Philip Johnson's Glass House - Research Paper Example

The Glass House, his most unique, acclaimed and popular creation, constructed in the year 1949, is still considered as an architectural marvel of all times. It can be perceived as the trend setter for architectural constructions in steel and glass. Outdoor and Interior Appearances and Its Relationship with Natural Environment: The Glass House, set on a luxuriant landscape, illustrates style over substance and rather than a habitat it serves the purpose of a lifestyle component, apart from reflecting Johnson’s philosophy of architecture being “expressive of and compatible with modernity’s machine processes.

”5 The exterior of the construction exists in a serene and peaceful ambience of natural elements. It is mostly done in glass and charcoal colored steel with a brick floor that stands about 10 inches from ground level. The lawn is an exquisite green with lush green growth of grass, and the entire structure is again set against the greenery of trees and shrubs. From a distance when one looks at the Glass House, it gives an impression of open space as the transparent glass walls allow an unobstructed view of the other side, the repetition of a lush green abundance.

The main focus of the interior is the flow of natural daylight, which the transparent glass structure permits in rich abundance and it sort of blurs its boundaries with the exterior. The interior comprises mainly open spaces, with cabinets made in walnut wood. Brick has been used on in the construction of a cylindrical structure that accommodates a bathroom on one side and a fireplace on the other. The interior of Glass House can further be perceived as the manipulation of the systems of domestic occupation especially in the context of large areas indirect illumination and glazing and Johnson has on several occasions admitted that Ludwig Mies van der Rohe “served as a prime…source” for his design of the Glass House.

6 Moreover, Johnson has considered Mies, who had “employed similar forms” in his design of the Farnsworth House, as a mentor. The influence of Mies also reflect in the furnishings of the interior, the designs of which have apparently emulates his style. As can be evidenced from the above image, the interior is sparsely but elegantly done with a barely minimum furnishing that matches the sleekness of the glasswork. It is also relevant that both the components of the exterior and the interior are selected and placed in such a deft manner as to complement one another and enhance the aesthetic appeal of each.

Style and Materials: The construction style of the Glass House is “so spare in form” that it provides little clue to the “variety of ideas” or the hard work that has gone behind its conceptualization and execution.7 Its plan necessitated drawing up of 79 “schemes and variations” that Philip has devised with 27 “clearly distinguishable approaches”