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Philip Johnson is one of the giants in the history of modern American architecture. His Glass House at 798-856 Ponus Ridge Road, New Canaan, Connecticut that was his personal residence for 58 years is considered one of the great monuments of modern architecture. The Glass House built in 1949 is widely considered to be Johnson's most important work and a masterpiece in the innovative use of glass. As both an architectural critic and designer, he was constantly at the leading edge of new styles of building and interpreting architecture and its place in the environment as an art. The Glass House blurs the distinction between outside and inside. It was built on the 1920's German architect's idea of "Glasarchitektur" - that in a house of glass, the landscape is the wallpaper. Johnson is once said to have commented, "I have very expensive wallpaper!" The structure is the epitome of minimalist structure highlighting the interplay of transparency and reflection. It measures 56 feet (17 m) long, 32 feet (9.8 m) wide and 10½ feet high with the exterior charcoal-painted steel and glass. The dining room, sleeping areas and kitchen were all situated in one glass-enclosed room that Johnson initially lived in with his lifelong partner David Whitney, an art critic and curator who designed the landscaping. Great care was given to the grading of the slopes and the landscaping of the Glass House's surroundings that's nestled on a rise of land overlooking a pond. Philip Johnson's Glass House is located on a 47 acre estate with 16 buildings that span his lifetime in New Canaan, Connecticut. Most of the property is screened from view from the road by a high stone wall and trees except for the dramatic red and black "Da Monsta" gatehouse that was built without right angles as a contemporary sculpture. Johnson built the gatehouse as future visitor's center and is one of the few structures visible from the road. The Glass House immediately gained widespread recognition for Johnson not only in architectural journals, but also in the mainstream media like Life Magazine and the New York Times. A police officer had to be stationed outside the New Canaan, Connecticut estate to help control the traffic jams. It became a rite of passage for Yale University architectural students to sneak onto the property at night and watch the Glass House until Johnson detected them and asked them to leave. Signs had to be posted explaining that the Glass House was only open to the public for viewing on specific days. The New York Times ran a series of cartoons about what life was like living in the Glass House. New York Times Critic Paul Goldberger wrote: "Taken together, the buildings on (Johnson's) estate at New Canaan are a remarkable group; far more than the ultimate expression of one man's personal taste, they represent an attempt to come to grips, over time, with a variety of notions of what architecture is. They are the result of an agile mind probing, refining, rethinking, from the glass house's explorations within the Miesian vocabulary and the ironic interplay of inside and outside... From inside, the carefully manicured landscape visible through the glass functions as an enclosure, and the ironic illusion is superb: The vistas tell the occupant he is open to the whole world, while in truth there is no world outside at all just an elegantly arranged landscape that is as much a part of the house as the furniture. The 'real world' toward which the walls of glass beckon is far away and invisible." Johnson was always forward looking and wanted to dedicate his estate as a public monument "with the aim of cementing his legacy". The house was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1997 and was the scene of Johnson's passing in 2005 at 98 years of age. With his death, Johnson passed ownership of the Glass House to the National Trust for Historic Preservation making Phllip Johnson's Glass House one of New Canaan, Connecticut's most important historic homes. For more information on the Glass House including stunning photos and tickets for tours please visit: philipjohnsonglasshouse.org Steven Penny author of Hiring The Best People writes on the best places in Connecticut to live. If you are looking for BHHS New England Properties please visit http://www.Bhhsneproperties.com
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Philip Johnson's Glass House, New Canaan CT Historic Homes, Connecticut Travel, New England Historic Places, New Canaan Real Estate,
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