Architect Philip Johnson Dead

[mslacat]

I was not a huge fan of Philip Johnson, but there is no doubt that he was one of the leading Architects of the 20th Century.

Architect Philip Johnson Dead.
Jan. 26, 2005 — Architect Philip Johnson, who is credited with bringing some of the ideas of European modern design to the United States and transforming them into a uniquely American form, has died at his home in New Canaan, Conn. He was 98.

Among his most famous designs are the Glass House, his own home in New Canaan, a glass building with an exposed steel frame, New York's Seagram Building, which he designed in collaboration with Mies van der Rohe, and the elliptical shaped 53rd at Third, also known as the Lipstick Building, in New York City.


Born in Cleveland in 1906, Johnson began his career as a critic and curator who championed such architects already well known in Europe as Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius, and van der Rohe, whose minimalist style he encouraged American architects to follow.

He received a bachelor's degree in architectural history from Harvard University in 1930 and went to work as the director of the Department of Architecture at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

In 1940, he returned to Harvard, where he studied under Marcel Breuer. After completing his studies, Johnson put his hand to designing buildings himself, putting into practice the minimalist aesthetic he had preached as a critic.

[velochat]

What did he design? Have you seen the new Seattle Library? You must have an opinion on Koolhaas.