Oct 9
2011
Could you live in the Glass House?
This question has occupied imaginations for more than half a century (The Glass House + Brick House were built in 1949) and continue to inspire many great debates, including a recent Huffington Post commentary.
In our latest Conversations in Context Film, and in the introduction to our new Glass House Book, Architecture Critic Paul Goldberger discusses Philip Johnson living in the Glass House, and the Glass House campus as example of the opportunities for experimentation that come with being one's own client.
Could you live in the Glass House?
YES please! 4 Replies
NO way! 2 Replies
Paul Goldberger notes in the above film:
Not long after the house was built at some occasion or another some woman came through who had not been there, and she looked at Philip Johnson and said, “Well, it’s all very beautiful, but I wouldn’t want to live here!” And Johnson said, “I haven’t asked you to ma’am.” It’s an important story because it underscores the fact that this wasn’t built for you and me, and it hardly matters weather we consider it practical or not, it was built for him in his life, for which it worked… There’s no question he was his own best client. When he was working for himself, he truly had nothing but esthetics to think about.
Monday, October 10 at 2:48pm
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via @CASUDI on Twitter:
“YES, I could live in that Glass House ~ a fave for 30+ years or longer? #intdesignerchat“
Thursday, October 13 at 10:27am
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Communications + Digital Media, The Glass House |
I’m going to be provocative and say no. I couldn’t live in the Glass House, I could definitely spend a few days away from the city there (as was the original intention), but to spend most of my time would be difficult. The novelty of exploding the separate parts of a home across the landscape makes for a wonderful weekend adventure with friends, or place for a celebration, but one must travel great lengths just to pick out a book to read!
Friday, October 14 at 3:21pm
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via @statements2000 (John Allen)
@GlassHouseConvo @Interior_Design I would love 2. Especially if I lived in the woods. I image all seasons would provide a beautiful picture!
Saturday, October 15 at 9:17am
Anyone with taste and style would at least consider this option! It is however not for the fearful. (afterall, one is certainly “exposed” to the world around them, when living in a glass house. Personally, I would love to live in a glass house, as long as it was in a VERY private setting.
Monday, October 24 at 7:55am
Keywords
Selected list of words appearing in this and other conversations.
Alexandra Lange
Writer
1
As I alluded to in my article on the Glass House in the Financial Times (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/168cf672-d71d-11df-9cd5-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1aOiTHXgq), I’d love to live in the Glass House if I could do it like Johnson: no kids, no cooking, and lots of other houses in which to live a life that require privacy, or no distractions, or air conditioning, or watching TV. The iconic images of the house either have no people, people thinking, or people talking, and the house is ideal for enjoying exactly where you are. That’s a quality that is in increasingly short supply today (and can’t be experienced on the Glass House tours, unfortunately).
Monday, October 10 at 11:43am