Philip Johnson Glass House, New Canaan

Philip Johnson Glass House Connecticut, 20th Century American building, America Modern home photos

Philip Johnson Glass House : Modern Connecticut Architecture

20th Century American Property: New Photos – home design by Philip Johnson Architect

post updated June 26, 2021

Johnson House

Location: New Canaan, Connecticut, USA

Date built: 1949

Design: Architect Philip Johnson

Johnson House New Canaan
photographs : Simon Garcia | arqfoto.com

The Glass House was completed in 1949. It is a National Trust Historic Site on a 49-acre campus.

Johnson House New Canaan

Inspired by architect Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House (Plano, IL, USA), its exterior walls are made of glass, a radical departure from houses of the time.

Johnson House New Canaan

The Glass House was the start of Philip Johnson’s fifty-year odyssey of architectural experimentation in forms, materials, and ideas, through the addition of other structures. These include the Brick House/Guest House, Pond Pavilion, Painting Gallery, Sculpture Gallery, Ghost House, Library/Study, Da Monsta, and the methodical sculpting of the surrounding landscape.

Johnson House New Canaan

Sep 13, 2018

Philip Johnson Glass House News

A Conversation with Frank Gehry + Paul Goldberger

The Glass House welcome two distinguished names in architecture for cocktails, lunch, and a conversation about the state of architecture and the history of the Glass House as we commemorate its upcoming 70th anniversary.

This event will be held at the newly reopened Four Seasons Restaurant designed by architect Isay Weinfeld. Ticket sales benefit important preservation projects at the Glass House.

Tickets include reception, conversation with Frank Gehry and Paul Goldberger, and seated lunch featuring Krug Champagne.

Ticket Levels
$500 – Individual ticket
$10,000 – Ten premium tickets at a prime location table

Tickets, tables and donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowable by law.

For inquiries, please contact Isabel Richards at [email protected] or 203.978.3011.

The Glass House presents A Conversation with Frank Gehry + Paul Goldberger

Johnson House New Canaan
photograph : Simon Garcia | arqfoto.com

About the speakers

Raised in Toronto, Canada, Frank Gehry moved in 1947 with his family to Los Angeles where he subsequently received his Bachelor of Architecture degree at the University of Southern California in 1954. Upon graduating, he enlisted in the US Army and with the assistance of the GI Bill, he studied City Planning at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design until 1957.

Since then, Frank Gehry has built an architectural career that has spanned over six decades and he has produced public and private buildings throughout the world. His work has earned Mr. Gehry several of the most significant awards in the architectural field, including the Pritzker Prize.

Notable projects include Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain; Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, California; Eight Spruce Street Residential Tower in New York City, New York; Opus Hong Kong Residential in Hong Kong, China; Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, France; the Biomuseo in Panama City, Panama; the Dr. Chau Chak Wing Building for the University of Technology, Sydney, Australia; the West Campus for Facebook in Menlo Park, California; and the Boulez Hall in Berlin, Germany.

Current projects include the King Street Development in Toronto, Ontario; the Grand Avenue Project in Los Angeles, California; 8150 Sunset in Los Angeles, California; the Ocean Avenue Project in Santa Monica, California; the World Jewish Museum in Tel Aviv, Israel; the Los Angeles River revitalization project in Los Angeles, California; a new center for the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA) in Inglewood, California; and single-family residential projects in Atherton, California; Los Angeles, Californi; and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

Projects under construction include the LUMA / Parc des Ateliers in Arles, France; Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Facebook Campus in Menlo Park, California; the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial in Washington D.C.; La Maison LVMH – Arts, Talents, Patrimoine in Paris, France; the Battersea Power Station Development in London, England; and the Louis Vuitton Gallery in Seoul, South Korea.

Johnson House New Canaan
photo : Simon Garcia | arqfoto.com

Paul Goldberger, a contributing editor at Vanity Fair, spent fifteen years as the architecture critic for The New Yorker and began his career at the New York Times, where he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism for his writing on architecture.

Paul Goldberger is the author of many books, most recently Building Art: The Life and Work of Frank Gehry, Why Architecture Matters, Building Up and Tearing Down: Reflections on the Age of Architecture, and Up From Zero. Goldberger is also completing a new book on the architecture of American baseball parks to be published next year. He is also the chairman of the Advisory Council of the Glass House and the Joseph Urban Professor of Design and Architecture at the New School.

