Stay Inspired!

Dear Friends,

We live and work in a Glass House, so we won’t try to hide from you the importance of your support to the ongoing care for the buildings, fine art collections, and landscape! Your support enables us to bring you new and engaging content through programming both on site and online.

If you loved your tour of the Glass House, please support our on-going guide training and tour program development.

If you enjoyed Conversations in Context in person, or through the film series, please give to help us to do more in coming years.

If you enjoyed wandering the 47-acre landscape during Dine with Design, please help us keep it as beautiful for future visitors.

If you were wowed by the New Canaan High School students’ oral histories about some of the great modern architects and homes in our town of New Canaan, CT please support this work.

If you were impressed by the conservation work on the sculpture, Untitled, 1971 by Donald Judd and our comprehensive coverage of that work, please give to support future fine art conservation at the Glass House.

And if you discovered the amazing life, work and history of David Whitney through our exclusive online biography, please give to support this legacy.

The staff of the Glass House is busy planning many exciting programs, tours and online enhancements for the 2012 season. At the same time, we are grappling with the need to replace the roof of the Painting Gallery and, potentially, excavation of the Gallery’s walls to repair a leak and prevent water damage to the painting collection.

We can’t do it all without the support of our visitors and friends!

Please know that your gift will be used effectively and efficiently to support active preservation projects and educational programs at the Glass House.

We thank you for your interest in the Glass House, and for your generosity in a challenging year.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to all!

Sincerely,

Rena Zurofsky
Interim Executive Director

Filed under: Uncategorized, Donate, Glass House, Philip Jphnson Glass Hosue, Support

The “Dog Days” of Summer – Glass House Message from the Director

July 15, 2011

A recent article reminded me that these hot and sultry days are called the “dog days” of summer. Our minds slow and generally urge us to take a break. We hope, naturally, you will want to take that break with us, as a walk on the Glass House property does indeed seem like a beautiful vacation in only a few hours.

But it is dogs I want to talk about. David Whitney had two dogs, James and Alice. Johnson built them a “dog house” (which was really a model for an unbuilt project) that is now called the Ossuary because once the puppies grew they repurposed it for bone storage. One of the fourteen structures on our property, this is the only one with a “window” that gazes towards the Glass House. Look for it on your visit!

Filed under: Uncategorized, Animals, cat, chipmunks, coyotes, crows, Dog House, groundhogs, Keeshond, Message from the Director, Paint, Painting, Painting the Glass House, Philip Johnson Glass House, Philip Johnson's dogs, raptors, songbirds, squirrels

Geoff Manaugh leads Glass House Conversations

This week on Glass House Conversations we welcome host Geoff Manaugh, the founder of the popular architecture website BLDGBLOG. Geoff was a participant in the original 2008-2009 Glass House Conversations series sponsored by Oldcastle Building Envelope, where he joined a session on the topic of “Breaking the Rules,” led by Jeff Gordinier of Details magazine.

Geoff Manaugh, founder of BLDGBLOG.com

Geoff’s question on glasshouseconversations.org addresses the role of the city: “If the rise of the city as a political force promises to supersede the influence of the nation-state—from the United Nations, say, to Cities United—then questions of citizenship, sovereignty, and the very idea of international law must be fundamentally rethought. Mayoral climate negotiations, local food production networks, innovative tax structures, and regional transportation initiatives are all concrete examples of how cities can implement and lead political agendas of their own, independent of the nations they are found within.What are the opportunities and risks of these emerging geopolitical constellations, and how should we prepare for an urban, post-national future?”

Posting on Monday morning, Geoff’s provocative question on such a complex and rich topic has already generated many thoughtful responses from a wide range of participants, including author Mark Lamster, who referenced Norman Mailer and Jimmy Breslin‘s 1969 NYC mayoral campaign pledging to secede from the state, and architecture writer Gideon Fink Shapiro, who notes NYC’s Department of Transportation following the lead of other global cities like Copenhagen in its efforts to make New York a more walkable, bike-friendly place.

This engaging conversation runs through 8PM EST on Friday. We invite you to check it out and join in at glasshouseconversations.org!

By Molly Heintz

 

Filed under: Glass House Conversations, Uncategorized, Geoff Manaugh, Glass House Conversations, Jeff Gordinier, Mark Lamster, Oldcastle Building Envelope. BLDGBLOG

Ralph Caplan hosts Glass House Conversations

Writer Ralph Caplan.

