For decades (and decades) Philip Johnson, the most powerful man in architecture, has wielded more influence over the profession than anyone probably should. He is the one who introduced the US to the International Style (a name he coined), worked with Mies van der Rohe on the Seagram Building, legitimized Post Modernism with the AT&T Building and organized the legendary "Deconstructivist" show featuring Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid and Daniel Libeskind. While his designs are competent and occassionally (though not consistently) inspired, it is his unmatched influence which will always be remembered.

Seagram Building
(1958) New York City, United States

Technically a collaboration between Philip Johnson and Mies van der Rohe, one which Mies seems to get most of the credit. It's not Philip Johnson's fault that the building looks exactly like every other Mies building that he did not collaborate with.

Click here to visit the only public area of the building, Mies and Philip Johnson's Four Seasons Restaurant where it costs $45 for a dinner of some deer meat

Glass House
(1992) New Canaan, Connecticut, United States

Philip Johnson's famous glass house (with the combination circular fireplace and toilet) is as good a place as any to run a profession from. The house is part of a larger collection of buildings that will be willed to the National Trust and opened as a museum should Philip Johnson ever actually die.

AT&T Building
(1984) New York City, United States

When the design of the AT&T Building made the front page of the Times, it sent shockwaves throughout the city and profession. Philip Johnson was a Modernist in a time when Modernism was still expected, he had worked on the Seagram Building and designed an addition to the Museum of Modern Art. Then suddenly out of nowhere there was this big, solid stone building with the unnecessarily (although instantly recognizable) chippendale top.

Click here to go to the Sony attraction that has now moved into the ground floor of the former AT&T Building. The Sony retail stores and a walk through atrium are opened at ground level

Crystal Cathedral
(1980) Garden Grove, California, United States

Another impressive icon, designed at a point in time when Philip Johnson didn't seem quite ready to give up on Modernism. The space itself remains impressive, although probably somewhat difficult to keep clean.

Click here to go to the Crystal Cathedral site. ArBITAT makes no endorsement of any religion, still the cathedral is worth a visit, especially if you move around fast and avoid being converted to whatever religion is actually practiced there

Chrysler Building Trylons
(2001) New York City, United States

Not his greatest work, the Chrysler Building Trylons are on East 42nd Street at the base of the Chrysler Building. Intended as a public space that would mirror the loved tower, it is hard to see them and not think of them as just totally unnecessary on almost every level.