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What does it take to restore a heritage protected 1950s house? Humility, patience and sheer determination brought new life to the early Philip Johnson house.
Craig Bassam and Scott Fellows might be devotees of the architecture of Philip Johnson, particularly his early Mies van der Rohe-influenced work. But when the pair behind the BassamsFellows furniture and design firm learned that an early house of Johnson’s near where they lived in New Canaan, Connecticut, was coming onto the market for the first time since it was built almost 70 years ago, they didn’t jump at the opportunity to own it. Fellows was definitely intrigued by the proposition while Bassam was unenthusiastic to say the least.
It’s a level of commitment with which most people, even if they had the resources to do it, would not persevere. But Bassam and Fellows are not most people. As they say, this isn’t the first time they’ve under taken a renovation like this, although it’s possibly their most challenging as it has taken almost 10 years to complete.
The key to successfully restoring and renovating such houses, according to Scott Fellows, is being humble. “The idea is to make it the best it can be, but also making sure your ego doesn’t get involved to the point where you feel you have to make it yours. Good design is good design. You have to be able to take something that is a great piece of architecture and have the sensibility to make it current without ruining its soul. The more we have done these kinds of projects the more we realise that there’s a fine line to walk to get it right.”
Read the full home feature in Ark Journal Vol. XIII.
WORDS DAVID MEAGHER
STYLING HELLE WALSTED
PHOTOGRAPHY Martien Mulder
design /delight: A PLATFORM FOR CONTEMPORARY DESIGN
During Shanghai Art Week, the city’s cultural landscape was shaped by the second edition of design /delight, an emerging platform dedicated to contemporary collectible design and functional art.
SPATIAL GESTURES
The wearable objects Yuta Ishihara makes under the moniker Shihara play tricks on us. “The hardware is in focus, incorporated into the design itself,” says Ishihara.
LAKE COME DESIGN FESTIVAL 2025
The city of Como once again hosted the seventh edition of the Lake Como Design Festival, under the theme Fragments. The festival invited visitors to reflect on fragmentation not as a sign of rupture, but as a catalyst for creative rebirth, for the preservation of memory, and for a regenerative approach to design.
MODERN MANNERS
HOME
What does it take to restore a heritage protected 1950s house? Humility, patience and sheer determination brought new life to the early Philip Johnson house.
Craig Bassam and Scott Fellows might be devotees of the architecture of Philip Johnson, particularly his early Mies van der Rohe-influenced work. But when the pair behind the BassamsFellows furniture and design firm learned that an early house of Johnson’s near where they lived in New Canaan, Connecticut, was coming onto the market for the first time since it was built almost 70 years ago, they didn’t jump at the opportunity to own it. Fellows was definitely intrigued by the proposition while Bassam was unenthusiastic to say the least.
It’s a level of commitment with which most people, even if they had the resources to do it, would not persevere. But Bassam and Fellows are not most people. As they say, this isn’t the first time they’ve under taken a renovation like this, although it’s possibly their most challenging as it has taken almost 10 years to complete.
The key to successfully restoring and renovating such houses, according to Scott Fellows, is being humble. “The idea is to make it the best it can be, but also making sure your ego doesn’t get involved to the point where you feel you have to make it yours. Good design is good design. You have to be able to take something that is a great piece of architecture and have the sensibility to make it current without ruining its soul. The more we have done these kinds of projects the more we realise that there’s a fine line to walk to get it right.”
Read the full home feature in Ark Journal Vol. XIII.
WORDS DAVID MEAGHER
STYLING HELLE WALSTED
PHOTOGRAPHY Martien Mulder