We’re honored to have Ralph Caplan host this week’s dialogue at glasshouseconversations.org. Ralph is the winner of the 2010 National Design Award in the category of “Design Mind,” which recognizes how he has furthered the discourse about design over his more than fifty-year writing career. A former editor of I.D. magazine, Ralph is the author of several notable books about design, including By Design: Why There Are No Locks on the Bathroom Doors in the Hotel Louis XIV and Other Object Lessons and Cracking the Whip: Essays on Design and Its Side Effects. He currently teaches a graduate seminar–acclaimed by students–in the Design Criticism department the School of Visual Arts.

Ralph’s question this week on Glass House Conversations, “What does the current preoccupation of architects with small, even tiny, houses tell us about the culture, about architecture, about markets?”,  raises the issue of economy as well as experimentation with materials, and brings to mind the iconic Johnson and Farnsworth houses featured in the Modern Views auction and book. A variety of participants, including Mimi Zeiger, author of Tiny Houses (Rizzoli 2009), have already added comments to an engaging dialogue that will run through Friday 8pm EST. Please join in! http://glasshouseconversations.org

Filed under: Glass House Conversations, Uncategorized

It’s that time of year…

Glass House at Dawn (photo: Robin Hill)

Fall in New England is officially here! Embrace the season with a visit to the Philip Johnson Glass House. Tickets are still available  for walking tours through November 29.

 When reserving tickets, use promotional code GHSKETCH to receive a complimentary Glass House Sketchbook. Produced by Moleskine, the notebook features sketches by 29 architects, designers, and artists inspired by the site, quotes by Philip Johnson, and blank pages for notes or sketching.

 This fall, join the Modern Friends Tour for behind-the-scenes access to five Johnson-designed structures, a collection of modern art and design, and expansive views of the 47-acre landscape. Your Modern Friends Tour ticket includes a 20% store discount, exclusive photography privileges, and membership to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

 To purchase tickets for the 2010 season, visit our ticketing website or call 866-811-4111. For more information on the Glass House, visit philipjohnsonglasshouse.org  or contact the Glass House Visitor Center 203-594-9884 x 0.

Filed under: Uncategorized

Site Spotlight: Brick House (1949)

Philip Johnson's Brick House (image: Andy Romer)

The Glass House and the Brick House offer a lesson in contrasts. Designed at the same time, the Brick House was completed a few months before the Glass House. A grassy court links the two buildings conceived of as a single composition.

 Both houses are 56 feet long; however, the Brick House is only half as deep as the Glass House. The Brick House contains all the support systems necessary for the function of both buildings. As opposed to the transparency of the Glass House, brick almost completely encases the house.

The only windows, with the exception of the skylights, are large circular forms at the rear of the building. According to Philip Johnson, this series of round openings alludes to Filippo Brunelleschi’s fifteenth century Duomo in Florence (for a deep dive into the windows click here).

Glass House and Brick House (image: Andy Romer)

Johnson remodeled the interior of the Brick House in 1953. Originally there were three equally sized guest rooms, but now a narrow skylit corridor connects a bedroom and reading room. The low, sleek, white vaults that decorate the bedroom are based on the breakfast room of the Sir John Soane House in London completed in 1824, and are harbingers of elements later found in Johnson’s original design of the synagogue for the Congregation Kneses Tifereth Israel in Port Chester, New York and later at Lincoln Center.

The room is covered in a patterned silk fabric designed by Fortuny. Prints by Brice Marden line the corridor, and the reading room consists of Johnson’s library of philosophy, history, and art history books.

The Brick House is currently undergoing restoration and funds raised through the Modern Views project will support these preservation efforts.

Brick House: designed 1945 – 48, completed 1949. Interior remodeled 1953, brick and wood frame construction, 988 square feet

 

Filed under: Uncategorized, Brice Marden, Brick House, Congregation Kneses Tiferth Israel, Duomo, Fortuny, Glass House, Modern Views, Philip Johnson, Sir John Soane

Liz Danzico Hosts This Week’s Glass House Conversation

Liz Danzico, Chair MFA Interaction Design

Liz Danzico, Chair of the SVA MFA Interaction Design program, hosts this week’s conversation @ http://glasshouseconversations.org.

The discussion is generating a lot of interest, beginning on Monday with the question “When was the last time you felt connected with your own neighbors and why?” and evolving over the course of the week into a deeper examination of the events, objects and digital communities that influence our relationships and help us form connections with others.

Liz Danzico was also a leader in the development of http://glasshouseconversations.org, and worked with The Glass House and a team from the SVA Interaction Design program to develop and design this engaging new website. You can read more about the development, inspiration and launch of the Glass House Conversations site here on the Glass House Blog.

