The Glass House: An Architectural Case Study

The Glass House Was Phillip Johnson’s “Signature Work” and Actual Residence

The Glass House built by architect Phillip Johnson in 1949 is considered one of the best examples of modernist architecture in America. The home was not only an experimental design of the era; it was also the actual residence of Johnson. While the “Man in the Glass House” was on full display, Johnson actually used the structure to hide some of his darkest secrets. In our Glass House architectural case study, our team of Austin architects reviews the history of the home, Mies van der Rohe’s influence on the design, the materials and design elements used, and the personal history of architect Phillip Johnson.

History of the Glass House

The Glass House, otherwise known as Johnson House, was built by architect Phillip Johnson on Ponus Ridge Road in New Canaan, Connecticut, in 1949. Considered one of America’s best examples of modern architecture, it is now owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1997. Since its completion, the structure and decor have been perfectly preserved—not even the furniture placement deviates from the original plan.

The glass-walled building is hidden from the main road and sits on a 49-acre site that contains 14 structures total, including Brick House, Pavilion on the Pond, Ghost House, a studio, and several art galleries. The Glass House is 55 feet long by 33 feet wide and has 1,815 square feet of open-concept living space. There are no interior walls inside the home except for a cylindrical brick pavilion containing the bathroom and fireplace. The layout comprises loft-like zones divided into a kitchen, dining room, living room, bedroom, and entry. Despite the modern appearance of the home, the floor plan is very traditional in its arrangement.

The Glass House welcomed the modernist style to American residential architecture, using new materials like steel and glass panels to integrate the design into the landscape. Every exterior wall is made from glass and contains a single door to the outside, allowing for easy outdoor access and airflow. The new design and techniques would influence home design during one of the country’s greatest housing booms, popularizing the modernist movement.

Mies van der Rohe’s Influence on the Glass House

The influence of German architect Mies van der Rohe on the Glass House is evident. The steel and glass construction used by Mies on the Barcelona Pavilion and Farnsworth House are echoed in the design of Phillip Johnson’s Glass House. Johnson and Mies were close colleagues and discussed building their glass houses together. Johnson explains that his design was an adaptation of Mies’s. He said, “The Glass House stylistically is a mixture of Mies van der Rohe, Malevich, the Parthenon, the English garden, the whole Romantic Movement, and the asymmetry of the 19th century. In other words, all these things are mixed up in it, but basically, it is the last of the modern, in the sense of the historic way we treat modern architecture today, the simple cube.” Even the home’s furnishings, which were included on the floor plan, were designed by Mies. These included the famed Barcelona Chairs and a daybed specially designed for Johnson. While Mies had a significant influence in the final design of the Glass House, he wasn’t flattered by the imitation of his own work. Reports claim he stormed out of the residence in a drunken rage on his first visit to the home.

About Architect Philip Johnson

Phillip Johnson was an American architect born in 1906 who is best known for his 550 Madison Avenue skyscraper and modernist Glass House, which took him three years to design. When explaining the concept and allure of the Glass House to a reporter, Johnson said, “The idea of a glass house where somebody just might be looking [had a] little edge of danger.” The experimental design of the Glass House brought Johnson acclaim and became his “signature work.” However, he also lived in the residence with his partner, art curator David Whitney, from 1949 until he died in 2005. Designer Michael Sorkin wrote, “If it was Mies van der Rohe who provided the real inspiration for the Glass House, it was only Johnson who could have built the house and lived in it himself. Johnson's career began when he turned himself into the Man in the Glass House.”

While the home established Johnson as a leader of the modernist movement and gave him exposure in publications like Life Magazine and the New York Times, it also hid some of his darkest secrets. As a Nazi supporter, Johnson wrote dozens of letters and articles praising Mein Kampf. Once Nazism was no longer advantageous for his life and career, he burned all of his papers in the Glass House fireplace. The Glass House had an edge of danger in more ways than one.

The Glass House: Materials and Design Elements

“It’s the only house in the world where you can see the sunset and the moonrise at the same time, standing in the same place. In any other house, you have to walk to another room to see one or the other of those effects. But I get it all the time here in the Glass House.” - Philip Johnson

The Glass House is iconic because of its innovative use of new technologies and its seamless integration into the landscape. It brought modernist design, indoor-outdoor connections, and open-concept living to the United States in a whole new way.

Materials Used in The Glass House

Glass

As its namesake material, glass panels make up every exterior wall of the Glass House. The glass walls allow inhabitants to take in the views and let the home recede into the landscape.

Steel

The Glass House is constructed with a steel frame, which was not a common building technique during the 1940s in residential architecture. The steel construction allows for large panes of glass and uninterrupted views to the outside.

Brick

Brick is used on the cylindrical fireplace and bathroom pavilion inside the home, in a herringbone pattern on the floors, and to cover the facade of the slab. The brick details provide a warm and traditional feel to an otherwise sleek modern structure.

Walnut

Walnut veneer storage cabinets are used as a dividing wall between the living area and the bedroom. The walnut cabinets provide privacy, definition, and storage to the otherwise open space.

Design Elements Used in The Glass House

Indoor-outdoor Connections

Indoor-outdoor connections are central to the design of the Glass House, and the home can best be understood as a structure made to view the surrounding landscape. Phillip Johnson says the home is “more of a landscape park than a work of architecture” and that the design was “conditioned by the landscape itself.”

Open-concept Living

While open-concept living is common today, it was highly unusual in the late 40s. With almost no interior walls, visitors of the Glass House can see uninterrupted views from one side of the home to the other. To organize the interior space, Johnson used a precise furniture placement detailed in the floor plans. The fixed furniture plan inside contrasts with the ever-changing landscape outside.

Modernist Approach

The Glass House pushes the envelope of modern design and architecture, bringing elements like post and beam construction, full-height glass, linear forms, and indoor-outdoor connections for the first time in the United States.

Linear Lines

Straight and simple linear lines make up the structure of the Glass House. The simple design feels at one with the landscape, and the simplicity allows the views of the scenery to take center stage.

Cylindrical Pavilion

The cylindrical brick pavilion contrasts the straight lines of the home and anchors the interior space. The cylindrical structure contains the fireplace and the bathroom and is the only floor-to-ceiling walled structure inside the house. While the pavilion separates zones of the interior, it invites guests to walk around it freely.