Philip Johnson, Guesthouse, New Canaan, USA, 1949 (View in the Google maps)

The Glass House is a historic house museum at 798-856 Ponus Ridge Road in New Canaan, Connecticut. The design of Philip Johnsons famous Glass House included the planning of an adjacent structure, known as the Brick House or the Guest House. Completed in 1949, even a few months before its counterpart, the Brick House served as a guest house, as well as containing the support systems for both buildings.

Johnson intends to contrast this building with its glass neighbor. In the cubical brick house he creates spaces enclosed by solid walls of brick, sheltered and seperated from the outside. Although skylights and porthole windows provide natural light within, one has no visible connection between outside and inside.

Espacially the bedroom is treated as a very sheltered, almost cave-like space. The room has a doubled construction of arches inside, which together with draped walls lead to a less strikt and defined form of the room. Curtains, ceiling as well as the carpeded floor are beige and underline by its earthy colour and soft textures the compfortable and cosy atmosphere. Everything fits together, appears to be very natural and down to earth.

Johnson remodeled the interior with a narrow sky-lit corridor in 1953.

Links:

http://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/architect-philip-johnson-glass-house-modernism-article

Reviewed March 2017 by:

Yue Shang

Xiaolin Lu

Lizhongyang Zhou

Adelina Muntean