Frank Gehry Architect

Sep 21, 2017
Talks by Norman Foster and Robert A.M. Stern

Friday, October 27, 2017
5:00pm – 8:00pm
Tickets: $350

Johnson House New Canaan
photo : Simon Garcia | arqfoto.com

The Glass House is proud to announce an opportunity to hear from two of the world’s most preeminent architects, Norman Foster and Robert A.M. Stern. Beginning with their youthful relationship studying architecture at Yale in the early 1960s, these men have known each other since the very beginnings of their illustrious careers.

Each has exerted a global influence on buildings as well as the urban environment overall. For this fundraising event, they will discuss both their shared history as well as their vision for how architecture can contribute to a more sustainable environment and how the role of the architect is evolving in response to global issues today.

Preservation, this intimate conversation and dinner benefits preservation at the site.

Ticket includes cocktail reception, conversation with Norman Foster and Robert A.M. Stern, and dinner featuring Krug Champagne.

Aug 14, 2017
September Programs at the Glass House + Lynn Davis: On Ice

Noyes House:
Noyes House New Canaan mid-century residence
photo : Michael Biondo

September Programs at the Glass House

Study Tour: Glass House + Noyes House

Monday, September 11, 1:00 – 5:30pm

Visit two important examples of New Canaan mid-century residential architecture on a half-day study tour of Philip Johnson’s Glass House (1949) and the Eliot Noyes House (1954). Tickets for this program include tours of both sites, shuttle transportation between sites, and light refreshments.

Glass House Presents: Frederick Noyes on the Noyes House

Tuesday, September 12, 6:00 – 8:00pm

New Canaan Library

Join architect Fred Noyes at New Canaan Library for a free lecture about his childhood home, the Noyes House (1954) in New Canaan. Designed by Eliot Noyes and included on the National Register of Historic Places, the house’s unique composition – two enclosures for public and private functions connected by an open air courtyard – remains highly provocative. Fred will analyze the intent and design of the house in comparison to the Glass House (1949), designed by Philip Johnson.

Study Tour: Philip Johnson in Manhattan

Saturday, September 23, 2:00 – 5:30pm

Hilary Lewis, Chief Curator and Creative Director of the Glass House, will lead a study tour of several important examples of architecture designed by Philip Johnson in midtown Manhattan, including the Museum of Modern Art’s Sculpture Garden, the exterior of the Rockefeller Guest House, and more.

Glass House Presents: The Modern Interior

Thursday, September 28, 5:30 – 8:00pm

Join curators David A. Hanks, Juliet Kinchin, and Hilary Lewis for a discussion about the furniture inside the Glass House, much of which derives from Philip Johnson’s 1930 New York apartment designed by architect Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich.

Lynn Davis: On Ice

August 24 – November 30, 2017

Lynn Davis: On Ice presents a selection of photographs from the artist’s longstanding engagement with the icebergs on the sea outside of Ilulissat, a small town on the edge of a glacier off the west coast of Greenland. Developed over the course of six expeditions that began in 1986, Davis’s photographs evidence strong affinities with the spare geometry of minimalist sculpture and track the dramatic transformation of the natural environment.

As the Glass House commemorates its 10th year as a site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the exhibition additionally celebrates Davis’s friendship with David Whitney and Philip Johnson, both of whom collected the artist’s work.

Previously on e-architect:

Jul 8, 2017
New Exclusives at the Glass House Design Store

We are celebrating the 111th anniversary of Philip Johnson’s birth this Saturday, July 8th with the release of the new Modernist Paperweight designed by Werkstätte Carl Auböck Vienna exclusively for the Glass House Design Store.

Inspired by Philip Johnson’s iconic glasses, these life-sized “spectacles” were lovingly created for us by Carl Auböck lV and are available in patina or polished brass. Each piece bears the official Auböck stamp and comes with exclusive certification from the Werkstätte Carl Auböck. Truly an amazing “must have” for any mid-century aficionado, architectural enthusiast, design lover, or collector. Limited quantities available.

May 21, 2017

Hermès and the Glass House present Centered Rhyme

Hermès and the Glass House are honored to introduce Centered Rhyme, a limited-edition 90x90cm silk twill scarf featuring a design by the late American artist Elaine Lustig Cohen (1927-2016). The design is based on a large-scale 1967 painting by the artist.

To purchase, please contact the Glass House Design Store via phone at 203-594-9884 x0 or email at [email protected]. A portion of the proceeds from the sale the Centered Rhyme scarf will go towards the preservation of the Glass House.

Centered Rhyme by artist Elaine Lustig Cohen | www.e-architect.com

Elaine Lustig Cohen was highly regarded as a graphic designer, artist, and rare book dealer throughout her career, which spanned over fifty years. In 1955, she began her design work in New York by extending the idiom of European modernism into an American context for her diverse clientele of publishers, corporations, cultural institutions, and architects. Her first client was Philip Johnson – architect of the celebrated Glass House (1949) in New Canaan, Connecticut – who commissioned her to design the lettering and signage for the iconic Seagram Building.

