Archinect - News

Christopher Hawthorne previews the restoration of Philip Johnson's Brick House ahead of May reopening

2024-04-29T11:49:00-04:00

The reopening returns a certain architectural equilibrium to Johnson’s estate. The original paired structures, said Kirsten Reoch, who was named executive director of the Glass House campus last summer, “are two parts of a whole. Neither was conceived without the other. So the idea that we’ve been showing and interpreting half the story, it kind of blows your mind.”

The Glass House is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year with a special Paper Log House installation from Shigeru Ban and other public programs through the end of December. Yale’s senior critic Christopher Hawthorne visits the New Canaan, Connecticut, campus for a preview and says, “Bringing visitors back to the Brick House, with its resolute insistence on privacy, is an opportunity to explore the relationship of its architecture to Johnson’s homosexuality,” as well as an opportunity to reexamine its designer’s fraught politics.

The restored Brick House (whose work was overseen by the National Trust’s Mark Stoner) reopens to the public this Thursday, May 2nd.

Shigeru Ban: The Paper Log House opens at The Glass House with the help of Cooper Union architecture students

2024-04-17T06:00:00-04:00

Archinect has received first photos of Shigeru Ban Architects’ new collaborative installation project with students from The Cooper Union Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture at The Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut.

A product of this semester’s Building Technology course, Shigeru Ban: The Paper Log House honors the 75th anniversary of one of America’s foremost examples of modernism with a special nine-month run that began this week, April 15th, and will run until December 15th.

Students from The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture at The Cooper Union cut and sort components for the Paper Log House’s top connector in the school workshop. Video still by Hudson Lines

Students slot preassembled sections of paper tube walls into crenelated base panels along the perimeter of the floor. Video still by Hudson Lines

Working together with a team from the Pritzker Prize winner’s New York office, a group of 39 students engaged in a two-day assembly process that created a 13.5 by 13.5-...

Shigeru Ban and the Cooper Union to exhibit Paper Log House at The Glass House's 75th anniversary

2024-02-05T19:37:00-05:00

Shigeru Ban Architects have announced a special project that will help commemorate the 75th anniversary of the realization of Philip Johnson’s soon-to-be restored Brick House, the smaller outbuilding included at the site of the landmarked Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut.

The firm made public its plans for a collaborative design-build with students from The Cooper Union Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture, via LinkedIn.

The project will be enacted on the Glass House grounds beginning April 15 and extending to the 15th of December of this year for public exhibition. On display will be the same Paper Log House prototype Ban and his Voluntary Architects’ Network have deployed recently in Turkey, Morocco, Japan, and Ukraine. Ban says his team will work with a group of 36 students to realize the prototype, marking its first North American installation in six years.

Johnson of cou...

Snøhetta completes ‘revitalized’ garden at 550 Madison Avenue in New York

2022-11-29T11:10:00-05:00

The Snøhetta-designed public garden at 550 Madison Avenue in Manhattan has opened, completing one step of the extensive remodelling of the former AT&T Building at the same address. Developed with Olayan Group, the half-acre garden is described by the team as “the first new green space in Midtown in decades."

Photograph credit: Barrett Doherty

Known simply as the ‘Garden,’ the 21,300-square-foot green space is located adjacent to the former AT&T office tower, in the location of a formerly enclosed mid-block passageway. The area, open to the public, holds 48 trees, 200 shrubs, 6,300 bulb plants, and 10,000 herbaceous understory plants, as well as public restrooms and three kiosks with food and beverage outlets.

Photograph credit: Barrett Doherty

The Garden is centered around a “tranquil” water feature, and comprises five sections which are themselves anchored by different structures. Distinct “upland,” “lowland,” and “sheltered” garden sections contain a mixture of trees and shrubs, wh...

Cooper Robertson tapped to lead major downtown Utica redevelopment project

2022-01-19T16:55:00-05:00

An important but underutilized piece of the cultural fabric of Upstate New York is getting a makeover thanks to a new master plan for Utica’s Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute from Cooper Robertson.

