Wrapping One’s Head Around Philip Johnson’s Glass House

“For the day-tripper, what remains is a lovely shell, the modernist analogue to all those Vanderbilt mansions and chateaux belonging to the kooky and rich. It’s hard to imagine how anyone actually lived in such exposed circumstances. The décor is even more unforgiving than the New England weather: This is the sort of room where a tossed magazine or an unclean dish is an architectural blemish, even a betrayal of minimalist purity.”