Harvard Will Remove Philip Johnson’s Name From Cambridge Home That He Designed as Graduate Student | ArchDaily

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Harvard Graduate School of Design (Harvard GSD) will no longer quote

9 Ash Street in Cambridge is called "Philip Johnson Thesis House". Moving on, a house designed and inhabited by Johnson

In the 1940s, it is now only known by its actual street address.

This move, announce

Dean Sarah M. Whiting in the letter of December 5

Is a major anonymous group dedicated to researching Johnson’s racism and collaborative efforts with the Nazi Party,

Harvard University and the Museum of Modern Art (

), these two organizations have close ties with Johnson. The letter on November 27 was originally signed by more than 30 architects, designers, artists, and educators. Because of its “widely documented views and activities of white supremacy,” the Museum of Modern Art and Harvard University called on Johnson to hold all titles and Johnson’s name is used on the posts.

The letter read: "Johnson's architectural work plays a role in archival and historical preservation." "However, the title and the naming of the spaces inevitably indicate that the awardees are curators, administrators, students and other institutions involved in these A role model for the other person."

Among the signatories of this letter, most of the architects and artists on display in the upcoming Museum of Modern Art exhibition,

Including V. Mitch McEwen (also a member of Johnson Study Group),

,

with

. This exhibition is the first time that MoMA has explored the connection between architecture and African American and African diaspora communities.

Whiting’s reply was written directly to McEwan and other members of the Johnson research team. It began by acknowledging “Johnson’s global influence on the architectural world in the 20th century, and even 15 years after his death, his control of the architectural field , Cannot be exaggerated", and his "racism, fascism and firm support for white supremacy absolutely have no place in the design."

Whiting further elaborated that the house designed by Johnson and owned by GSD "has no official name record, although it is usually called Thesis House, or

Thesis home, or other forms. "She added: "However, I fully agree with you about the power of institution naming and the strengths of integrity and legitimacy it confers. Therefore, we are taking measures to officially identify the house in the university as "9 Ash Street" (the actual address of the house). It’s worth noting that Johnson’s name

-Or a strong wall that separates it from the street by placards or other types of signs.

Whiting called the name change "a step to make room for other heritages, but a step to clarify," she concluded in her letter:

We don’t pretend to think that our work ends here as a school. At GSD, we are committed to doing our part to bring much-needed, overdue and pending changes to this field, so as to achieve a fundamental adjustment towards inclusiveness. Johnson's influence is far-reaching and extensive, affecting several generations, but he is only a member of a deeply rooted paradigm of racism and white supremacy. It is arduous and necessary to cancel this legacy (not just Johnson's legacy), and as a school and community, we are committed to it.

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