The 103-year-old institute’s campus features a Pratt-affiliated school, performance center, and centerpiece International Style art museum designed by Philip Johnson in 1960. The master plan will address space issues within the existing campus buildings in addition to authoring changes that will aid the institute in its expanded effort to offer itself to the surrounding community as an enhanced public resource.

"This project will be about making the entire Munson-Williams environment into a more welcoming destination,” Cooper Robertson's Mike Aziz said in a statement. “We see so many opportunities for the campus to open up, embrace a broader community, and strengthen its role as an anchor for the neighborhood, the city, and the region.”

The project will also include the constructi...

MoMA agrees to temporarily cover Philip Johnson's name with Black Reconstruction Collective artwork

2021-03-02T13:59:00-05:00

The debate over Philip Johnson's past and ongoing legacy continues: after The ---- Johnson Study Group published an open letter calling for all institutions to remove the name of Philip Johnson from "every leadership title, public space, and honorific of any form" in response to the architect's documented Fascist past and support of white supremacy, the Museum of Modern Art, where he was the Director at the Department of Architecture, has now agreed to temporarily cover up Johnson’s name during the run of its current exhibition Reconstructions: Architecture and Blackness in America.

A 10-by-10 foot denim textile piece created collaboratively by the nonprofit Black Reconstruction Collective (BRC) and printed with the group's "Manifesting Statement" will greet visitors at the exhibition entrance, blocking the museum's permanent gallery signage.

Previously on Archinect: Creative community issues a call to remove Philip Johnson's name because of his fascist past

"We accepted their exhib...

Sarah Whiting, Dean at Harvard GSD, responds to call for removal of Philip Johnson's name

2020-12-07T14:24:00-05:00

Following a letter released November 27, 2020 by The ---- Johnson Study Group calling for all institutions to remove the name of Philip Johnson from "every leadership title, public space, and honorific of any form," Sarah Whiting, Dean and Josep Lluís Sert Professor of Architecture at the Harvard GSD responded on December 5, 2020.

Aerial photo of the unofficially-titled "Philip Johnson Thesis House," to be renamed "9 Ash Street." Photo by Iwan Baan (more photos here)

In the letter Whiting expresses support of The Johnson Group's request, and acknowledges that Johnson's Thesis house be called "9 Ash Street" going forward.

See the full transcription of the letter below:

December 5, 2020

Subject: Letter to MoMA and the GSD

Dear Mitch and the other members of the Johnson Study Group:

Thank you for this note, which I take very seriously–both as the dean of the GSD and as a designer. Philip Johnson’s global influence in architecture in the 20th century and his grip on the field even now, ...

Creative community issues a call to remove Philip Johnson's name because of his fascist past

2020-12-03T18:00:00-05:00

The ---- Johnson Study Group, an online organization "studying the legacy of a 20th century white supremacist [Philip Johnson] who founded the most significant modern architectural institutions in the United States" has released the following letter calling for all institutions to remove the name Philip Johnson from any reference of honor.

The letter specifically cites the Museum of Modern Art, where Johnson was the director at the Department of Architecture from 1930-1936 and 1946-1954. The letter mentions Johnson used his office at MoMA and his curatorial work as a pretense to collaborate with the German Nazi party.

According to this Twitter thread, the form will eventually be opened up for additional signatures. Follow the The ---- Johnson Study Group on Instagram to stay updated.

Gerald D. Hines, developer of iconic Houston skyscrapers, has died

2020-08-25T13:37:00-04:00

Real estate magnate Gerald D. Hines, the developer behind many of America's most iconic skyscrapers from the late-20th century, has passed away at age 95.

Hines is perhaps best known as the backer for many of downtown Houston's skyline-altering developments, including SOM's One Shell Plaza, Johnson Burgee's Penzoil Place, and I. M. Pei & Partners's JP Morgan Chase towers, among many others. His projects can be found all over the world, including in New York City, San Francisco, China, Spain, and other locales. Hines's work with the Johnson Burgee firm, however, stands out the most, with many of the firm's most well-known projects coming out of their work for Hines.

Bank of America Center in Houston, one of the many projects developed by Hines. Image courtesy of Anders Lagerås.

