ICONIC Connecticut J o hn so n , Mar ce l b r eme (la n dis e s) gor n i a ne il la n di o jr. (j en s m ); riso d eb ra nne h istori c al so c i e ty Ph ilip ( J o h a n s en ); w illia m s); c a n aa m . new CTC&G takes a moment to honor the innovative and prolific design forces that anchor our historic state. From designer Bunny Williams to c ourt e sy f o t he architect of the , Connecticut’s design-scape h adl e y); b y Migu e l e s-via nn a Flor ( b u nn y

n oy e s); B en ja m i n mm itt di ( J o hn would be unrecognizable if not for these iconic masters. e liot By Mallory Abreu c i n gari (al be rt Br e u r, p h otograp s

september 2016 cottagesgardens.com ctc&g xx ICONIC CONNECTICUT Bunny Williams Jamie Drake

southern aesthetic meets yankee sensibility peeling back the layers of connecticut’s own color guru

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gard ens S tri ff l e r (C T C& G WHO: Bunny Williams began her now prolific career 2004 september WHO: Born in Woodbridge, just outside of New working at Parish-Hadley as Albert Hadley’s secre- Haven, Jamie Drake has traversed many a tary at the age of 22. Since then, she has traversed cityscape, from London, England, to Jacksonville, WWW .CTC ANDG .COM w it h a Hous e ))

| SEPTEMBER ( Te a k & digital S tarr every design-scape from modernist apartments 2004 Florida. Now a partner of Drake/Anderson— air to French-inspired gardens. Though Southern he ads h ot); Eri c his –based design firm Aff born, Williams was drawn to Connecticut co-owned by Caleb Anderson—Drake’s be droo m ); because of its combination of traditional diverse repertoire of clients ranges from countryside style and its drive toward inno- Michael Bloomberg to Madonna. The first issue vative, timeless design. “It’s these wonderful LLiving The Life

ivin of CTC&G (left) V u (Willia m s’ www Two-As-O Ab ra m s Boo k s ( An

.ct ne House l Tuscan gStyle GardenThe l Living With LifeKids and Antiques cand House Of Drake/Anderson’s philosophy, l Tuscan Style Garden WHAT: towns that exist, this wonderful architecture,” g.c featured Bunny

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m A childhood IncredibleIncredibleEDITOR’S CCrystal CHOICE Designsl Williams’ (far left) Living With Kids and Antiques Drake states: “We combine modernity and above she says. “There’s certainly modernist design in Your House: Does Sizery Really Matter? design ( ) DEEDS & DON’TSstal De DEEDS & DON’TS signs home on the cover. Connecticut, but I think that there’s a respect L a ne / T o n y color with a polished sensibility and a juxtapo- by Jamie Drake

b y Migu e l Flor e s- V ia nn a (Willia m s’ (left) of history here.” Now 70, Williams continues sition of historical periods to create an intellectu- ally surprising sense of space.” The nuances and to broaden her repertoire with each new venture. One Ki n gs “I look at every project as if I’ve never done another eclecticism that color provides is the aspect of design b l e ); Court e sy Co ffee o f ta Cov e r); one,” she explains. p h otograp s upon which Drake capitalizes. Most recently, he finds himself drawn to palettes of platinum, silver, grays and WHAT: There couldn’t be a better testament to slate—specific shades like anthracite, coal and mercury Williams’ careful curation of new and old pieces than lend an edgy sense of modernity to a space that he often her own Litchfield home. In An Affair with a House juxtaposes with softer textures. “Our accents seem to be (Abrams, 2005), Williams charts the conceptualization extremes right now, either in the cooler range of sky, egg- “Every room has and ever-evolving space in which she and her family, as shell or lavenders, and then also in corals and pinks,” says she says, “use every inch of the house.” Drake. “A rough-surfaced concrete-like wall that has an multiple planes, almost elemental quality, for example, can be contrasted WHY: Williams delivered Southern hospitality to with satins that have a slightly metallic sheen.” and none should New England homes. Her self-described comfortable, user-friendly and timeless aesthetic begins its growth WHY: Somehow, Drake manages to work outside of the be ignored” the minute she steps into a room. “For me, I start with pre-existing color wheel. Layering textures and colors, ‘Who lives here?’ ‘What’s going to happen here?’” he constructs dynamic spaces that keep the eye mov- explains Williams. “In a funny way, I want people to ing, relating pieces throughout a room to each other in feel comfortable in the room, before they’re hit over the subtle ways. “Every space has a voice to it, and so first, head with style.” one needs to look at the bones and know if they’re right,” says Drake. “Every room has multiple planes, and none should be ignored. They’re all opportunities for excite- "Enter a pull quote Williams’ ment and grandeur.” bedroom in her Falls Village A playful dining here Henihict assi home room designed by Drake for a musam sitiatur, sit

