The purpose of this research is to examine the influence of the work of Philip C. Johnson on the architecture of today. The plan of the research will be to set forth the context in which Johnson's architectural designs emerged in the twentieth century, and then to discuss the elements of Johnson's approach that may be said to reach importance vis-a-vis the general scheme of architectural development in the contemporary period.
Johnson's work is widely acknowledged to be firmly modernist in character. His initial ten years of work in the architectural field saw him function as a commentator and architectural curator at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, a strong advocate of the shift toward modern, simple, cool architectural lines and materials such as glass and steel. This embrace of the modern style in architectural projects persisted from 1942, the year of Johnson's first practical commission. It derived from the influence of the modernist Bauhaus in general, and from the work of Mies van der Rohe, director of the Bauhaus from 1930 until Hitler took power in 1933 (Mies van der Rohe, 1975, p. 286). Upon emigrating from Germany in the 1930s, Mies van der Rohe became something of a mentor to Johnson, even working with him on various projects through the 1950s, including the Seagram's building in New York in 1958.
The coolness of Bauhaus mood never seems to have declined in interest for Johnson, whose status as Mies van der Rohe's "protege" has been frequently acknowledged (Goldberger, 1976). What is important to take away from the relationship of Johnson with the Bauhaus tradition is that the triumph of modern design over stodgy adaptations of classical and romantic architecture in major architectural projects occurred during Johnson's lifetime, and appears to owe a great deal to Johnson. In this regard, Goldberger cites Johnson's transformation, via the employment of modern lines, form, and design, from an architectu...