User:Bri&Suz

We are sutdents in New Canaan Ct. We are juniors and seniors in New Canaan High School and are in an advanced architecture class at the school. We have been visiting and interviewing homes and homeowners of modern and Harvard Five houses.

[The Harvard Five]

The Harvard Five was a collective group of architects, including John Johansen, Marcel Breuer, Landis Gores, Phillip Johnson and Elliot Noyes. All five attended Harvard University between the late 1930’s and 1950’s. The students were influenced by the professor Walter Gropius, a leader in the Bauhaus Movement and the head of the architecture program at Harvard. In 1937, after being forced out of Germany during the Nazi regime, Gropius brought the teachings of the Bauhaus to the United States. Regarded as one of the pioneering masters of “modern” architecture, he taught “form over function.” His designs epitomized the contemporary design of clean, simple, nuclear spaces with lots of natural light; as well as utilizing the industrialized building materials of the time. All five architects spoke of him as an inspiration in their work. After the five completed their education from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, they went on to design a string of modern buildings. Part of their careers was devoted to building modern homes, creating an architectural experiment in the suburb of New Canaan, Connecticut. This small, rural town was soon nationally recognized for its extraordinary architecture. Although many of the Harvard Five are not present today, many of their works and timeless pieces of modern architecture still remain in New Canaan.

Elliot Noyes

Intoduction

Eliot Noyes was an outstanding architect of the 20th century modern period in American history. (1910—1997) He was the member of the Harvard Five, a group of distinct modern architects who practiced in the quaint town of New Canaan, CT. He believed that each region of the United States has buildings inspired by the climate, but this changes only the outside surface materials of the building – not the actual structure. Noyes had a very distinctive design. He was a strong advocate of functional Modernism and his work was firmly grounded in the tradition of Gropius, Breuer & Le Corbusier. He advocated simplicity of form and truth to the nature of materials which is seen particularly in his houses. He was responsible for many residential and commercial wonders alike. From leading the IBM design program to creating residential art pieces, Eliot Noyes has become a leading image of post-war American architecture.

Early life:

Eliot Noyes was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Shortly after his birth, Noyes moved to Colorado where he resided until age seven. At this point, Eliot and his family moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts. Eliot Noyes’ father taught English at Harvard and his mother was an accomplished pianist. Eliot was not always set on architecture. As a teen, he seriously contemplated becoming a painter; however by age 19 he had his mind set on architecture. However, he first enrolled at Harvard University and to obtain a bachelor’s degree in classics in 1932, and then later in 1938 he received his architecture degree at the Harvard School of Design. Eliot’s experience at Harvard was unlike the other four members of Harvard Five. When he arrived at Harvard, the school was still under the influence of the Beaux Arts movement – hardly the modernist influence that the other four received. However, after meeting Le Corbusier in the school library, Noyes’s architectural outlook changed entirely. He was so inspired by Le Corbusier’s work that Noyes researched the Bauhaus and even had thoughts of transferring to Dessau. Reality of the situation preventing the bold move, though, and Le Corbusier chose (unhappily) to stay at Harvard for the time being. However, his opportunity soon came. In his junior year at Harvard, Eliot traveled to Iran for an archeological expedition. Upon returning to the school, Eliot found that Harvard had undergone a complete revolution. Gropius and Breuer had already arrived at Harvard, and with them came a new modernist spirit at the school.

Career:

After graduating with his masters in architecture in 1938, Eliot Noyes joined Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer’s firm in Cambridge. 1939-1946 Eliot was employed by the Museum of Modern Art in NYC as director of industrial design. This job was interrupted, however, by a brief but unforgettable term of service in WW2 as a fighter pilot. Noyes also served as an industrial designer for Norman Bel Geddes and Co.

Works :

His first house built in New Canaan was the Tallman House, built in 1950, followed in the same year by the Bremer House. While in New Canaan for 30 years, Eliot designed more residential buildings including the Ault House (1951), the Weeks House (1953), and the Noyes House (1955). One of Eliot’s most notable designs was the Wilton Library (1974) in the neighboring town of Wilton, CT. Eliot Noyes also spent several years of his life working for IBM. In the early 1940s, Noyes befriended Tom Watson, JR. – the son of the founder of IBM and a fellow pilot in the war. Noyes was employed on several occasions by IBM to design buildings for the corporation. His most famous and well know of these buildings was the IBM building in Garden City, NY (built in 1963), the IBM office building renovations in Harrison, NY (1968), The IBM Pavilion Hemisfair in San Antonio, TX (1968). He also designed the “IBM Selectric typewriter” in 1977. He served Consultant Director of Design for Mobil Oil Corporation from 1964-1977.

Quotes:

“I think of details in two senses. There are first the details of joints, connections, the attachment of different materials to each other, the turning of corners, the physical relating of parts of the building to each other. But I also think of larger special elements as details – such things as stairs and fireplaces.”

