Philip Johnson: The Architect in His Own Words [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

Hilary Lewis (Author), John O'Connor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 1994

The career of Philip Johnson, dean of American architecture and international spokesperson for an entire generation of modern and postmodern architects, spans over 50 years and countless projects. In a series of interviews, the architect selects and discusses 20 favorite buildings, providing a rare glimpse into the mind of a master architect at work. Photographs.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Philip Johnson is one of the most influential architects of the 20th century, not so much because of his chameleon-like design approach, but because of his intelligence and articulateness. As the Museum of Modern Art's founding architecture curator in the early 1930s, he helped establish modernism in this country, and as the architect of New York's AT&T building--the notorious "Chippendale skyscraper"--he gave postmodernism commercial viability on a large scale during the 1980s.

In between, he built his famous glass house in 1949--the first in America--and designed several of Houston's best office towers, including Pennzoil Place, in the 1970s. Witty, wealthy, and well-connected, he was also the most powerful figure in the profession's cultural politics--a colleague once dubbed Johnson "the Godfather of architecture."

When this book was first published, Johnson was still practicing at age 88, and his intellect was undimmed. The text is an extended interview conducted by the authors, rather than the subject's thoughts written out for the ages. It's a good read, for Johnson is candid, unpretentious, astute, and entertaining in his stories about clients and how the projects unfolded. Think of this as oral history dispensed by a great raconteur who was at the center of the architectural universe for two-thirds of a century. Physically, this 200-page book is large-format and well laid out. The photos are numerous and first-rate, but oddly the plans are usually too big, and thus not as sharp as expected. --John Pastier

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Rizzoli; 1St Edition edition (September 15, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0847818233
• ISBN-13: 978-0847818235
• Product Dimensions: 12.2 x 10.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,852,564 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Philip Johnson as an architect and explorer, April 22, 2000

By 

Ross Hanus - See all my reviews

This review is from: Philip Johnson: The Architect in His Own Words (Hardcover)

The time of the architecture in the last century is a live time for the "architecture eminence" Philip Johnson. In his book you get closer look of his changing architecture from introducing the International Style to America in the early thirties to Post-Modernisms. A great book about a great man.

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Book, April 6, 2000

By 

Flavia Quintanilha (Brazil) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Philip Johnson: The Architect in His Own Words (Hardcover)

Shows his view over the architecture and over his own work. Very well ilustraded.

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars PHILIP JOHNSON'S POLITICS AND CYNICAL SURVIVAL, April 8, 2005

By 

Eugene Tenenbaum "reluctant reader" (Bronx, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Philip Johnson: The Architect in His Own Words (Hardcover)

On the other hand, Philip Johnson was an active fascist sympathizer and active propagandist for the Nazi government, who had tried to implement fascism in USA for at least 8 years between 1932 and 1940. Details of this past are described in "WE CANNOT NOT KNOW HISTORY:" PHILIP JOHNSON'S POLITICS AND CYNICAL SURVIVAL by KAZYS VARNELIS in Journal of Architectural Education, November 1994 published also on the Internet, and also discussed at http://arch.designcommunity.com/viewtopic.php?t=3709.