Glass House Celebrates Richard Schultz
The designer of one of only two pieces of outdoor furniture at the Philip Johnson Glass House contributes to its Oral History Project.
David Sokol -- Interior Design, 8/26/2009 12:00:00 AM
After architect Philip Johnson and his partner David Whitney died in 2005, the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) had all but eight months to prepare the couple's famous Glass House estate for a public opening.
"The way they left it was for us to assemble and finalize the history," recalls executive director Christy MacLear. She and her staff sprinted to an early 2007 launch, and they are still learning about their charge.
The NTHP has undertaken an Oral History Project to shed light on Johnson's structures and how they were occupied. Two resulting DVDs feature frequent Glass House visitors like artist Frank Stella and historian Vincent Scully.
The Oral History Project's archives continue to expand, most recently with a visit from Richard Schultz. The 17-year-long director of product development for Knoll and still practicing today, Schultz created the Petal Tables that ring the Glass House. Along with Knoll's Bertoia Side Chairs, it is the only outdoor furniture design Johnson specified for the property.
Schultz's sole visit to the Glass House took place in 1949, when he was still a student at the Illinois Institute of Design and the Glass House had just been completed. Johnson's Harvard Five colleague Eliot Noyes, insistent that Schultz witness the instant modernist landmark, accompanied him to the property.
Schultz also described the genesis of the Petal Table to Oral History Project coordinator Gwen North Reiss: It began in early 1960, when Knoll determined it needed a table to accompany the seating Harry Bertoia had previously designed for the manufacturer. Handed a Christmas deadline, Schultz rushed to completion.
Initially he attempted an homage to Bertoia, using the same wire-bending and welding his predecessor had deployed. He abandoned the fabrication, however, for a cast-metal process that yielded the Petal's intricate spider connections supporting eight tabletop wedges. Schultz notes that this "form follows technique" approach characterizes his entire body of work.
As for why Johnson bought the Bertoia-Schultz pairing? "I guess because he liked the looks of it," Schultz shrugs.
Schultz marked his visit with another organic, visually lightweight contribution to the historic site: two Topiary benches, which now overlook Johnson's library and studio.
Photography by Michael Seto.
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