How Can We Make Design Education Better?

Ben Evans

Join our online Glass House Conversation hosted by Ben Evans, co-founder and director of the London Design Festival.

The contribution of creative education has never been more important. Yet in the U.K. and the U.S., design schools are losing their pre-eminence as new centres–places such as Singapore, Eindhoven, Berlin and China, where design schools have been or are becoming more important–for design emerge. Is the existing approach toward teaching in the U.K. and the U.S. dated? Or is there a bigger global shift occurring?

How can we make design education better?

So far there are great comments from Michael Maharam, principal of Maharam, designer and educator Constantin Boym, and others, covering a variety of subjects–from the constraints that face the United States system of design education, to the new and innovative models of education that can be found at the design schools RISD and Design Academy Eindhoven.

Join the discussion, going on now at glasshouseconversations.org!

Filed under: Glass House Conversations, Design, Education, Glass House Conversations

Charles A. Birnbaum, Founder and President of The Cultural Landscape Foundation, Hosts a Glass House Conversation on Landscape Preservation

Charles A. Birnbaum
FASLA, FAAR

Join our online Glass House Conversation hosted by Charles A. Birnbaum, Founder and President of The Cultural Landscape Foundation.

What can and should be done to nurture an informed public debate about the legacy of modernist landscapes and reverse the trend of demolition?

There are dozens of modern buildings listed in the National Register of Historic Places and as National Historic Landmarks – In fact, to date, there are more than 1,000 structures that have been designated that are less than 50 years old and only a small number of works of landscape architecture. Although properties such as the Glass House, the Gropius House and Russell Wright’s Manitoga have been designated as National Historic Landmarks including significance in landscape architecture, there are countless others from the Eames House (which is very much about landscape, and yet possesses no landscape significance) to significant projects by Lawrence Halprin, Dan Kiley, and M. Paul Friedberg that have not been recognized. Even worse, Friedberg’s seminal masterwork, Peavey Plaza (Minneapolis, MN) is now facing the wrecking ball, while a road expansion threatens Kiley’s landscape at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (Burlington, VT) and Halprin’s Riverbank Park has been the target of an generic and uninspired new design (Flint, MI).

What role can architects, landscape architects, historians, historic preservation professionals, journalists and bloggers do to instill value for the legacy of landscapes?

Filed under: Glass House Conversations, Charles A. Birnbaum, Design, Glass House Conversations, Landscape, Preservation

Glass House Focus Tours: Architecture + History

2-hour guided tour | $45 per person | Select Wednesdays at 2:30pm

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Focus tours delve into specifics of the tour topic, including special access and alternate paths. Focus Tours are intended for guests interested in learning more about a key element of the site or for those looking to see the Glass House through a new perspective.

Architecture + History | Explore the history and theory, materials and technologies, influential architects, and preservation challenges of Modern architecture through the lens of the Glass House campus. Visit interiors of the Glass House (1949), Painting Gallery (1965), Sculpture Gallery (1970), da Monsta (1995), and access (through a field of tall grass) the Library/Study (1980), housing Johnson’s architectural library spanning Schinkel to Hadid and overlooking the Ghost House (1984).

For more information on this and other Glass House tours visit
http://philipjohnsonglasshouse.org/visit/

The 2012 Glass House public tour season runs from May 2 – November 30, 2012 (closed Tuesdays). Tickets are available now!  Advance reservations are highly recommended.  Tickets by phone, please call 866.811.4111.

Filed under: Tours + Programs, Architecture, Art, David Whitney, Design, History, Philip Johnson, Philip Johnson Glass House, Preservation, Tour

Glass House Focus Tours: Art + Influence

2-hour guided tour | $45 per person | Select Wednesdays at 2:30pm

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Focus tours delve into specifics of the tour topic, including special access and alternate paths. Focus Tours are intended for guests interested in learning more about a key element of the site or for those looking to see the Glass House through a new perspective.

Art + Influence | Philip Johnson and David Whitney played a significant
role in cultivating and commissioning the work of world-renowned creative talent that defined an era: enjoy deeper discussion and close observation
of the art works of the Glass House campus, including one of the world’s foremost collections of pieces by Frank Stella. Artists include Andy Warhol, Donald Judd, Cindy Sherman, David Salle, Lynn Davis, Julian Schnabel, Michael Heizer, Robert Morris, Bruce Nauman, Andrew Lord and John Chamberlin. Explore the personal relationships between the Glass House, these artists, and the founding and development of The Museum of Modern Art.

For more information on this and other Glass House tours visit
http://philipjohnsonglasshouse.org/visit/

The 2012 Glass House public tour season runs from May 2 – November 30, 2012 (closed Tuesdays). Tickets are available now!  Advance reservations are highly recommended.  Tickets by phone, please call 866.811.4111.

Filed under: Tours + Programs, Andrew Lord, Andy Warhol, Architecture, Art, Bruce Nauman, Cindy Sherman, David Salle, David Whitney, Design, Donald Judd, Frank Stella, Gardens, Influence, John Chamberlin, julian schnabel, Landscape, Lynn Davis, Michael Heizer, Philip Johnson, Philip Johnson Glass House, Preservation, Robert Morris, Tour

Happy Birthday Ludwig Mies van der Rohe!

Illustration by architect Tadao Ando of the Farnsworth House (1945–51) designed by architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. (Image: Farnsworth House, 2009, Ink on paper, 18 1/2” x 12 3/4” each, Courtesy of the architect.)

Today, 126 years ago, modern architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was born!

The historic exchange reflected in the Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Farnsworth House (1945–51) and the Philip Johnson Glass House (1949) is considered one of the twentieth century’s great cultural dialogues, and was explored in the recent Glass House commissioned film Points on a Line by artist Sarah Morris as part of the Modern Views project. (View the list of one hundred contemporary artists, architects, and designers who participated in Modern Views.)

