American Dream

_Words and Fashion Kathryn Neale
Photography Jason Grank Rothenburg

Architect Philip Johnson was one of the defining forces in American modernist architecture. Now his Glass House, an architectural icon for more than 50 years, will be preserved to inspire future generations.

In 1949 Philip Johnson received his Masters degree in Architecture from Harvard University. For his thesis, he designed and subsequently built his dream house, inspired by Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe’s Farnsworth House. The Glass House, as he entitled it, catapulted forward the modernist movement in post-war America.

When he built the Glass House at the age of 36, Phillip Johnson had already achieved success as a critic and a historian. Three years on, he went on to become the first director of the Department of Architecture at the Museum of Modern Art, fast tracking his career and world renown. Set in the woody enclave of New Canaan in the lush, eastern state of Connecticut, the Glass House is but one of 12 individual structures on Johnson’s sprawling estate, each designed and overseen by the man himself. The house itself is shrouded in trees and retains a sense of privacy. Contrary to what you might expect, once inside you don’t feel overly exposed. Rather, you feel nestled and sheltered from the elements so at hand.

At first glance, the building seems too extreme in its minimalism to have ever made a comfortable home. Paul Heyer, the author of American Architecture: Ideas and Ideologies in the Late Twentieth Century, called it “one of the world’s most beautiful yet least functional houses.” However the fact that the architect used it as his sole residence for the final decade of his life seems to contradict early criticisms. Indeed, after spending time in the one large room, you come to appreciate the subtle nuances that would have made it such a haven.

“The house is, as the name suggests, a rectangle of glass and steel, the only solid structure on the inside being a circular chimney built of brick. On one half of the circle lies an open fireplace; the other half is the backdrop for a shower and a toilet. The kitchen area consists of one long, walnut cabinet. The usual eyesores of sink and stovetop are tucked away neatly in the kitchen version of a Murphy Bed. The furniture that Johnson chose at the house’s inception remains today, including the famous Mies van der Rohe Barcelona living room set.

The back of the house opens to a sweeping view of a valley below. At the foot of the rolling bank lies a pond that in turn houses a structure that looks like an arbor stretched out to the size of a maze. From a distance, it appears castle-like and grandiose but as you approach you discover it is actually sized more for children. Johnson’s knack of playing with perspective gives everything a slightly magical feel. The illusory ‘Alice in Wonderland’ sensation you get at the pond’s edge truly pervades the estate.

Johnson had plans to turn his property into a museum after his death and the last structure he built was to be the visitor’s centre. A small but formidable bunker of a building, he affectionately called it ‘Tha Monsta’. Other buildings on the grounds include a library that looks a little like a pod and a separate house situated across the road that he used for watching television.

It’s fitting that the person who designed the original sculpture garden for New York’s Museum of Modern Art would be inspired enough to build one for himself. And the one on the Johnson estate is definitely one of the most striking buildings on the property. It boasts a glass ceiling of graphic panels that throw dramatic shadows across the room. A large conservatory separated by stairwells and hidden crevices, it is also home to some fabulous pieces of art. Until the property opens as a museum in April 2007 though, the hawks overhead remain the only ones with a view.

It wasn’t always that way. Some of the greatest artists of a generation stayed at the property, including Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, Frank Stella and Julian Schnabel. For all of them, it seems the property was more than a workshop. It was their playground. The castle on the pond was used for naked sunbathing and one can easily imagine Johnson turning on the fountain in the middle of the pond to set the scene for a fabulous party.

The guesthouse, rather smugly referred to as ‘Andy’s house,’ is the ultimate place to recover from an over-indulgent time. This rectangular room is made entirely of brick, in solemn contrast to The Glass House. It has three circular windows on the back wall, although once inside the bedroom, the wallpapered sliding screens can be moved to cover the windows creating a blackout effect. It could almost be said to feel like a large coffin, a feeling enhanced by the plush carpet and intense paisley print walls.

Johnson defined a moment in 1932 when he organized a show at the Museum of Modern Art called International Style. The show helped introduce modern European architects such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier to America. Throughout his life Johnson continued to seek out new voices in architecture and in 1988 he organized the show Deconstructivist Architecture, featuring the architects Frank Gehry, Peter Eisenman, Zaha Hadid, Rem Koolhaas and Daniel Libeskind. In 1979 he was recognized for his contribution to architecture when he won the first Pritzker Architecture Prize in recognition of 50 years of imagination and vitality embodied in a myriad of museums, theaters, libraries, houses, gardens and corporate structures.

Johnson and his long time partner, David Whitney, were patrons of and collaborated with the major voices of their generation. Johnson had a longstanding relationship with the Modern Museum of Art and was on the team that redesigned the architecture wing, which was then named after him. A longstanding member of the board, he became the second largest individual contributor when he donated about half of his private collection, shortly before his death. Among this collection were Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe and Jasper Johns’ American Flag. As an architect, Johnson has left a legacy that will stand and speak for itself for many more years. As a patron of design and art, his influence is less visible, but will last even longer.