Good Luck to Eric Jackson-Forsberg
Design and Desire learned last week that one of our favorite bloggers, Eric Jackson-Forsberg of The Weekly Wright-up will be leaving his position as curator of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Darwin D. Martin House in Buffalo, NY. Jackson-Forsberg curated the house for the past nine years, during which time the complex has undergone a dramatic forty million dollar restoration. He departs to become the new Executive Director of the Western New York Book Arts Center.
We’ve always enjoyed Jackson-Forsberg’s lively and sometimes humorous dispatches and musings about the events at the Martin House. He will be missed very much as the voice of The Weekly Wright-up and more likely missed most by the staff and visitors of the Martin House Complex.
Read Jackson-Forsberg’s farewell post on the Top Nine Moments of Nine Years at the Martin House.
Eric, congratulations and best wishes as you embark on the next phase of your career.
Eric Jackson-Forsberg, Curator of the Darwin D. Martin House in 2003. (Photographer unknown)
Source: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jIs0-Sw8Q8M/T6KaYoFJZOI/AAAAAAAABMM/3cbzK1kiv8g/s320/DSCN0269.JPG
How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr. Foster?
A documentary about reknowned architect British architect, Norman Foster, ”How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr. Foster?,” premiered last year at the Berlin Film Festival. According to the film’s director, Carlos Carcas, “The first reason for making the film was to tell the story of a man whose vision and design can be seen all over the world. To me, his personal story is an inspiring example of someone who has risen from a modest, working-class family to the highest level of success through pure effort, will and risk-taking. The other reason for making the film was to try to communicate to a broad audience why architecture matters.”
Read an interview with Carcas on Architects and Artisans.
Silly Saturday: Frank Lloyd Wright Goes to the Dogs
Just as I was running out of items to publish for Silly Saturday, this cute post on the Architects and Artisans blog came to my attention by way of Architizer.
In 1956 California paper boy Jim Berger asked architect Frank Lloyd Wright to build a dog house for his black lab, Eddie. Berger’s father was a client of Mr. Wright’s. Not one to turn down a challenging commission, Wright designed a modernist home for Eddie. Berger, however, never got around to building the home Wright designed for his beloved pet. According to Architects and Artisans, “His father and brother took up the project, completing it in 1963.”
Filmmaker Michael Miner obtained permission to rebuild the dog house as part of his documentary film, “Romanza,” about Wright’s work in California.
For more about the Frank Lloyd Wright dog house read the full story at Architects and Artisans.
For details on Michael Miner’s documentary on Wright visit Designed by Wright.
Frank Lloyd Wright, plans for Berger Dog House, 1956. Photo credit: photograher unknown,
Source: http://www.architizer.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/FLWdoghouse-600x402.jpg
Calling All (Would-be) Architects
Calling all (would-be) architects and Legos fanatics! Have you ever dreamed of building your own mid-century modern home inspired by the California homes of Richard Neutra or John Lautner? Well here’s your chance to enter Dwell Magazine’s Lego Modern Home Design Contest. Details can be found here. But hurry, you only have until March 29, 2012 to submit.
Live voting on entries will begin on March 31. The winner will be chosen from five finalists whose work will be on display at this year’s Dwell on Design, June 22-24, 2012.
Good luck!
Miller House and Garden
In this video William Miller, son of J. Irwin Miller, former President of the Cummins, Inc., talks about his father and how his love of architecture contributed to the development of the city of Columbus, Indiana. Architect Kevin Roche, who along with John Dinkeloo, designed the Columbus Post Office, is also featured.
While architect Eero Saarinen designed few residences, he did design two homes for Mr. and Mrs. Miller. Their home, built in 1953, is considered one of Saarinen’s finest buildings. Along with the architect, Alexander Girard was responsible for the design of home’s interiors and Dan Kiley designed the landscape architecture.1
“In 2000, the Miller House became the first National Historic Landmark to receive its designation while…still occupied by its original owners.”2
The Miller House is now owned by the Indianapolis Museum and open to the public for tours.
