A Rediscovered Architectural Gem Of The 1980s

The best architecture is art wrought large -- on a grand scale.
And it's also art that you live in. It surrounds you. In envelopes you. It challenges you. It inspires you.
The very best architects have always understood this.
But fine architecture is functional as well. It serves its purpose and meets the demands of its inhabitants as well as its environment and the era in which it was created.
Of course, great architecture -- really great architecture -- becomes timeless.
Phillip Johnson understood this.
Johnson's notable works included the Seagram Building in New York, the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center, Fort Worth Water Gardens, Penzoil Place in Houston, the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California, the AT&T Building in New York, his own very famous Glass House and PPG Place in Pittsburgh.
Today we conducted our own architectural tour of Pittsburgh and we spent a great deal of time marvelling at PPG Place.
PPG Place adjacent to Market Square in Pittsburgh, encompasses six buildings within three city blocks and five and a half acres. Named for its main tenant, PPG Industries (Pittsburgh Plate Glass) who initiated the project for its headquarters, the buildings are all of matching glass design containing nearly 20,000 pieces of glass.
The complex centers around One PPG Place, a 40-story office building. The spacious plaza includes a playful, pulsating fountain with an obelisk and a glass-enclosed winter garden.
The whole thing is one of Phillip Johnson's largest creations.
Groundbreaking ceremonies took place on January 28, 1981. The complex buildings opened between 1983 and 1984, and a dedication ceremony was held in April 1984.
Constructed just as the huge economic boom of the 1980s was beginning to take shape, PPG Place telegraphs an audacious confidence and hopefulness. Through its reflective glass panels, spires, angles, corners and shimmering surfaces the building blends into its surroundings yet stands apart from them at the same time.
With peaks and towers and decorative post-modern elements, PPG Place both imitates and honors some of the other architectural landmarks of Pittsburgh but it also remains unlike any other building or open space in the city.
The buildings' glass skin celebrates their benefactor.
Indeed, this architect never forgot his client.
But the heart and soul of the building is pure Phillip Johnson: clever, daring, unexpected, engaging and very much aware of itself.
What a delight it was to enjoy one of the great creations of an architectural genius and a true artist.
An American original: Phillip Johnson!
Photos copyright 2010 by Dan Cirucci.