Characterized by Paul Goldberger as the "un-Trump" in a 2015 interview with The Houston Chronicle, Hines is remembered as a detail-oriented developer who, by some accounts, helped launch the contemporary idea ...

Mansard roof-topped Johnson / Burgee tower in Dallas is for sale

2020-07-29T14:49:00-04:00

A 1.1 million-square-foot office tower complex designed by Johnson / Burgee is currently for sale in Dallas, Texas.

Organized as a trio of conjoined 19-story towers topped with mansard roofs and connected by arch-topped skywalks, the office complex rises behind a low-rise hotel designed in a matching style by the architects. Only the office portion of the complex is for sale, The Dallas Morning News reports. According to the newspaper, the Crescent office complex, as the development is known, was recently renovated and was the largest development project in Dallas history when it was built during the 1980s.

Estimates for the property, which is owned by JP Morgan Asset Management, indicate that it could be worth more than $700 million.

Pavilion inspired by Philip Johnson's Glass House rises in Montréal

2020-05-28T13:08:00-04:00

Inspired by Philip Johnson's Glass House and the Ben Rose House from Ferris Bueller's Day Off, a glass-clad pavilion recently completed by Maurice Martel Architecte sits as a tribute to modern architecture in Montréal.

Photos by Adrien Williams.

Complete with a four-season, indoor swimming pool and planted within an expansive, grassy site, this glass pavilion offers refuge for reflection, recreation, and rejuvenation.

Photos by Adrien Williams.

The perimeter glazing gives the flat roof a floating effect and the accompanying skylights offer an ample washing of natural light through the space.

Photos by Raphael Thibodeau.

Inside the pavilion, a core feature is the cylindrical bathroom, clad in red cedar panels, creating a contrast to the white mosaic of the interior.

Photos by Raphael Thibodeau.

Photo by Adrien Williams.

Restoration of Philip Johnson's New York State Pavilions in Queens is underway

2019-11-09T18:00:00-05:00

The iconic New York State Pavilion observation towers in Flushing, Queens are being restored. The New York City Parks Department broke ground on the project this week.

Designed by Philip Johnson and Lev Zetlin, the two flying saucer-topped observation towers as well as an adjacent pavilion will receive a $24 million upgrade that includes waterproofing for each structure's base, as well as exist stair replacements, electrical upgrades, and other conservation work, AM New York reports.

The structures were originally designed as temporary structures within a much larger installation for the 1964 World's Fair in the burough's Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Despite the costly restoration, the structures will not be made publicly accessible, according to Curbed.

The project is expected to be completed by March 2021.

New York State Pavilion's observation towers will soon shine in restored glory

2019-09-11T14:56:00-04:00

[...] the restoration on the observation towers of the New York State Pavilion is beginning soon. A project update on the Parks’ capital project tracker states that there is an estimated start date of September 2019, and that a date has been set for construction to begin, an update first noticed by the People for the Pavilion.

Untapped Cities reports that the restoration work of the three New York State Pavilion observation towers, designed by Philip Johnson, Richard Foster and structural engineer Lev Zetlin for the 1964 World’s Fair, will include "reconstruction of the stairways, replace deteriorated suspension cables at all the platform levels, repair deteriorated concrete, restore the floor finish on the plaza level, partial restoration of the historical lighting design, replace and repair electrical and drainage infrastructure."

Philip Johnson's Beck House in Dallas is listed at $19.5M

2019-07-05T17:05:00-04:00

Just North of Dallas' city center lies a lesser known mansion designed in 1964 by infamous architect Philip Johnson. With six bedrooms and seven full bathrooms, this 11,387 square foot home in Preston Hollow, known as Beck House, is the architect's largest home design.

Recreation Room.

Gallery Room.

At first glance, the building appears less like a residence than a museum, office or opera house design, as its design clearly leans on lessons learned from his design for The David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center (formerly The New York State Theater), which was completed in the same year, and other public building designs completed by his firm. The home is distinguished by several colonnades, a sprawling library and a palatial double-staircase in a gallery room.

Dining Room.

According to the listing, the home sits on 7 acres which include "a media house, modernist cabana, pool and tennis court." The home is for sale at $19,500,000.