h o me ) Fairfield home “I look at volum remporro" every project Williams’ teak & as if I’ve resin coffee table is Sc ott f i e ld Morto n (Fair handcrafted from Drake’s color teak root. never done mastery on

An Affair with b y K e it h display in a A House another one” traditional study (Abrams, 2005) p h otograp s

xx ctc&g cottagesgardens.com september 2016 september 2016 cottagesgardens.com ctc&g xx ICONIC CONNECTICUT

John M. Johansen; Barlow House

The Harvard Five Playful remembering five men who changed the architectural landscape of our state takes on hile midcentury modern is certainly making a resurgence in design today, John Johansen’s death in 2012 marked the end of an traditional motifs era in the architectural community. Johansen was one of the Harvard Five—a group of modernist architects who moved to New W Canaan after either studying or teaching at Harvard. In the wake of World War II, architecture turned away from the ornamen - characterize tal and toward utilitarian and practical spaces. Modernists of the time embraced the ’ philosophy of unifying art, craft and technology, creating spaces that fit the needs of residents and that capitalized on natural surroundings. Gores’ creations

Eliot Noyes; ; Bremer House Gores Pavillion

Philip Johnson;

Philip Johnson John M. Johansen Eliot Noyes Landis Gores A modernist architect who began his career as a Where the other members of the Harvard Within the context of his modernist colleagues, Noyes was the first of the Five to arrive on the Though Gores and Philip Johnson set up a joint museum curator, Johnson’s works stand alone in Five studied at Harvard, Breuer taught Johansen could easily be considered the rebel New Canaan scene after graduating from Harvard office in New Canaan after studying together at (clockwise from their seamless dialogue between art and function. architecture and design there, working new of the group. Although certainly a modernist, in 1938, when architectural training began to shift Harvard, each left his mark on quite far left) Marcel A graduate of the Harvard Graduate School of alongside and other leaders Johansen felt that the minimalism of modern design from traditionally conservative to unruly modern distinctly. Influenced heavily by Frank Lloyd Wright,

Breuer; Breuer he ads h ot); Design (1943) and associate of Ludwig Mies van of the modernist movement. Born in Hungary House I; the could lead to tunnel vision, rather than work to free design. First guided by Philip Johnson, Noyes Gores’ works can be seen crawling through der Rohe in the 1950s, Johnson’s keen sense of in 1902, Breuer received his architectural educa- Cesca chair; architecture from needing a precedent. Johansen became quickly enamored with the new move- untamed terrain or resting on cultivated sites, but in space and human experience has left its mark on tion from the Bauhaus in Weimer and taught fur- Breuer’s daugh- is known for working in series, during which he ment and went on to work at Walter Gropius and both situations consistently retaining a clear linear h ous e 1); Court e sy he ads h ot) everything from the Seagram Building to his New niture design at the Dessau Bauhaus from 1924 c ourt e sy o f t he would attempt to exhaust a specific design concept Marcel Breuer’s office in Cambridge, MA. In 1939, formation. Like Wright, Gores often used rooflines

ter sitting in the m . jo h a n s en Canaan residence, the iconic Glass House. to 1928. Though his mark in New Canaan can be chair named through many projects before moving on to another he became Director of the Department of Industrial at different elevations for a tiered effect, so that n oy e s b r e u

Like many of Johnson’s structures, the Glass seen through his many homes and his collabora- after her h ous e ); idea. His 1950 Barlow House, part of his “square” Design at the , inciden- while his residential buildings were usually only one h istori c al so c i e ty ( Ph ilip