References
1. Dwell, (2011). 20th Century Fox. http://www.dwell.com/articles/20th-Century-Fox.html#ixzz1lR07K5Pg
2. Indianapolis Museum of Art, (2012). Miller House and Garden. http://www.imamuseum.org/millerhouse
From Tokyo to Buffalo
Eric Jackson-Forsberg, curator of the Darwin D. Martin House Complex in Buffalo, NY, tells the interesting story of how one of the surviving blocks from Frank Lloyd Wright’s Imperial Hotel (demolished) found its way to the Darwin D. Martin House’s collection in Buffalo, NY. As the rock band the Grateful Dead said, “What a long strange trip it’s been.”
Read the details. »
Frank Lloyd Wright, Imperial Hotel (1917-22), Tokyo, Japan.
Source: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vxMFkJltFAk/TxCKpw7xVJI/AAAAAAAABFE/b3rG88sTp_g/s320/Main+Lobby+from+third+level.jpg
Richard Meier: The Neugebauer House
In this interview architect Richard Meier discusses the contrasts between the ideas of public and private spaces and how these concepts apply to his 1998 Neugebauer House.
The house was constructed on a wedge shaped plot adjacent to Doubloon Bay in Naples, Florida. While the house’s wide horizontal front conceals the view of the water from the public, the vertical slot windows running the width of its rear exterior wall afford a spectacular view of the Bay to the inhabitants within. The Neugebauer House’s most distinctive feature is its large steel-frame butterfly cantilevered roof.
Read more about this remarkable structure on the Richard Meier & Partners web site.
For more of this interview with Richard Meier visit webofstories.com.
Richard Meier, Neugebauer House (1998), Naples. Florida.
Photo credit: ©Scott Frances ESTO
Source: http://www.archdaily.com/103989/ad-classics-neugebauer-house-richard-meier-partners-architects/sfrances_m_portfolio_048/
Maurice L. Rothschild & Co. Building
Holabird & Roche/Alfred S. Alschuler, Maurice L. Rothschild & Co. Building (1906/1910/1931), Chicago, IL . Photo credit: designslinger.com
Source: http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn281/SallyGreene2008/02SallyGreenAlbum/UZY20000000084.jpg
Design and Desire is happy to report that one of our favorite bloggers, Designslinger, is back in action in Chicago, IL after a brief hiatus due to health reasons. Here’s an excerpt from a recent post on Holabird & Roche’s Maurice L. Rothschild and Company Building:
“When Maurice L. Rothschild opened his clothing store in 1906, the building, designed by architects Holabird & Roche, was much smaller than the structure we see today. The original, 8-story building went from end to end of the property line along the Jackson Street side of the lot (the shaded, fire-escaped facade) but extended only two window bays beyond its angled corner along State Street (the sun-filled side of the picture). In 1910, after 4 years of booming business, Rothschild had the architects extend the State Street facade another 3 bays, and added another floor, growing upward from eight stories to nine. Then in 1929, architect Alfred Alschuler drew-up plans for the final State Street bay, and by 1931, added another three floors to top-off the previous nine. Whew.”
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An Art Deco Masterpiece in the Bronx
Last October we shared a post from Art Deco Buildings on several Art Deco architectural details found in The Bronx. Scouting New York has recently discovered a masterpiece of an Art Deco apartment house in the Bronx. This building features an aquatic inspired exterior mosaic mural and two stunning Rene and CP Graves murals in the lobby.
Read Scouting New York’s post here.
For more background on this amazing building visit Grand Concourse.
Architect unknown, entrance, apartment house, 1150 Grand Concourse, (circa 1937), Bronx, NY.
Source: ScoutingNY.com http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7028/6618383711_f47eaf5414_o.jpg
Architect unknown, lobby apartment house, 1150 Grand Concourse, (circa 1937), Bronx, NY.
Source: ScoutingNY.com http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7175/6628828031_db2fbe5cff_o.jpg
The Archtitect’s Favorite Lawman
Source: http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvumyfXBiI1qeyobp.png
Photographers unknown.
Design and Desire is all about looking at the personal side of many of the Twentieth Century’s leading archtiects, artists and designers. So we could not pass up sharing this nugget posted on the Mies van der Rohe Society blog regarding the architect’s favorite television show, CBS’s long-running western, Gunsmoke.
“Much of Mies’ personal life remains a mystery, but we do know one of his loves was Gunsmoke—the long-running western starring James Arness. It’s a charming detail because the prime time drama seems very un-Miesian. The ramshackle wooden saloons and sheriff stations of Dodge City couldn’t be more different from the sleek steel skyscrapers Mies built in more worldly cities.” Read more »
