Tomorrow's Houses: New England Modernism

Tomorrow's Houses: New England Modernism

A dazzling showcase of hidden jewels by the masters of twentieth-century modernist architecture in New England. Tomorrow’s Houses is a richly photographed presentation of the best modernist houses in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, built during the early twentieth century through the 1960s. From the suburbs of Connecticut to the mountains of New Hampshire and Vermont, modernism in America found some of its earliest, most idealistic, and, later, most refined realizations in houses designed by such masters as Frank Lloyd Wright, Philip Johnson, Mies van der Rohe, Richard Meier, Paul Rudolph, Marcel Breuer, and Walter Gropius, all of whose work is featured in these pages. Photographer Geoffrey Gross has captured in stunning full-color images these precisely composed structures and their exquisitely appointed interiors, all against the breathtaking variety of the landscapes of New England. Lauded architect and critic Alexander Gorlin places these beautiful houses in their proper historical context as examples of the best of early- and mid-twentieth-century American modernist architecture. "What I love most about this book, ...the rich photographs come alive, it feels as if you could step right into the homes." Joseph Truini This Old House --hardwareaisle.thisoldhouse.com/2011/04/modernism-beautifully-revealed.html#more "I'm eagerly awaiting this beautifully shot tribute to early modernist architecture, especially the Bauhaus-influenced house Gropius designed for his family." Reed Krakoff, NYTimes.com --tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/01/material-man/ "don't know much about 20th c. architecture in New England... you might like looking at cool 20th houses in colour"- WowHaus --wowhaus.co.uk/2011/05/19/new-book-tomorrows-houses-new-england-modernism-by-alexander-gorlin-and-geoffrey-gross/ "I usually like Modern(but), its interiors often leave me cold.Mr. Gorlin's book changed that. It is a feast of beauty&warmth..leaving me to imagine how wonderful it must be to live in any of them." --nysocialdiary.com/node/1906432 "Why did modern architecture take root in this region of colonial homes&entrenched tradition?" asks Gorlin. He traces its roots to the Puritan cult of honesty&simplicity...- FORM --formmag.net/michael-webb/tag/tomorrows-houses Photographer's Statement- I was privileged to spend a day photographing at a house in Massachusetts while the family was present. A beautiful crisp autumn picture post card day; the mom-spent time in the kitchen and spent time with the daughter as well as both children. Dad did yard chores, went on errands and so forth. In the afternoon the son engaged in some hunting, bagging a few rabbits that were skinned and saved, whatever that entails. Toward the end of the day I was invited to stay for dinner- an invitation I eagerly accepted, the cooking aromas of the day ever-present. Towards evening the mom prepared dinner while I played checkers in front of the fireplace with the children. I lost every game. We sat down to a meal of venison stew that couldn't be beat; watched the sun set thru the extensive glass windows/walls and as that progressed I became aware that the house interior now came "alive"- what had been a thin invisible skin was now a safe, nurturing protective but transparent barrier against the night. The house, by design, was a true "machine-for-living". A nurturing structure, it provided shelter and warmth when needed, let the sunlight shine in when present, and provided a constant cocoon-like safe, protective environment.   Alexander Gorlin established his architectural practice in 1986. He is the author of a two-volume series, The New American Town House, and the subject of a monograph, all published by Rizzoli. Geoffrey Gross is the photographer of Rizzoli’s Stone Houses, Great Houses of New England, and Old Homes of New England.