The two forged an important bond that resulted in a variety of projects for the Glass House, Yale University, and Lincoln Center, among others. As a painter, Lustig Cohen developed a hard-edged style in the 1960s and 1970s that asserted the canvas’ flat surface. She continued to experiment with bold colors, linear patterning, and abstract shapes in a variety of media including collage and three-dimensional objects.

Following a 2015 exhibition of the artist’s early paintings and graphic design at the Glass House, Pierre-Alexis Dumas, artistic director of Hermès, met the artist at her Manhattan home and conceived of a scarf based on her painting Centered Rhyme (1967). Pierre-Alexis and Elaine discovered a deep intellectual and philosophical connection while touring her remarkable personal collection of eclectic art and artifacts, including ancient printed silks.

The project was made in collaboration with the Glass House, a site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, that in alignment with Hermès values is dedicated to the promotion of cultural and architectural preservation, artistry and craftsmanship.

The limited-edition Hermès 90cm x 90cm silk twill design, $395.00, will be presented in Lustig Cohen’s original coloration; crème/jaune/rose, and sold at the Glass House Design Store and Hermès boutiques.

Apr 18, 2017

Recent Glass House News

10th Anniversary Glass House Summer Party

10th Anniversary Glass House Summer Party, June 10, 2017 – Tickets on sale now!

Glass House Summer Party

Sep 21, 2016

Philip Johnson Glass House Photos

New Photos of Philip Johnson’s Glass House

Photographs: Simon Garcia | arqfoto.com

Johnson House New Canaan

The campus serves as a catalyst for the preservation and interpretation of modern architecture, landscape and art.

Johnson House New Canaan

Photos: Simon Garcia | arqfoto.com

Johnson House New Canaan

To learn more about the Philip Johnson Glass House visit philipjohnsonglasshouse.org

Philip Johnson Glass House information from National Trust for Historic Preservation / Philip Johnson Glass House, 270812

Philip Johnson architect, USA

Johnson House, New Canaan – News Archive up to and including 2016

Film on YouTube

Location: 199 Elm Street, New Canaan, CT 06840, USA

Connecticut Architecture

Another famous Modern American House on e-architect:

Farnsworth House, Plano, Illinois, USA
Date built: 1950
Architect: Mies van der Rohe
Farnsworth House
picture © gm+ad architects
Farnsworth House

American Houses
Holley House
photo : Michael Moran

Modern Houses
Frank Lloyd Wright House in Buffalo
photo : Biff Henrich / courtesy MHRC

Recent Connecticut Building

Morse and Ezra Stiles Colleges, Yale, New Haven
1962 (Eero Saarinen)
Renovation + new-build in 2011: KieranTimberlake
Morse and Ezra Stiles Colleges Building
image from FD
Morse and Ezra Stiles Colleges
This project won the Gold Medal from the AIA Philadelphia Chapter and was shortlisted in the New/Old Category at the 2011 World Architecture Festival.

Connecticut Houses

Major 20th Century Connecticut Houses, alphabetical:

Brant House, Greenwich
1972
Design: Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates

Breuer House II, New Canaan
1948
Design: Marcel Breuer Architect

Stillman House III, Litchfield
1972-74
Design: Marcel Breuer Architect with Tician Papachristou

Gagarin House II, Litchfield
1973-74
Design: Marcel Breuer Architect with Tician Papachristou

House VI, Cornwall
1972-75
Design: Peter Eisenman

Smith House, Darien
1964-67
Design: Richard Meier Architects

Connecticut Architecture

Connecticut Architectural Designs Selection

Yale Arts Complex – Paul Rudolph Hall renovation
Date renewed: 2009
Design: Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects
Paul Rudolph Hall
photo : Peter Aaron
Paul Rudolph Hall

Yale University Art Gallery
Date built: 1953
Design: Louis Kahn / Polshek Partnership Architects, LLP
Yale University Art Gallery : Modern US building

School of Architecture in Connecticut
Yale School of Architecture Events

Another Modern American house on e-architect:

Miller House, Columbus, Indiana
Design: Eero Saarinen
Miller House
photo Courtesy of the Indianapolis Museum of Art
Miller House Columbus

Frank Lloyd Wright house : Zimmerman House, Manchester, New Hampshire, north east USA

Comments / photos for the Philip Johnson Glass House20th Century Connecticut Architecture page welcome

Website: Philip Johnson Glass House