Glass House Conversations

Has “design” become an activity of, by, and for the 1%?

Hunter Tura — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 01:00:43 +0000

In December, I was at Design Miami/Art Basel and had a great time connecting with so many old friends, clients, press contacts, etc. At some point during the week, I sent a text message to a friend to recount some of the new work I’d seen, the run-ins, the parties, the tote-bags…

Her response was: “So, how is life with the 1%?” After a career in design, I certainly didn’t feel like a member of the 1%, but from my view of the champagne bar in the VIP lounge it was clear that I was in close proximity. Then, I began to wonder:

Is ego a critical component of success in today’s design world? Is design humility possible?

Paul Soulellis — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 01:00:09 +0000

“I gave up making choices. I’ve merely changed my responsibility from making choices to asking questions. It’s not easy to ask questions.” (John Cage)

2012 marks the centennial of the birth of John Cage, one of the most influential artists of the 20th century and a headliner in the first Glass House Country Happening (1967) with The Velvet Underground and Merce Cunningham.

For 50 years, Cage developed an approach to music, art and design involving “chance operations”—a shift in the creative process from taste and judgement to highly disciplined questioning. Cage’s removal of his judgement from decision-making brings up critical questions about the role of the ego in creativity, suggesting that a more open acknowledgement of ambiguity and uncertainty—even failure—in design might be valuable.

Why are contemporary artists interested in engaging in the design world?

Christian Bjone — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:00:44 +0000

Philip Johnson was unabashed in his acknowledgment of the sources of inspiration for his designs. Johnson noted his vision for Da Monsta stemmed from his close friend artist Frank Stella’s design for the Dresden Kunsthalle in Germany. Today, many artists (for example David Diao’s painting, The Rug, It Shrank!, 2004-5, Sarah Morris’s ceiling installation Robert Towne, 2006, or Pae White’s Restless Rainbow, 2011) take their inspiration from the world of design –architecture, furniture, typography and fashion– mixing contemporary art and design in innovative, perhaps controversial, ways.

What architect or artist’s home do you think most compellingly mirrors the personality of its creator?

Charles Ruger — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 01:00:11 +0000

As an artistic representation, a portrait is intended to convey not only the subject’s physical appearance but also reflect his or her disposition. It has been said that an architect’s house is the ultimate self-portrait. One may argue that the same holds true for visual artists. Through the years, painters as disparate as Frederic Edwin Church, Emil Nolde, Salvador Dali, and Julian Schnabel have played a significant role in the design and construction of their own private residences.

Which books have had the greatest impact on you?

Designers & Books — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 01:00:09 +0000

From Vitruvius to Palladio to Frank Lloyd Wright to Le Corbusier—there has always been a special and robust relationship between architects and books: reading them, writing them, collecting them, learning from them, and being inspired by them.

The publication of The Library of Philip Johnson celebrates this architect + book relationship, and provides the inspiration for this Glass House Conversation, hosted by Designers & Books, asking;

What are the steps we can take to initiate change in the design of new affordable and senior housing?

Wendy Goodman — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 01:00:35 +0000

Assisted living communities are no picnic! They are designed with a “last stop” mentality, instead of creative, elegant communities in which to thrive and look forward to new experiences. As the population gets older, and now, rapidly poorer, we need new models urgently.

We are seeing how exciting new design solutions can be with the work that Bjarke Ingels is doing here in New York with the new pyramid apartment complex on 57th St and Steven Holl’s Linked Hybrid in Bejing, for instance, but we need this kind of initiative to take hold in affordable housing and, let’s also add, new senior housing.

If architecture is an inherently political act, where, why and how does political and social consciousness begin and locate itself within the process?

Mary Ellen Carroll — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 01:00:42 +0000

In 1704, Jonathan Swift wrote that satire and notably political satire is a sort of
glass wherein beholders see everyone’s faces except their own. Until one is able to see their own reflection, there is no political or social consciousness or consequence.

How do we encourage design ACTION (“do tanks” vs. “think tanks”) to improve our cities?

Laetitia Wolff — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 01:00:03 +0000

Today much thought is being dedicated to re-designing the urban environment
by both public and private agencies. The growth of design thinking in schools, consultancies and online, and the popularity of urban interventions, actions, workshops, charrettes and other short term think tanks, have led to much
blue-sky thinking.

How can we make sure that the wealth of ideas encouraged by the dialog amongst architects, designers and fans of urbanism ultimately motivates citizens to act, and create real implementable projects?

Inspired by desigNYC’s mission to use the power of design to improve local communities in New York City, this conversation aims to create a discussion and generate ideas as to how design can be implemented to improve our urban environment. Laetitia Wolff, Executive Director of desigNYC hosts the conversation.

Why are books important to you?

Birch Cooper — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 00:00:10 +0000

Birch Cooper hosts the conversation with a question inspired by the new book, The Library of Philip Johnson: Selections from the Glass House. Written by Birch Cooper and Jordan Hruska, the book examines 100 titles from Philip Johnson’s Library/Study located in New Canaan, Connecticut and features an introduction by Architect Robert A. M. Stern. The Library of Philip Johnson is the inaugural anthology compiled by Birch Books Conservation, a non-profit created to preserve America’s libraries collected by seminal authors, architects, artists, and other public figures. All sales benefit the conservation of the books contained in the Library/Study at the Philip Johnson Glass House.

Could you live in the Glass House?

Glass House Conversations — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 16:00:40 +0000

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.