This summer, The Glass House, in partnership with graduate students at the MFA Interaction Design Department at the School of Visual Arts, is bringing the intimate Glass House Conversations series to an expanded digital forum, building on the legacy of Philip Johnson and David Whitney.
Over the course of several decades, the Glass House in New Canaan, CT became the gathering place for great minds in architecture, art and design. These series of conversations, which included figures such as Andy Warhol, Frank Stella and Robert A.M. Stern, are legendary and provided an enormous influence on culture in the second half of the 20th Century. In the words of Architectural historian Vincent Scully, these conversations were "the most sustained cultural salon that the United States has ever seen."
The Glass House continued this important legacy through a series of invitational dialogues in
2008-2009, sponsored by Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope. More than 120 thought leaders from across society gathered at the Glass House to explore important issues and new ideas. A culinary component of each Conversation, shaped and presented by Nils Noren and his team from the French Culinary Institute, was created to reflect the sense of adventure found in each dialogue.
Now, international audiences of people with design-related interests can join these insightful dialogues through this new digital forum that expands the conversatin into the 21st Century. Each week, a host will put forth a provocative questions or debate topic and members of the public worldwide have up to five days to respond. After comments have closed, a "Final Word" is chosen from the replies. The launch week features a question hosted by 
Alice Rawsthorn, the design critic for the International Herald Tribune. Upcoming conversations will be hosted by leaders in cultural fields, including John Maeda (Rhode Island School of Design), Clifford Pearson (Architectural Record), John Lilly (Mozilla), Ze Frank (Zefrank.com) and Ralph Caplan (author, Design Mind award winner, National Design Awards, 2010).
We invite you to join the Conversation.
PHOTOS: Drew Harty2009
Power of Place | Laurie Beckelman, Beckelman+Capalino, LLC
Procession & Seduction | Fritz Haeg, Artist, author Edible Estates: Attack on the Front Lawn
Breaking the Rules | Jeff Gordinier, author X Saves the World; Editor-at-Large, Details
Trophy l Michael Bierut, Pentagram
Transparency l Cliff Pearson, Architectural Record
Citizen Designer l Maruice Cox, National Endowment for the Arts
2008
Solution or Sacrilege | Jean Gardner, Parsons and Susan Szenasy, Metropolis magazine
Design + Civic Leadership | Charles Granquist, Rockefeller Brothers Fund
Attention, Attention Span | Paul Holdengraber, New York Public Library
Toward a 21st Century Renaissance | Roger Mandle, Qatar Museums Authority
Simplicity | John Maeda, Rhode Island School of Design
Legacies | Claudine Brown, The Nathan Cummings Foundation