House’s agenda is driven by perspective and tions with other architects, Breuer’s beginnings e liot series, breaks away from the glass box aesthetic tally crossing paths with Johnson once again. For floor, the illusion of multiple levels, coupled with relation to surrounding elements: 47 acres of lay in furniture design, allowing him to carry his and begins to incorporate more traditional motifs— Noyes, the pleasure of lay in a generally centralized entry points, insinuated the D i mm itt (jo hn c a n aa

cultivated landscape, the opaque brick Guest unique perspective of seeing design in smaller he ads h ot, a pitched roof, columns and framed windows, to lack of coherence and rules—a trend emphasized more traditional characteristics of a home.

House nearby, and the playfully geometric pool units throughout his work. new name a few. The structure hints at the beginnings of in his 1951 Bremer House. Playful takes on traditional motifs characterize and sculptures recontextualize architectural motifs. In furniture and architecture, Breuer designed Johansen’s Neoclassical period, where the architect With the first floor raised on columns and a Gores’ creations. Oversized prairie fireplaces like b r e u

A cylindrical brick bathroom cutting through the user-friendly industrial products that were simple L a n di o jr. ( b arlo w drew heavy inspiration from Andrea Palladio, while partially covered terrace continuing the lineation that in the Gores Pavilion, built in 1960, ground his

otherwise transparent Glass House acknowledges and affordable, and could survive an unstable g e ) B en ja m i n PA simultaneously working to disrupt symmetry. of the living area inside, Noyes’ fascination with otherwise relatively open floor plans with a focal the necessity of human comfort, while questioning wartime economy. In 1925, Breuer conceived his m ar ce l Around this time, Johansen was also toying with melding indoor and outdoor spaces peaks in the point. While the pavilion may seem dense from the n , h ous e , gor e s pavillio its logic. Divisional planes and blocks configured signature innovation: using lightweight tubular- spray-form concrete homes, which created organi- Bremer House’s architecture. If the outdoor area façade, glass paneling opens up a sheltered back

from cabinets, paintings and furniture create a steel frames for chairs, tables and sofas. His h ous e , cally curved structures. Though generally more incorporated into the structure is considered as part view and contradicts the interior’s horizontal red- ch air). ( Th is

whimsically asymmetrical space within the pristine Wassily and Cesca chairs proved highly influential he ads h ot); N e il opaque than other midcentury modern houses, the of the building’s encapsulated space, the house wood paneling. In reality, it was not the design of symmetry of the glass box’s exterior. throughout the 20th century and are still seen continuity of the exterior form and the malleable then evokes the box-like design schema seen in the pavilion that was Gores’ real accomplishment, b r e u G or e s For Johnson, the house was never just a today as the embodiment of modern design’s fun- The glass nature of the interior space are ideas that perpetu- many modern residential buildings of the time. but rather the actual fruition of the idea. Paralyzed home: In 1986, he entrusted the Glass House to damental characteristics: utilitarian and versatile ate throughout his peers’ work. Unfortunately, not Simultaneously, the perimeter dissolves, releasing for life by age 35, when he contracted polio, Gores the National Trust for Historic Preservation, under structures, made with minimalist materials. e ) b y Court e sy ( O pposit e o f pag t he many of Johansen’s buildings survived, and many the home from a clearly delineated boundary, and amazingly continued to draw from within an iron

which it was opened as a historical site after he ads h ot, of his drawings were destroyed in a fire in the ‘70s. resulting in a structure reminiscent of ’s lung, aided by a typewriter specially designed by his Johnson’s death in 2005. h istori c al so c i e ty ( b r eme Thankfully, the memory of his wit and creativity are Villa Savoye in Poissy, France. friend and client of the Gores Pavilion, Jack Irwin. not so easily extinguished. Ni n a Br eme r ( L a n dis c a n aa o f K n oll i nc . ( ce s c a J o hn so n p h otograp s

xx ctc&g cottagesgardens.com september 2016 september 2016 cottagesgardens.com ctc&g xx ICONIC CONNECTICUT Jens Risom Albert Hadley

