The Glass House or Johnson house, built in 1949 in New Canaan, Connecticut, was designed by Philip Johnson as his own residence. It was an important and influential project for Johnson and for modern architecture. The building is an essay in minimal structure, geometry, proportion, and the effects of transparency and reflection. The estate includes other buildings designed by Johnson that span his career.
The house is an example of early use of industrial materials such as glass and steel in home design. Johnson lived at the weekend retreat for 58 years, and since 1960 with his longtime companion, David Whitney, an art critic and curator who helped design the landscaping and largely collected the art displayed there.
Read more about Glass House: House and Property, Reception, Tours and The Visitor Center
Famous quotes containing the words glass and/or house:
“When you’re thirsty and it seems that you could drink the entire ocean—that’s faith; when you start to drink and finish only a glass or two—that’s science.”
—Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904)
“Whenever our neighbour’s house is on fire, it cannot be amiss for the engines to play a little on our own.”
—Edmund Burke (1729–1797)