnson's leadership in architecture and the impact of the Glass House on their work and Frank Stella: Return to the Glass House, featuring artist Frank Stella exploring the site and sharing his memories as he revisits his work installed throughout the site. (Yukio Futagawa, 2006, 623-78)

Whether he was reshaping the look of corporate America with towering bent sheaths of steel and glass or defining a new epoch of intellectual architecture for the emerging young and affluent American public, Philip Johnson played an enormous role as a key educator and contributor to modernist ideology and concepts.But it is perhaps his own private residence, The Glass House, that has attracted the most interest. His iconic home shaped entirely from glass is one of the most celebrated examples of modern architecture in the world and, on June 23rd of this ...