Main Home from garden.

Cabana.

Snøhetta's updated AT&T Building redesign gets Landmarks Preservation Commission approval

2019-02-13T13:38:00-05:00

The city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission paved the way for Snøhetta to partially redesign Philip Johnson’s Postmodern skyscraper at 550 Madison Avenue Tuesday with a vote backing the contested plan. [...] The biggest change to the property, which was granted landmark status in July 2018, is the privately-owned public space (POPS) at the ground level.

Image: Snøhetta

Snøhetta's original proposal to renovate the, now landmark-protected, 1984 icon of Postmodernism at 550 Madison Avenue was met with fierce opposition from architects, preservationists, and critics.

An updated design that incorporated much of the feedback was released a few months later in December 2018.

Image: Snøhetta

The Man in the Glass House: new Philip Johnson biography traces the architect's Fascist past

2018-12-17T18:37:00-05:00

In “The Man in the Glass House,” Mark Lamster’s brisk, clear-eyed new biography of Johnson, we are asked to contemplate why the impresario of twentieth-century architecture descended into such a morass of far-right politics—and how, given the depths to which he fell, he managed to clamber his way not just out of it, but to the top. [...] Johnson managed to abjure his past and, on the march toward an exceptionally successful career, leave it behind.

The New Yorker reviews the new Philip Johnson biography, The Man in the Glass House by architecture critic and professor Mark Lamster, and examines how Johnson eagerly embraced Fascism before WWII and still rose to great fame as America's iconic 20th-century architect.

"Indeed, it is difficult to think of an American as successful as Johnson who indulged a love for Fascism as ardently and as openly," writes Nikil Saval in his The New Yorker piece. "His design for Father Coughlin’s rally had been inspired by his tours of Italian Fascist architecture—though the white stage was drywall, it was meant to look like marble—and, critically, by the 'febrile excitement' that attended his visit to a National Socialist youth event in Potsdam, in 1932."

Check out Snøhetta's updated AT&T Building renovation proposal

2018-12-13T13:53:00-05:00

A year after Snøhetta’s first attempt at renovating Olayan America and Chelsfield’s office tower at 550 Madison Avenue ended in controversy and eventual landmarking, the architects are hoping their second attempt will be smoother.

"The new proposal unveiled Tuesday features three stories of retail at the ground level and a new opening in the rear facade to allow sight lines from Madison Avenue into a new open-air garden that will replace the currently enclosed galleria," reports The Real Deal about Snøhetta's reworked approach after last year's initial proposal to renovate the Philip Johnson and John Burgee-designed 550 Madison Avenue tower—formerly known as the AT&T Building, a 1984 icon of Postmodernism—ignited a passionate debate among architects, preservationists, and critics. The building was ultimately granted landmark protection in July 2018.

Image: Snøhetta

"Snøhetta’s design for the rear of the building (west side) would provide the community with a vibrant green space that will be 50% larger than the current public space," reads a project statement on the architects' website.

Image: Snøhetta

"Snøhetta’s updated design will preserve and revitalize the landmark tower, undo past renovations that compromi...

Philip Johnson + John Burgee's AT&T Building is now a designated landmark

2018-08-02T14:20:00-04:00

The designation protects the exterior of the building, including the facades of the office tower, annex, and enclosed covered passageway, and notably preserving its rose Stony Creek granite cladding and the broken pediment at its crown. Going forward, any proposed alterations to the exterior will require approval and permitting by the [NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission].

It's official. The AT&T Building is now a designated landmark. Late last year, Snøhetta's plans to redesign the historic building sparked months of heated debate among architects, preservationists, and critics.

Three famous modernist houses set the stage in this video art exhibition

2018-06-29T17:57:00-04:00

At Pioneer Works, in Brooklyn, the show “Gerard & Kelly: Clockwork” — photographs, text, installations, and live and filmed dance — references the three small structures and the intertwined careers of their architects: the Schindler House in West Hollywood, Calif., by R. M. Schindler; Philip Johnson’s Glass House in New Canaan, Conn.; and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House in Plano, Ill.

