Architect Frederick Noyes will speak at the New Canaan Historical Society on April 12th at 6:30 pm to repeat the talk he gave at New Canaan Library last September. The talk is a close comparison of two iconic houses–the Philip Johnson Glass House and the house by his father (and in which he grew up), the Eliot Noyes House II.

Johnson and Noyes were of similar age, Harvard trained, and part of the so-called Harvard Five, a New Canaan group that spearheaded Modern Architecture. Both houses, radical for the times, are very different yet, in other ways, very similar. They are a window into the two men and their deserved international reputations.

Frederick Noyes, FAIA, is immersed in his passions for architecture, biology, and education. He trained at Harvard: an AB in biology (1966), and a M.Arch from the Graduate School of Design (1972). He was elected to the AIA College of Fellows (2001) and was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Education from the Boston Architectural College (BAC) in 2007.

Mr. Noyes was raised in New Canaan, Connecticut, where he was weaned on the influences of the first generation of great modern architects Marcel Breuer, Philip Johnson, and his father, Eliot Noyes. He has run his own architectural firm for over 30 years designing everything from houses to hospitals.

Mr. Noyes has remained close to academia as a student for over a decade in graduate studies in biology and has been a teacher of visual studies at Harvard, biochemistry at Harvard Extension School and biology at Miles and Wheelock Colleges. Associated with the Boston Architectural College since 1974, Mr. Noyes has taught at all levels and chaired the Board of Directors from 1995-1999. He is currently an Overseer there.