
The Maison de Verre, one of the world's best-preserved modernist buildings - tintinnabula
https://daily.jstor.org/glass-house-ideal-home-communist-gynecologist
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throwanem
Google Images has interior views and elevations which the article does not. I
particularly like the grand salon from what appears to be an overlooking
balcony: [http://atlasofinteriors.polimi-cooperation.org/wp-
content/up...](http://atlasofinteriors.polimi-cooperation.org/wp-
content/uploads/2014/03/Maison-de-Verre-Paris-by-Pierre-Chareau-Bernard-
Bijvoet-Yellowtrace-01.jpg)

I think this must be the first time in my life I've actually seen modernism
achieve a satisfactory combination of the industrial, on the one hand, and the
humanistic, on the other - I'm not sure I love the nonskid flooring
everywhere, and a Persian rug or similar might help tie together the
conversation area centered on the divan, but the overall impression is
nonetheless quite an appealing one. Based on the geometry of the space, I
suspect the aural environment would be similarly pleasant - the high, airy
volume would support close conversation without turning a more declamative
style into a farrago of reverberation, and support a nuanced piano performance
without swallowing quiet passages or ruining loud ones.

The salon being apparently the focus of the place, or at least of that
photography I've found, it's hard to get a sense of the other rooms, and
modernist architecture in general has a nasty habit of being a bear to
maintain due to design features more oriented toward presenting the
architect's vision than withstanding the loads placed on an edifice by its
environment. But at the very least, should I ever find myself in the
neighborhood, I'll most certainly have to find some way to visit.

~~~
westbywest
It is true some modernist architecture hasn't aged well due to short-sighted
deployment of the building materials and techniques available at the time.
Frank Lloyd-Wright was particularly bad about this, and that could be
attributed to the fact he was usually designing for ostentation. At the same
time, there are modernist buildings demonstrating very intelligent choices
over a the structure's long-term durability and maintainability. E.g. Bauhaus
residences that put windows at the corners, to optimize on holes cut through
exterior walls vs. natural light let in. Likewise for metal Lustron homes
built during the 1940s in the US.

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ucaetano
The story is a bit of an excess in hypocrisy (which does not detract from the
quality of the text or the house):

 _" A card-carrying member of the French Communist Party, Dalsace hosted a
variety of Marxist thinkers"_

 _" when they had guests, they used a glamorous, broad staircase, which has no
rails and seems to float in midair"_

 _" A tearoom has a small port on a metal pivot, which allowed the service
staff to deliver tea or coffee without having to walk all the way around and
into the room."_

 _" Writing in “Experience and Poverty” in 1933, a year after the Maison de
Verre was completed, Benjamin reflected on its entirely glass facade as the
architectural analog to Communism."_

 _" The house was designed to its owners’ very personality—a house like a
Swiss watch, perfection and utility in every tiny gear."_

 _" Aline Vellay, Jean’s daughter, decided she wanted to sell the house to the
French government, hoping it could be opened to the public as a national
landmark. For unexplained reasons, the government didn’t want it._"

Few things scream Gauche caviar as this story does.

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mattpavelle
Many more stills and video here:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jfPehOGXeo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jfPehOGXeo)
(Narration in French)

~~~
llsf
Watching this video (and part 2), I keep thinking about Steve Jobs. I won't be
surprised that Mr Jobs studied it before.

------
chrischen
As it describes all these (what would have been at the time) technological
advancements inside the house, makes me wish the US preferred new buildings
like they do in Japan.

