John Johansen

Recorded at his Plastic Tent House in Stanfordville, NY in 2009, modern architect John Johansen speaks to Diane Smith about the importance of designing one's home, nanotechnology, morphability and the future.

Born in New York City in 1916, architect John Johansen is the last surviving member of The Harvard Five, a group of architects that settled in New Canaan, CT in the 1940's. To this day, the town is known for its many examples of modern architecture, buildings that stressed form over function. Among many of Johansen's notable structures which include the U.S. Embassy in Dublin, The Goddard Library at Clark University, the Bridge House, and the Telephone Pole house is the Plastic Tent house in Stanfordville, N.Y.. This house, hand built by Johansen in 1975, is thirty feet square and three stories high with tapered sides.  Its structure is a steel frame from which living spaces are suspended. The home is covered by translucent panels giving it the appearance of a plastic tent.