Johnson was also an associate of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in the 1950s, and worked with the modern master on the design of the Seagram Building and its famed Four Seasons Restaurant. Interested in learning more? Enjoy an exclusive pairing of these two Modern Icons – tour the Glass House and enjoy a three-course dinner at the Four Seasons Restaurant! For more information visit http://philipjohnsonglasshouse.org/visit/#fourseasons

The interior of the Four Seasons Restaurant in New York designed by Philip Johnson, in the Seagram Building, designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Photo courtesy of the Four Seasons.

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How will you celebrate Mies’s birthday?
The Philip Johnson Glass House invites you to join in
the Glass House Conversation on Design Spectacles -
share your thoughts on the design events (+ architect’s eyewear!) that have had a significant impact on you @ glasshouseconversations.org!

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Filed under: In the News, 126, Architecture, Design, Farnsworth House, Four Seasons, Glass House, Happy Birthday, History, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Philip Johnson

Glass House Pop Up Shop on Fab.com!

Support The Glass House: Visit Fab.com to check out our
Glass House Design Store sale going on now through April!

Bracelets by Jessica Kagan Cushman with quotes by Philip Johnson, now available on Fab.com!

The sale includes great gifts and Glass House-commissioned products by Michael Graves, Jessica Kagan Cushman, Moleskine and more!

Sign-up to be a member of Fab.com (it’s free!) to view Glass House Design Store products available now on Fab.com!

Filed under: Glass House Design Store, Architecture, Art, Design, Fab.com, Glass House, Glass House Design Store, Jessica Kagan Cushman, Michael Graves, Moleskine, Philip Johnson

Landscape Architect Raymond Jungles Hosts New Glass House Conversation

Raymond Jungles, FASLA

Join us for this week’s online Glass House Conversation hosted by landscape architect Raymond Jungles. Jungles and his firm based in Miami design private residential gardens, civic gardens, boutique hotels, and botanical gardens, and have collaborated with leading architecture firms including Herzog & de Meuron, Frank Gehry & Partners and Foster + Partners. See more of Jungles’s work, including 1111 Lincoln Rd. pictured above, on his website raymondjungles.com.

Jungles asks:

Considering the landscape an integral part of an overall architectural solution, we identify regional context and a sense of place as the primary objectives. To us, unity, harmony and human experience are the driving force.

Which architects best prioritize the human experience in their work? How are people responding?

Filed under: Glass House Conversations, 1111 Lincoln Rd., Architecture, Burle Marx, Design, Foster + Partners, Frank Gehry & Partners, Glass House, Glass House Conversations, Herzog & de Meuron, Landscape, Mies van der Rohe, Miller Hull, Philip Johnson, Philip Johnson Glass House, Raymond Jungles, SAANA

Visit the Glass House: Extended Tour

2.5-hour guided tour | $100 per person

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The Extended Tour offers visitors more time, a smaller group and increased access to the Glass House’s 47-acre curated landscape, 14 architectural structures and world-class private art and design collection. In addition to the interiors of Philip Johnson’s Glass House (1949), Painting Gallery (1965) and Sculpture Gallery (1970), and Da Monsta (1995) visitors on the Extended Tour enjoy access to Johnson’s Library / Study (1985) housing his private architectural literature collection. Extended Tour visitors are entitled to a membership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation and a 10% discount in the Glass House Store.

For more information on this and other Glass House tours visit
http://philipjohnsonglasshouse.org/visit/

The 2012 Glass House public tour season runs from May 2 – November 30, 2012 (closed Tuesdays). Tickets are available now!  Advance reservations are highly recommended.  Tickets by phone, please call 866.811.4111.

Filed under: Tours + Programs, Architecture, Art, David Whitney, Design, Philip Johnson, Philip Johnson Glass House, Tour

Visit the Glass House: Site Tour

2-hour guided tour | $45 per person

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Experience the iconic Glass House site by walking through Johnson’s 47-acre curated landscape. View the 14 architectural structures and world-class art and design collection, and explore the interiors of Philip Johnson’s Glass House (1949), Painting Gallery (1965), and Sculpture Gallery (1970), and Da Monsta (1995) on a guided 3/4 mile walking tour.

For more information on this and other Glass House tours visit
http://philipjohnsonglasshouse.org/visit/

The 2012 Glass House public tour season runs from May 2 – November 30, 2012 (closed Tuesdays). Tickets are available now!  Advance reservations are highly recommended.  Tickets by phone, please call 866.811.4111.

Filed under: Tours + Programs, Architecture, Art, David Whitney, Design, Glass House, Philip Johnson, Philip Johnson Glass House, Site Tour, Tour

Visit the Glass House: Pure Glass House Tour

1-hour guided tour | $30 per person

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The Pure Glass House tour visits only Philip Johnson’s iconic Glass House (1949).  Visitors will spend time inside the Glass House and outside on the promontory overlooking Johnson’s 47-acre curated landscape.  Visitors will be transported by van directly to and from the entrance to the Glass House with minimal walking.  Please note this tour will NOT visit the other buildings on the site.

For more information on this and other Glass House tours visit
http://philipjohnsonglasshouse.org/visit/

The 2012 Glass House public tour season runs from May 2 – November 30, 2012 (closed Tuesdays). Tickets are available now!  Advance reservations are highly recommended.  Tickets by phone, please call 866.811.4111.

Filed under: Tours + Programs, Architecture, Art, David Whitney, Design, Glass House, Philip Johnson, Philip Johnson Glass House, Pure Glass House Tour, Tour