3D renderings of the original glass house, created to help further study & understand the space
At the time of its conception, all aspects of Philip Johnson’s Glass House challenged the understanding of a what a “house” was and became an international symbol of modernity. In the 1940s when Johnson was first designing his weekend retreat, nature was in abundance and could be used as a decorative motif. The concept of a house with glass walls and the technology used to realize this vision were what made this building cutting edge at the time. However, since then our population has more than tripled, while the plant population diminishes at an astonishing rate. As a 21st century response to this icon of modernity, I have designed a house(s) for plants instead of people, who are in more dire need of housing and spaces for growth.With technology improving and our earth warming at exponential rates, modernity in the 21st century should be not only about gravity defying buildings, but also about educating and preserving the death so that there is life to redefine modernity in the 22nd century.
The first glass “house” was the greenhouse, built 100 years before Johnson’s iconic structure - but it was a house for plants, not people. In the past 100 years, Massachusetts alone has listed over 300 native plants as endangered species.
proposed site
3D elevation of ‘The Bedroom’
topographical model