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Architects and non-architects alike sent their boldest ideas on how they would revive the Philip Johnson-designed [New York State Pavilion] into a contemporary public space.
From a burger museum to a Metro station to variations of botanical gardens, after reviewing over 250 submissions the jury awarded the coveted first prize to “Hanging Meadows” by Aidan Doyle and Sarah Wan of Seattle.
— Bustler
The results are out for the New York State Pavilion Ideas Competition! As expected, the open ideas competition attracted an interesting mix of submissions envisioning how the New York World's Fair icon should be repurposed. Here's a glimpse of the top three prize winners.1ST PLACE: Hanging... View full entry
Mr. Rosen would not mind getting a little credit for maintaining the 59-year-old building, a landmark inside and outside, designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson. With its rich materials and exquisite detailing, the building demands scrupulous attention. And money.
RFR executives estimated that it cost about 20 percent more to maintain the seemingly spartan Seagram Building than it would a typical office tower of roughly the same size and age. Less is more.
— nytimes.com
Related stories in the Archinect news:Iconic furniture, art, tableware and even a sausage grinder: hundreds of lots from Philip Johnson's Four Seasons head to auctionModernist treasures from Philip Johnson's iconic Four Seasons Restaurant headed for auctionLandmarked Four Seasons restaurant must... View full entry
If you've got a few thousand dollars lying around and want to grab a piece of lunchroom history, now's your chance.Perfectly summed up by Vanity Fair as “Absolute ground zero for power lunching”, Philip Johnson and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's iconic Four Seasons restaurant will end its lease... View full entry
The question still holds: What does the future entail for Philip Johnson's New York State Pavilion? Following the 1964-65 World's Fair, the elliptical “Tent of Tomorrow” lived shortly as a concert venue and a roller-skating rink before it eventually slipped into abandonment. But, the aging... View full entry
Architecture writer and historian Hugh Howard has written many books on American architecture, telling stories that meld design and cultural history together in highly accessible and humanistic ways.His latest book, Architecture's Odd Couple: Frank Lloyd Wright and Philip Johnson, tracks the... View full entry
Now that the iconic restaurant’s impending demise is only weeks away, its furniture, tableware, and custom-made Knoll furniture will be included in the 500 lots headed for auction next month on July 26. News had surfaced last summer when Seagram Building owner Aby Rosen did not renew the lease for the quintessential Midtown “power lunch” spot for the last decades of the 20th century since it opened in 1959. — 6sqft.com
Additional background on this news can be found here: Landmarked Four Seasons restaurant must not be changed, NYC landmarks commission rules View full entry
Johnson returned home certain his life had been transformed. He found in Nazism a new international ideal. The aesthetic power and exaltation he experienced in viewing modernist architecture found its complete national expression in the Hitler-centered Fascist movement. Here was a way not merely to rebuild cities with a unified and monumental aesthetic vision for the Machine Age but to spur a rebirth of mankind itself. He had never expressed any interest in politics before. That had now changed. — Vanity Fair
"Over the next two years, Johnson moved back and forth between Europe and New York City. At home, he mounted shows and promoted modernist artists whose works he considered the best of the new. All the while, he kept an eye on the Nazis as they consolidated power. He had slept with his share of men... View full entry
Naturally paired, but too quickly equated. Photographer Robin Hill takes on the iconic and somewhat contending Farnsworth House and Glass House in his photo series, "Side by Side: The Glass Houses of Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson". With eighteen magazine-ready spreads, Hill matches shots of... View full entry
During the [1964-65 World's Fair], the elliptical Tent of Tomorrow was used as a versatile performance space...But not much has been done to preserve the structure since the fair ended in 1965...At the moment, there are no formal proposals, and ['Modern Ruin' film director Matthew Silva] admits it’ll be hard to raise funds without one. But he hopes the film, as well as his advocacy group, will get people thinking about what can be done. — New York Magazine
Related:The NY Mets Are Trying to Save the 'Tent of Tomorrow'Vandals break into the historic New York State Pavilion and set fire to a stolen van, damaging the 50-year-old terrazzo map"Modern Ruin" documents the rise, fall, and revival efforts of historic New York State PavilionKickstart this!... View full entry
The interior of the Four Seasons restaurant, a vision of Modernist elegance with its French walnut paneling and white marble pool of bubbling water, should not be changed, New York City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission decided [...].
The decision was a setback to Aby J. Rosen, the owner of the Seagram Building, which is home to the restaurant. Mr. Rosen had proposed what he characterized as minor changes to the interior that was designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson in 1958.
— nytimes.com
Phyllis Lambert — part of the group of architects passionately opposing Rosen's revamp plans and personally interwoven with the history of the Seagram Building like no one else — penned this Op-Ed in the New York Times last week: Save New York's Four Seasons. View full entry
"Come as you are in the family car" — Robert H. Schuller
"ARTESIA, Calif. (AP) — The Rev. Robert H. Schuller, a California televangelist and author who beamed his upbeat messages on faith and redemption to millions of followers from his landmarkCrystal Cathedral only to see his empire crumble in his waning years, has died. He was 88."The Rev... View full entry
The rest of the buildings came naturally, if gradually. The idea of having a slew of small houses for different activities, moods and seasons, complemented by decorative 'follies,' was Johnson’s conception for the site from early on. He called it a 'diary of an eccentric architect," but it was also a sketchbook, an homage to architects past and present — NYT - T Magazine
Alexandra Lange explores the 49 acre grounds and architectural neighbors of Glass House. Ranging from; the "bunkerlike Brick House" and "postmodern Library" to the more historic structures of Calluna Farms and Grainger. View full entry
With change in Queens arriving rapidly, the Mets can preserve a piece of team history—and public good will—by helping to restore a part of the World's Fair from 50 years ago. — CityLab
Vandals broke into the historic New York State Pavilion last weekend, setting a stolen van on fire and damaging a piece of its deteriorating terrazzo map, park watchdogs said.
The shocking mayhem in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park was heartbreaking for volunteers who have been working for years to spruce up the aging 1964 World’s Fair relic.
— nydailynews.com
Philip Johnson lovers rejoice! It was just announced that the city will put aside $5.8 million to restore the dilapidated crown jewel of the 1964-65 World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Funding for the restoration of the “Tent of Tomorrow” came via Mayor Bill de Blasio, who contributed $4.2 million to the project, while the rest was provided by City Council and Borough President Melinda Katz... Efforts to restore the project will begin soon, but a bumpy road lies ahead… — 6sqft
