Citation

Webb BC. J. Architect. Educ. 2008; 62(1): 11-19.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1531-314X.2008.00211.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Philip Johnson’s house, designed for wealthy art patrons and social activists John and Dominique de Menil in 1948, Houston, introduced the culturally conservative city to the modern aesthetic of the international style. It stimulated a generation of mid-century Houston architects who promulgated the ideas of Johnson’s mentor, Mies van der Rohe. It also initiated a productive relationship between the architect and Houston where Johnson’s design interests evolved from the international style to the figural high-rise towers and the near-kitsch historicist inspiration at the University of Houston. Stern and Bucek Architects’ recent conservation project reflects on the role of the house, its owners, and its architect in a city’s cultural evolution.