Booth House in Bedford, New York by Philip Johnson architect

Booth House in Bedford, New York by Philip Johnson

October 5, 2026

20th Century American property renewal photos – home design by Philip Johnson Architect

Philip Johnson’s First Residential Project Begins a New Chapter

Location: Bedford, New York, USA

Date built: 1946

Design: Architect Philip Johnson

PJ Booth House Renderings by NRML Studio, Courtesy R&D

Booth House in Bedford, New York, will be carefully restored as the inaugural project of RnD, a new venture founded by architect Drew Lang and builder Ravi Arps.

BEDFORD, N.Y. (April 15, 2026) — Architect Drew Lang, founder of Lang Architecture, and builder Ravi Arps, founder of Plane Remodeling, have acquired Booth House in Bedford, New York, Philip Johnson’s first residential commission and a formative work of early American modernism. The acquisition marks the inaugural project of their new company, RnD, a design-led development firm focused on architecturally significant restorations and original residential projects.

Completed in 1946, Booth House predates Johnson’s Glass House by three years and marks the beginning of an architectural language that would go on to shape an important chapter in American domestic architecture.

Designed for Richard and Olga Booth as a weekend retreat, the house introduced a new sensibility defined by openness, material restraint, and a close relationship to the surrounding landscape. More than a precursor, Booth House captures a moment when architecture, domestic life, and nature were being rethought together.

Lang and Arps will lead a careful restoration of the house, preserving its architectural clarity while adapting it for contemporary living. The project reflects RnD’s broader approach: bringing design and delivery under one accountable standard, from concept through construction, sourcing, and final detail. Through that process, Booth House will be carried into a new chapter with a focus on material integrity, enduring use, and respect for the qualities that make the house historically and architecturally significant.

The house also carries an important second chapter in its history through architect Sirkka Damora and architectural photographer Robert Damora, who acquired Booth House in 1955 and lived there for decades. Their long stewardship helped preserve the house as both a lived home and a meaningful part of the modern architectural legacy of the region.

Set within the wooded landscape of Bedford, the property will retain its essential relationship to the site while integrating thoughtful updates where needed to support contemporary life. The restoration will be documented throughout, reflecting RnD’s interest not only in building and preserving houses, but in making visible the process, decisions, and craftsmanship behind them.

For Lang and Arps, Booth House is both an extraordinary responsibility and a defining beginning. As the first project of RnD, it establishes the firm’s commitment to architecture that is not simply preserved as an artifact, but carried forward as a living, lasting work. Following restoration, Booth House will return to the market, offering a rare opportunity to inhabit a foundational piece of American modernism.

Drew Lang

Drew Lang is the founding principal of Lang Architecture and the developer behind the award-winning residential project Hudson Woods. He earned a Master of Architecture from Yale University. Born in New Orleans, Drew developed an early interest in the relationship between nature, architecture, and daily life. He is also the founder of the Faubourg St. Roch Project and Brick & Wonder, a membership collective connecting leaders across the real estate and design professions.

Ravi Arps

Ravi Arps is the founder of Plane, a construction firm based in New York City. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience and began his career in investment banking before moving into construction. Raised in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Ravi developed an early appreciation for the relationship between design, craft, context, and time.

RnD

RnD is a design-led development firm founded in 2026 by architect Drew Lang and builder Ravi Arps. Focused on architecturally significant restorations and original residential projects, RnD brings design and delivery under one accountable standard — from concept through construction, sourcing, and final details. Its pipeline is intentionally small, with each project guided by material integrity, a strong relationship to landscape, and the belief that good design can shape and enhance daily life.

Philip Johnson architect, USA

PJ Booth House Renderings by NRML Studio, Courtesy R&D

Booth House original condition photographs Courtesy R&D

Booth House in Bedford, New York by Philip Johnson images / information received 051026

Location: USA

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Modular Glass House
Design: Philip Johnson Alan Ritchie Architects – PJAR

image from architect
Modular Glass House by Philip Johnson Alan Ritchie Architects

Jan 21, 2016
Influential American architect the late Philip Cortelyou Johnson was namedropped by David Bowie back in 1995, in the song “Thru’ these Architect’s Eyes”.

In the first verse, the pop music legend names both this late American architect and UK-based architect Richard Rogers:

“And stomping along on this big Philip Johnson/Is delay just wasting my time/Looking across at Richard Rogers/Scheming dreams to blow both their minds.”

“Thru’ These Architect’s Eyes” is on David Bowie’s concept album, Outside.

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Philip Johnson Buildings in the United States of America

Major Architecture Designs by this US architectural studio

Philip Johnson Glass House, New Canaan, Connecticut, USA

photograph courtesy The National Trust for Historic Preservation
Philip Johnson Glass House

Seagram Building, New York City, NY

AT&T Building, New York City, NY
Date built: 1980-83
Design: with John Burgee, architect

scanned image from 1989 by Isabelle Lomholt

Johnson House, New Canaan

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Modern American Homes

Another famous Modern American House on e-architect:

American Houses

Modern Houses

Yale University Art Gallery
Date built: 1953
Design: Louis Kahn / Polshek Partnership Architects, LLP
Yale University Art Gallery : Modern US building

Another Modern American house on e-architect:

Miller House, Columbus, Indiana
Design: Eero Saarinen
Miller House Columbus

Frank Lloyd Wright house : Zimmerman House, Manchester, New Hampshire, north east USA

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