Artists Brennan Gerard and Ryan Kelly's film Schindler/Glass uses three iconic modernist houses as the backdrop in which issues of gendered space and domestic intimacy are explored. The video piece is part of an ongoing series by the artists called “Modern Living". Shot on site at the Schindler House, the Glass House, and the Farnsworth House, performers interact with the complicated architectural histories in each structure.

A new ceiling for Philip Johnson's iconic The Glass House

2018-04-30T15:07:00-04:00

The scope of the project included the replacement of the entire plaster ceiling, metal lath, and fasteners. The ceiling replacement began on December 1, 2017 and took approximately three months to complete. The project team included EverGreene Architectural Arts, Silman Structural Engineers, Glass House staff and Ashley Wilson AIA, ASID, Graham Gund Architect of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

To see the new ceiling in person, make plans to visit this summer as The Glass House re-opens May 2018.

Ceiling replacement complete. Photo by Michael Biondo

Despite pending landmark status, demolition to the AT&T Building's lobby has begun

2018-01-09T12:55:00-05:00

The Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) has approved interior demolition of the lobby at Philip Johnson and John Burgee’s postmodern tower at 550 Madison Avenue. Though the 1984 tower is up for landmark consideration, the designation would only protect the facade, not the interior. Department of Buildings (DOB) records show demo plans received LPC staff approval on December 15 and permits were issued that same day.

Philip Johnson's AT&T Building up for consideration as designated landmark

2017-11-27T17:15:00-05:00

Tomorrow, Nov. 28, NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission will vote to consider calendaring Philip Johnson's AT&T Building for a landmark designation hearing. 550 Madison Avenue, formerly known as the AT&T Building or the Sony Tower, is an iconic postmodern skyscraper located in Manhattan. Upon succeeding in this first round of voting, a public hearing will follow at a later date.

Norman Foster vs. Snøhetta — a battle over Postmodernism

2017-11-10T15:04:00-05:00

A week to the day in which Norwegian design firm Snøhetta released their ambitious designs to modernize Phillip Johnson's Postmodern icon — the AT&T building in New York — Norman Foster has come out and added his name and gravity in support of the building protests against the proposed modifications.

In a short, precise and two-edged statement posted on Instagram no less, Norman Foster defends the project, not for its importance to him, or his interests per se but to Architecture's heritage at large — one that would be potentially soiled with Snøhetta's revamp.

Norman Foster Instagram

‘I was never sympathetic to the short-lived Postmodern movement – and this building in particular. However, it is an important part of our heritage and should be respected as such.'

While no one would declare the building a masterpiece through and through, it has always stood as more than a building, it has come to signify so much more. Johnson's design radically shifted our view of Architecture; it t...

The architectural community responds to Snøhetta's proposed update to Johnson's AT&T building

2017-11-01T15:17:00-04:00

The news of Snøhetta's renovation of Philip Johnson's iconic postmodern AT&T Building has the architectural world abuzz, with many lamenting the controversial overhaul. There is a petition going around to give the building landmark status—only recently made possible due to the structure's age—in an attempt to save the building's signature base from the proposed glass-curtain treatment. There is also a protest that has been scheduled for this Friday, more details on which can be found here.

Beyond organizing action, many have also taken to twitter to offer up their opinions on the new design met with mixed reviews, both in particular and in principle. Below are some of the responses.

In our own comment sections regarding the plans, Archinect readers had this to say:

"WTF Snohetta" –Koww

"It’s not hard to give the building a respectful upgrade—brighten up the windows and lighting which are dark and obstructed now (can do the same with the nice interior space). Not sure wh...

Philip Johnson's iconic postmodern AT&T Building is getting a makeover from Snøhetta

2017-10-30T16:57:00-04:00

Philip Johnson and John Burgee's 1984 AT&T Building, for many, signaled the arrival of Postmodernism onto the world scene. Now known as the Sony Tower, the 37-story skyscraper's deployment of historicity contradicted the glass and metal modernism of its neighbors, signaling a new architectural era that landed it on the front page of the New York Times, and it's architect, Philip Johnson, onto the cover of Time.