Join in the conversation and share your thoughts before it comes to a close on Friday at 8pm ET. Visit: http://glasshouseconversations.org/when-was-the-last-time-you-felt-connected-with-your-own-neighbors-and-why/

Filed under: Glass House Conversations, Uncategorized

Site Spotlight: Ghost House (1984)

Philip Johnson's Ghost House (image: Paul Warchol)

The Ghost House (chain link and steel; 346.5 sq. ft.) is an architectural folly, a playful structure that sits atop of a nineteenth century stone barn foundation. It is an ode to the work of two very different architectural directions. The chain-link material employed was influenced by Frank Gehry’s use of everyday materials, while the overall form of the structure references Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown’s design methodology that makes reference to the iconic form of a house – a rectangular base topped by a peaked roof. It is not a functional shelter.

Philip Johnson described this construction as “the spirit of a classical house.” It was built at the height of his interest in postmodernism, a style that, among other things, celebrated traditional forms.

The Ghost House is covered on all six Glass House tour levels and tickets are available for purchase (online or via phone 866-811-4111) through November 29.

World of Interiors cover, The American Issue

The World of Interiors highlighted The Ghost House in its edition, The American Issue. Belinda Rathbone admires “the structure’s ever-changing face” describing the Ghost House “as a chain-link construction of untouching halves, which responds chameleon-like to the seasons.”

She continues, “the Ghost House is Johnson’s nod to Frank Gehry, with its vernacular outline and its chainlink construction. It also pays homage to the working farm that this property was long ago, melting into the landscape like the ghost of its former, functional self. Is the Ghost House a work of art or architecture? Is it a folly or a monument? Is it funny or sad? And there you have the beginnings of a conversation.”   The World of Interiors article pdf

Book a tour to the Glass House and give us your thoughts…

Filed under: Uncategorized

Going, Going…Almost Gone

Still looking for an opportunity to visit the Philip Johnson Glass House this season?  Entertaining guests this weekend?  Grab the last remaining tickets for a Modern Friends Tour of the Glass House this Sunday and Monday.

The Modern Friends Tour provides behind-the-scenes access to five Johnson-designed structures, a collection of contemporary art and design, and expansive views of the 47-acre landscape.

Glass House Moleskine Sketchbook, Image by Toshiko Mori

This weekend only all Modern Friends visitors will receive a complimentary Glass House Sketchbook produced by Moleskine featuring sketches by 29 architects, designers, and artists inspired by the site, quotes by Philip Johnson, and blank pages for notes or sketching.

Your ticket includes a 20% store discount, exclusive photography privileges, and membership to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

To purchase tickets, visit our website or call 866-811-4111.

Tickets for the 2010 season are available through November 29.

Filed under: Uncategorized

Dialogue, Discussion, Debate: Digital Style

The Glass House Conversations website was launched to the public on July 19, 2010 and has since steadily gained a global following of participants interested in architecture and design.

Steven Heller, Host, Glass House Conversations

The site hosts weekly online conversations moderated by thought leaders in the fields of  art, architecture, design, and culture and is open to the public for comments every Monday at 8am EST through Friday at 8pm EST.

Since the launch, conversations have been hosted by Alice Rawsthorn, Design Critic of the International Herald Tribune; John Maeda, President, Rhode Island School of Design; Clifford Pearson, Deputy Editor at Architectural Record; John Lilly, CEO of Mozilla;  Sharon Johnston and Mark Lee, the founders and principals of Johnston Marklee architects; and  Ze Frank. Tune in this week to Steven Heller, co-chair MFA Design, School of Visual Arts/columnist, The New York Times Book Review.

These conversations have touched on a wide range of topics from the original Glass House Conversations series that took place in the Glass House in New Canaan, CT, to contemporary issues like the globalization and celebration of design.

Over the next few weeks, conversations will be hosted by design leaders and educators including some participants from Modern Views: A Project to Benefit Farnsworth House and the Glass House. We hope that you will be able to join us this week, and for future conversations in what is evolving into a robust and dynamic website about art, architecture, design, and society.

Upcoming Glass House Conversations hosts include:

Christy MacLear, Executive Director, Philip Johnson Glass House and Whitney French, Executive Director, Farnsworth House: 9/06 – 9/10

Constantin Boym: 9/13 – 9/17

Gary Hilderbrand: 9/20 – 9/24

Also, get the latest Glass House Conversations updates via Twitter and Facebook.

Filed under: Uncategorized