Remembering an Architect and Innovator Whose Legacy Continues to Inspire The PPG Plaza in Pittsburgh is a prime example of how late architect Philip Johnson never allowed his art to be too serious. Vern McKissick believes Johnson's influence as one of the last architectural icons will continue to affect the world we live in for decades to come.   Have you ever walked into a building and felt cold but it had nothing to do with the temperature? Or have you ever been walking down the street, looked up and saw a sunset and then realized it was reflecting off a building? True architecture is the ability to affect people, sometimes without them even knowing it. It's communicating to a diverse group of people without saying a word. True architecture is found in the discovery of truth, and sometimes without even knowing it Philip Johnson did just that. Vern McKissick said of Philip Johnson: "It's amazing the truth you can discover in 98 years. More amazing is where you can find it -- all around you or even within you. To have the ability to dream, create and eventually share it with the world so all can experience it ~ that is architecture. In a world where there is always structure or a defined path, a creative and unique design approach appeared in the search for that truthful communication." Whether it was in his "Glass Houses" that he experimented with on his own land and out of his own love, or in designing the PPG Plaza which emulated the learning center of Pittsburgh University's famous Cathedral, he never allowed his art to be too serious. When asked by McKissick in the courtyard of the PPG Plaza what Johnson thought of it he responded in humor, "Oh, some hack must have designed this" and a smirk came across his face. Again, speaking of his influence upon architects, McKissick says: "Philip Johnson had the ability to work in many styles of architecture while never limiting himself to any one. He created 'the box' and then he broke out of it. Where conformity, history and integrity can get jumbled, he was able to stay true to new designs pulled from the history of others. His respect for what is old or historic led him to create something new, something functional and educational." While discussing the changes happening in styles of architecture, Philip Johnson once stated, "What Post-Modernism is really doing is legitimizing eclecticism...I am...a functionalist; but...also an eclectic." Discontent with the tendency for innovation to gradually become mainstream, Johnson broke with the Modernist movement that he helped to create by designing the AT&T building in Manhattan in 1984. He created a granite-walled tower with an enormous 90-foot arched entry and a Chippendale-inspired top. The building was controversial and marked a sharp turn in direction away from the severity of modernism. Johnson, having again changed the direction of American architecture, declared himself "postmodern." In a Time obituary for the architectural icon, Richard Lacayo wrote: "In a long, nimble career, his only constant was change." "It was through steel and glass that Philip Johnson changed the way the world viewed where they live and work. And later it would be the 647 granite clad feet of the AT&T building in New York City," says McKissick. He added, "Regardless of the materials, he always reached further stretching the imagination and possibilities of what could be. Shaping the world one building at a time." Johnson, the architectural innovator popularly known for his "glass box" skyscraper designs, died January 25th in New Canaan, Connecticut at the age of 98. One of America's best-known architects, he introduced the U.S. to the glass and steel modernism that dominated American skylines after WWII. McKissick concludes, "Even in the remaining days of Philip Johnson's life he continued to challenge, create and redefine the place he called home. His influence as one of the last architectural icons will continue to affect the world you live in. Now, take a walk outside and look for something new."