After housing one of world's largest companies for decades, AT&T, facing financial troubles, sold the building in 2002 to Sony who once again, sold the building to the real-estate developer Chetrit group in 2013. After deserting plans to convert the office tower into luxury condos and a hotel, Chetrit group sold the tower to Olayan America in 2016, who has since tapped international firm Snøhetta for the building's renovation.

The building has never been designated as a landmark, and whether or not it shou...

Gregory Ain, once "the most dangerous architect in America," and the mysterious fate of his MoMA exhibition house

2017-08-11T15:36:00-04:00

Gregory Ain, a midcentury champion of modern architecture whose students included Frank Gehry, is virtually unknown outside Los Angeles today. His left-leaning politics made him the object of decades-long F.B.I. surveillance [...] Even the fate of his most important commission — an exhibition house in the garden of the Museum of Modern Art — is a mystery. That house is now the subject of “This Future Has a Past,” an installation at the Center for Architecture in Greenwich Village.

This Future Has a Past opened in July at the Center for Architecture in New York and still runs through September 12. The accompanying event Who Was Gregory Ain? on September 7 will feature the installation's producers, Katherine Lambert and Christiane Robbins, as well as other speakers.

Philip Johnson's New York State Pavilion will get a $14.25M renovation

2017-05-01T10:47:00-04:00

The iconic NY State Pavilion in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park is set to undergo a $14.25M renovation funded by [NYC]. Repairs will begin next spring, which will include some structural conservation work and electrical and architectural improvements. The pavilion, which was originally designed for the 1964 World’s Fair by Philip Johnson and Lev Zetlin, has been ignored for the past few decades, largely in part because of the city’s failure to find the money for repairs.

A new era for an architectural icon is just over the horizon.

The Booth House, Philip Johnson's first constructed commission, now up for sale

2017-04-17T17:35:00-04:00

Built in 1946 in Bedford, New York, the 1450 sq. ft. Booth House was Philip Johnson’s first constructed commission. In 1955, photographer Robert Damora and his wife, the architect Sirkka Damora, moved in, intending for it to serve as temporary housing until they could build a home of their own design. After falling in love with the spare design, they stayed—until now. At age 93, Sirkka Damora is unable to manage the home physically or support it financially. The Booth House has been put up for sale and Damora is on the hunt for a new owner respectful of the value of the design.

The Booth House is similar to the Glass House in many ways. It’s built on a wide, grass-covered podium and features a large central fireplace as well as lots of glass. Unlike the Glass House, the Booth house has private rooms as well as generous storage. The Damora family were respectful of the original design even as their family grew. So they expanded by adding a subterranean lower level. They also built a s...

Visiting Philip Johnson's other glass house in midtown Manhattan

2017-03-28T14:16:00-04:00

Walk through the towering door now, and Midtown falls away. The transition is not abrupt; a visitor is met first with a bank of wooden cupboards, easing newcomers off the street and into the vastness of the house itself. Then, space. The main room provides an unimpeded vista through 100 feet of natural-lit openness, a glass wall, a courtyard and pond, and a small separate structure beyond. The effect — of muted light, of air, of cleanness — is moving.

Fresh from her daily column at The Paris Review, Sadie Stein visits a Philip Johnson-designed apartment/artistic showcase in midtown Manhattan known as the "Rockfeller Guest House."

Combining a rich historical narrative with some evocatively observed design, this piece is, as befits its author, a delightful and engaging read (and the photos aren't bad, either).

Philip Johnson-designed Interfaith Peace Chapel vandalized in Dallas

2017-01-09T21:13:00-05:00

Dallas police were at Cathedral of Hope [...] investigating graffiti painted onto the church’s Interfaith Peace Chapel. The building was vandalized at about 11 p.m. on Wednesday night, according to the Rev. Neil Cazares-Thomas, CoH’s lead pastor. [...] The spray-painted message included a Louisiana phone number and referred to a car as a “Brown Chivy Suburbin.” The name “Johntion Kimbrou” — possibly “Kimbrow” — was also painted on the church, along with a reference to “kitty porn.”

Image via Dallas Voice