MODERN ARCHITECTURE LP

I discovered an interesting treasure in the record bins yesterday that will appeal to fans of architectural design and Mid-Century Modern. In 1956 the Reynolds Metals Company released a vinyl album called Conversations Regarding the Future of Architecture. In this 34-minute limited-edition album, narrator John Peter recorded the ideas and philosophies of Eero Saarinen, Ernest Kump, Mies van der Rohe, Richard Neutra, Walter Gropius, and Gordon Bunshaft. Listen to sides one and two below. Amazon link here. 

John Peter's conversations with designers was later expanded in the 1994 book/cd release The Oral History of Modern Architecture from Harry N. Abrams, and included other luminaries like Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright, and I.M. Pei. Amazon link here. Spy Vibe posts: Mid-Century Modern at Schulz, Dieter Rams Braun Design, Tati's Playtime, Bosko interview, Phillip Johnson Glass House, Set For Adventure. Other links of interest: Mies van der Rohe Society, Phillip Johnson Glass House, Eliot Noyes, Eero Saarinen, and the school my family started, the New York School of Interior Design. 




Recent Spy Vibe posts: Steranko S.H.I.E.L.D. Artist Editions, David Tennant's Ian Fleming audio books, The Prisoner & Captain Scarlet, HMV returns to Oxford st w Beatles promo, Diego Fortunato & Verner Panton,  Saturday Morning Cartoons, Assassination Bureau on DVD, new Young Bond series,  Peter Asher, Gerry Marsden tour, Elio Petri on Blu-ray, Sophia Loren, new Beatles BBC album, new Hercule Poirot novel, Beatles fall 2013 releases, A Hard Days Night cinematographer dies, Magic Christian on Blu-ray, Early Beatles image archive, Julie Newmar, Erno Goldfinger, Hitchcock tribute.

Recent Ian Fleming posts on Spy Vibe: Erno Goldfinger, Ian Fleming Music Series links: Noel Coward, Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr, new Ian Fleming Catalog, Jon Gilbert interview, Double 007 Designs, Bond audio book reissues, discovery of one of Ian Fleming's WWII Commandos, James Bond book covers, Ian Fleming's Playboy interview for Kindle, Spy Vibe's discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, rare View to a Kill, Fleming's Royal gold typewriter, Ian Fleming's memorial address, Spy Vibe's Ian Fleming image archive. 

MODERN LAIR FOR SALE

Thanks to Design Within Reach, an interesting item showed up on our radar today. For Spy Vibers who are looking for the perfect lair, now is your chance to own the Goodyear house by John Johansen. The home is located near where I grew up in Connecticut. Some of you may know that my family started the New York School of Interior Design. The Whiton home was designed and built in Wilton, CT, and my grandfather was also part of a modern design community in the area. For many years, we lived in a modern structure with large glass walls. Sadly, all of the houses in our community were later replaced by McMansions. Just over the hills from us, however, were protected projects by more prominent designers, Phillip Johnson, Elliot Noyes, and John Johansen. 

From DWR: "The only surviving member of the Harvard Five, architect John Johansen settled in Connecticut in the 1940s, along with Marcel Breuer, Landis Gores, Philip Johnson and Eliot Noyes. Drawn to the New Canaan area for its open landscape, the men experimented with new materials and construction methods as well as open floor plans and indoor-outdoor living. The homes they built for themselves and their clients attracted other architects to the area, which resulted in more than 80 modern houses being built over the next two decades.

The most famous is Philip Johnson’s Glass House, now a National Trust historic site and open to the public for tours. Many are still owned by the original families, and on the rare occasion that one of these homes comes up for sale, the hope is that the buyer will be a passionate fan of American mid-century modern architecture.

In the case of the Goodyear House, built in 1955 and located on more than two acres in Darien, Conn., the house is surprisingly large for its day, and nicely suited to today’s way of living. Listed by Halstead Propery, the house showcases Johansen’s use of spatial symbols, such as the cave, bridge and labyrinth. I’m guessing that the “lower level hockey arena” is not original to the home, but the structure appears to be unaltered." More info at DWR.

PHILLIP JOHNSON GLASS HOUSE

The aesthetics of architecture and modern design are an integral element to the spy vibe of cold war mystery/adventure. While we celebrate luminaries like Ken Adam for defining the space-age, larger-than-life style of the James Bond universe, it's important to point out visionaries who pushed the envelope of environments in the real world. Over the hill from my own childhood house with giant glass walls, Phillip Johnson created his iconic glass house. Join New Yorker architecture critic, Paul Goldberger, for a look at the Phillip Johnson Glass House and property, filmed during a tour in September, 2011.

Conversations in Context: Paul Goldberger from The Philip Johnson Glass House on Vimeo.