Architecture that breaks the rules usually becomes one of two things: a focus of community disdain, or an acclaimed tourist attraction. Rarely does it become the rule. But when architecture's greatest rule breakers Marcel Breuer and Philip Johnson met up with three other like-minded modernists, the teachings of the Harvard Graduate School of Design were flouted and the world was shown a new and different style of architecture.

Nestled in Connecticut, within commuting distance of New York City, lays the home of one of the most influential movements in modern architecture. Void of major highways, strip malls and chain restaurants, the town of New Canaan is filled with village homes, grand estates and picturesque lots with rambling stone walls and rolling hills.

It's small and quaint, a vividly painted dream of the quintessential New England town. The train stops there -- and nearly six decades ago architects Marcel Breuer, Landis Gores, John Johansen, Philip Johnson and Eliot Noyes stepped off.

There, they joined as the group that eventually became known as the "The Harvard Five" and freely interpreted and applied their educations. William D. Earls, author of The Harvard Five in New Canaan says, "The name Harvard Five is something of a catch phrase. They were all products of Harvard just as that school had undergone the transformation from the Beaux-arts style of teaching to the Bauhaus ideal. And like so many students, their efforts often diverged wildly from their teacher's influence. But because of that they are not easy to encapsulate. There is no "New Canaan style," it's deeper than that."

In 1919 the Bauhaus school, led by Walter Gropius, was formed in Germany. A group of free thinking artists, Bauhaus leaders adopted a new approach and philosophy to design - one that was adhered to by several revered artists of the 20th century. When Gropius made the move to teach at Harvard's Graduate School of Design in 1937, Breuer followed. Together, they created a new way of teaching - focusing on freedom of expression - and introduced modernism to Harvard's pupils.

In 1947 Breuer, Eliot Noyes, John Johansen, Landis Gores and Philip Johnson began to arrive in New Canaan - taking with them the lessons learned from Gropius while attending the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Noyes was the first - building a home for his family in 1947 in the quiet town with an abundance of land. He soon told Johnson and Breuer of his good find. That same year, Breuer built his first home on Sunset Hill Road. Seeking open space, Gores and his wife settled on four acres of land on Cross Ridge Road, and in 1948 their horizontal modulation home was complete. By the next year, Johnson's Glass House stood on Ponus Ridge. Johansen also bought land on Ponus and completed his home in 1952.

The architects had formed their own community - often gathering at each other's homes to share ideas and opinions. While they each came to New Canaan for individual reasons, they stayed for the camaraderie.

By then, New Canaan was an architectural marvel. The architects' homes were added to until 30 modern homes, most by the original five, contrasted with traditional New England architecture and brought new perspective to the idyllic natural surroundings.

The townspeople reacted with disdain as the streets of their quiet community became flooded with enthusiasts eager to see the houses. In an attempt to quell their anger, Johnson addressed the Kiwanis Club in early 1952. A week later the New Canaan Advertiser printed a poem by "Ogden Gnash Teeth," pseudonym of investment counselor Lewis Mack, which said that the new architecture was ruining the countryside. The architects responded with a poem of their own under Gores' name, also printed in the Advertiser.

The feud soon subsided as quickly as it began, and over time most came to cherish and revel in the pride provided by the work of these five visionaries. Those who once cursed the flat-roofed boxes that were ruining their countryside would now agree with architect Victor Christ-Janer: "Colonial and modern architecture aren't so very different in essence. Both styles grow from integrity in the use of materials and construction methods. Both are innovations."

Tours of the modern homes in New Canaan started in 1949, and after a long hiatus, appeared again in the 1990s. Generally occurring every two years, a full day symposium and modern house tour last year sold out an auditorium with tickets at $250 per person. However, the Harvard Five do not seem as ingrained in our vernacular as someone like Frank Lloyd Wright. "Frank Lloyd Wright had a very distinctive style. That's why the country isn't covered with his houses, even though they are terrific. The Harvard Five were all separate architects," believes Earl.

In an effort to keep these homes alive and well in New Canaan, many are being remodeled to compliment the original architect's ideas, but with the materials and budgets available today. "A house by John Black Lee was recently remodeled by Toshiko Mori. The materials were updated, but the floor plan stayed the same. Breuer's house on West Road will be remodeled soon too, which I believe will also be done in a respectful manner," says Earls. However, some homes are being purchased for land value and speculative homes are being rebuilt in their place.

While their architecture fought with traditionalism, it also reinvented modernism. "The modern houses of New Canaan exhibit strong classical tendencies, such as symmetrical floor plans. Houses are now much more open in plan than they used to be. They also reintroduced decoration," says Earls. "The ideas of modernism have filtered their way into housing almost unconsciously. Modernism certainly didn't start in New Canaan, [but] it could be said that modernism ended here [in the east]. These architects weren't following the modern edicts laid out by Harvard. In many cases they were breaking the rules of modernism apart."