Pull up a chair: chances are, he influenced its design a timeless designer breaks the mold before piecing it all back together

WHO: At the age of 100, Jens Risom is Connecticut’s Jens Risom’s WHO: Between the playful nature of his work— living legend. Born in Denmark, with an architect (left) favorite particularly in toying with scale—and living piece in his New for a father, Risom has been immersed in the Canaan home is a modest, disciplined life, Hadley kept the design world since day one. While his inter- this credenza. design community guessing. “He had a “He had a house, ests venture across the board, it is the har- house, he never had food, and he always mony between the aesthetic design and the had lots to drink,” says Bunny Williams, he never had food, function of furniture that most intrigues remembering her time with Hadley, in and he always had him. “Chairs are one of the biggest chal- and out of the office. Usually seen in a lenges in the design field,” says Risom. black cashmere turtleneck, gray flannel lots to drink” “In terms of form and function, I would trousers and occasionally a herringbone —Bunny Williams urge any designer to not think about one sport coat below black-rimmed glasses, or the other. They must fit together and the consistency of Hadley’s attire does form a system that works. The pleasure of little to reflect the various styles he traversed designing a chair is creating the balance.” Part of Knoll’s first throughout his career. The magic of his works collection, the Risom derives from their timeless nature: Hadley’s lounge chair (this photo) WHAT: After immigrating to the United States is a prime example of the celebration of traditional pieces that are capable of in 1939, Risom met Hans Knoll; three years later, he designer’s Scandinavian surviving fads keeps his rooms feeling evergreen. designed the 666 WSP chair. Constructed from surplus sensibilities. army parachute webbing woven across a birch frame, it WHAT: Apart from the many nuanced interiors he was among the first chairs manufactured by Knoll and created throughout his career, Hadley’s integral role in was to be Risom’s iconic design. In 1945, he moved from Rooms with a View sparked innovation in Connecticut’s New York City to New Canaan, befriending Philip design community like nothing before. Since 1995, the Johnson and other architects. Though he worked out of organization, run by the Southport Congregational

New Canaan for the majority of his life, Risom’s designs h all Church and curated by Hadley for 18 years, has hosted a b ri c ) m . can be seen across the globe: By 1946, he had established f 12 designers a year to create small vignettes. Each “room” Jens Risom Design Inc., which became the third largest is six feet by eight feet and provides every designer with a furniture company in the country. “Furniture must stand c ourt e sy o f simple white sheetrock box upon which they can express Albert Hadley (top); the Hadley-designed on its own,” says Risom. “The space should be enhanced their take on the year’s design theme. library (this photo) by the furniture and the furniture by the space.” in Mrs. Vincent

p. st ee l e , jo hn w illia m p. WHY: Before Hadley, interior design was viewed as a Astor’s Park Avenue recipe of sorts that needed to subscribe to the rules of apartment

c ourt e sy o f do n g h ia (russ e ll the architecture surrounding it. When Hadley entered “The pleasure of he ads h ot); the scene, a Victorian home, for example, became a space h e r p h otos); (sist e r paris c rat that no longer required velvets and opulence, but rather could incorporate a signature Risom chair, salvaged designing a chair is Sister Parish

c i n gari (Hadl e y antiques, a gold leaf ceiling and everything in between. Design’s fabric (left) w it h a vi ew p h oto); creating the balance” named after Hadley; Sister Parish, Susan Crater and Hadley

b y d eb ra nne on a trip to England

WHY: Risom’s work brings a unique warmth and sin- w it h a vi ew (roo m s cerity to modern architecture and design. His Danish ( m rs. vi ncen t astor’s li b rary); susa n roo m s roots are emphasized in his creations’ humble forms that p h otograp s are simple, stylish and economical. “At 100, I am probably fixed in my way of thinking,” says Risom, reflecting on The Russell Hadley admiring

modern design. “But I sometimes wonder if too much b y N e il la n di o jr. fabric designed artwork in the freedom and a need to do something totally different by Hadley for shop at Rooms more recently hasn’t created a lot of goofy furniture.” Hinson with a View p h otograp s

xx ctc&g cottagesgardens.com september 2016 september 2016 cottagesgardens.com ctc&g xx