“Details alone…cannot make architecture. Such details must play their part in relation to the overall concept and character of the building, and are the means by which the architect may underline his main idea, reinforce it, echo it, intensify or dramatize it.”

“I’m going to use huge sheets of glass, as large as can physically be manufactured”

Landis Gores

Short Summary:

On August 31, 1919 legendary American architect Landis Gores was born. Native to Cincinnati, Ohio, Landis continued on to build magnificent modern works of art, which include but are not limited to the Gores Pavilion, the Gores Family House, and the House for All Seasons. From a young age, Landis was always fascinated in the idea of building things; Legos and blocks were among Gores’ favorite pastimes. Little did he know as a child, however, that eventually he would grow up to design some of the most innovative and revered buildings of the modernist time period. Early Life After growing up in the Midwest, Gores continued his education at Harvard school of Design. In Landis’s opinion, Harvard had the best architectural department out of all the schools out there. While at Harvard, Landis befriended Philip Johnson and Marcel Breuer, future fellow members of the Harvard Five modern architectural group (also including John Johansen and Eliot Noyes). After graduating in 1942, he went off to serve the US in World War II. During this time Gores took part in a top-secret operation that broke the code of the German high command. He attained the rank of major and was awarded the Legion of Merit and the Order of the British Empire.

Career:

When he came back from the war, he pursued his fondness in the architectural field. From 1945-1951, he was associated with Philip Johnson when he started his own practice, and was Johnson’s first employee. They were a good team, Gores and Johnson. Johnson would design and Gores would draft the ideas to a polished result. Gores helped Johnson on Early Miesian inspired houses which included the Booth house, the Rockefeller townhouse, the MOMA garden, and the world renowned famous Glass House Upon complaints that Johnson had not passed his architectural exam yet and therefore could not practice, the two partners left their office in NYC and relocated their business to New Canaan, Connecticut. However, much disagreement also frequently erupted between the two architects. Gores, according to one source, “participated in a nonstop intellectual debate with Johnson.” It is no surprise then, that in 1951 Johnson and Gores parted professionally, each to excel in their own way. In 1951, Landis Gores began practicing architecture on his own. In 1954, only three short years later, Gores contract polio. It was just a year before the US government approved the distribution of the polio vaccine. Gores was contained to an iron lung and his activities were severely restricted. Nevertheless, he continued with his work with the help of a close friend Mr. Jack Irwin (for whom he later built the famous Gores Pavilion) who fashioned Gore a special typewriter so that he may continue to be a practicing architect. However, Landis’s work was limited, as his wife Pamela claims, “people didn’t want someone on-site in a wheelchair. It made them nervous.” To help her husband continue with his love for architecture, Pamela acted as contractor of all Landis’s projects. Mr. Gores’ work is characterized by several unique traits. An oversized Prairie fireplace is a common denominator in almost all of his residential buildings. For example, the Gores Pavilion, House for all Seasons and Gores own house all contain the same styled large fireplace. Also, like many other modern architects of the time period, Landis included large amounts of natural light by incorporating grand glass windows into his building designs. Gores was inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright and Walter Gropius’s embracement of the international movement. His work is most heavily influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright. His wife Pamela also recalls taking frequent visits to Gropius’s buildings so hat Landis could fully appreciate the works of art that Gropius constructed. In 1991, Landis Gores died. He had no contact with Philip Johnson in the last years of his life, but Johnson nonetheless adored his fellow architect. “…I remember the extraordinary brilliance of Landis in school, his command of English, the amazing ability of his mind…” Philip Johnson wrote in a letter to Landis’s widow Pamela Gores. There is no doubt that Landis Gores’ work continues to be revered to this day, as he is known for his outstanding impact modern design in American.

Notable Works:

Gores Pavilion Among one of his most praised works is the Gores Pavilion. Located in New Canaan, CT, Landis was hired to design the building as a pool house and personal escape lodge for prominent lawyer Jack Irwin and his wife Jane Watson, daughter of the founder of IBM. Today, the town of New Canaan owns the property and has converted it into a park so that it may be enjoyed by the general public. The pool has been filled in, and the neglected Pool House is being threatened with demolition. The New Canaan Historical Society is working to raise $150,000 for restoration of the building, but with little luck thus far. “The pool house represents the moderns in a very nice way…and it’s a public park, so people can come and see it without interrupting someone’s home,” claims Tome Nissely, co-chair of the Friends of the Gores Pavilion group trying to save the building. It would truly be a shame of the Gores Pavilion was unable to be saved, fated to meet a bulldozer.

Other Works:

Gores is also known for the Van Doren Hospital and Strathmore Village in Fairfield, CT, as well as the middle school and science buildings of the New Canaan Country Day School. WG Harris Residence, Richmond, VA 1962 Close House: New Preston, CT 1965 Mrs. G. Gores House: Norfolk, CT 1965