Design & Desire in the Twentieth Century

During heavy rains last month, the Fox River rose dangerously near Mies Van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House, situated on the banks of the Fox River in Kendall County, near Plano, Ill. According to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the house was surrounded by flood waters, but not flooded. Lee Bey of WBEZ public radio stated, “In 2008, more than a foot of rising waters entered the home, damaging an original 12-foot tall wood wardrobe designed by Mies.” This time the house fortunately escaped significant damage.

View photo and read details on Lee Bey’s blog on WBEZ.org.

A significant piece of New York City’s architectural heritage was lost early in April 2013 when the Hoffmann Auto Showroom interior designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, and considered a fore runner of the Guggenheim Museum design, was demolished. The showroom had been on the first floor of a building located at the corner of Park Avenue and East 56th Street.

According to Crain’s New York Business, owners of the building applied for a demolition permit for the showroom on March 28, 2013, less than one week after “the Landmarks Preservation Commission called the owners of 430 Park Ave. to tell them the city was considering designating the Wright showroom…as the city’s 115th interior landmark.”

Crain’s went on to say that by the end of the following week the showroom had been totally gutted leaving no trace of Mr. Wright’s design.

Read the entire article and see a video report on Crain’s New York Business.

Thank you to Frank Lloyd Wright Newsblog for bringing this sad tale to our attention.

Frank Lloyd Wright, Drawing for Hoffman Auto Showroom, New York City (1955). Demolished. Copyright Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy.
Source: http://www.savewright.org/news_images/mercedes.JPG

Architect and theorist, Paolo Soleri, died on April 9, 2013. According to  archdaily.com:

Paolo Soleri spent a lifetime investigating how architecture, specifically the architecture of the city, could support the countless possibilities of human aspiration. The urban project he founded, Arcosanti, 65 miles north of Phoenix, was described by NEWSWEEK magazine as “…the most important urban experiment undertaken in our lifetimes.”

Read the entire obituary on archdaily.com.

For more on Soleri and his work visit www.arcosanti.org.

View a short video on the Arcosanti project.

Paolo Soleri, Arcosanti, exterior detail (1970-present), Mayer, AZ. Photo credit: Arcosanti.
Source: http://www.arcosanti.org/sites/default/files/images/w20060120tt014a.jpg

Leon Lempert & Son (architects), Palace Theatre. Manchester, New Hampshire (1915).
Source: http://www.wegoplaces.com/User%20Interface/Images/Itinerary%20Item%20Images
/USA/NH/Manchester/48773_Palace%20Theatre.jpg

The newest addition to our blog roll, The Daily Kylie, posted an article about a recent visit to The Palace Theatre in Manchester, New Hampshire. Built in 1914-1915 by Greek immigrant Victor Charas, and designed by Leon Lempert and Sons, the Palace is a glorious example of one of the early extravagant movie palaces. “Fashioned after its namesake in New York City,” according to the Theatre’s web site, ”the Palace Theatre was (and still remains) remarkably similar to its larger cousin.”

Please enjoy The Daily Kylie’s visit to the Palace.

Arthur Radebaugh, Advertisement for Bohn Aluminum and Brass Corporation (circa 1940s).
Source: http://designmuseumboston.org/images/exhibits/gettingthere/gallery/gettingthere_gal-10.jpghttp://photo-muse.blogspot.com/

“Getting There: How Design Influences Travel” is an exhibition organized by the Design Museum of Boston and aptly located in Terminal E of Boston’s Logan Airport; the show explores the influence of design on the travel industry.

According to the Design Museum of Boston Web site the exhibition features “Drawings, models, and prototypes from design firms such as Bose, Samsonite, Teague, Two Twelve, and IDEO, … projects that have creatively addressed design challenges posed by the constraints of human travel.”

The show is ongoing and free to the public.

“Monuments embarrass me. I have no friendship for castles.” -Gabriele Basilico

Last month The Guardian reported the death of documentary photographer Gabriele Basilico. Trained as an architect, Basilico gained international attention for his photographs of factory buildings and apartment blocks. In the 1990’s the photographer captured the bleak landscapes of Berlin after the fall of the Wall, and Beruit, Lebanon.

Gabriele Basilico, Genoa, (1997).
Source: http://www.artribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Gabriele-Basilico-Genova-1997-Courtesy-Gabriele-Basilico-and-Photo-Co.-Turin-Italy.jpg

During the recent holiday season Architizer News held its first gingerbread competition. The winning entry was submitted by Team Jacussi’s cookie construction of Oscar Niemeyer’s famed National Congress of Brazil which is shown here. Other notable entries included gingerbread versions of Philip Johnson’s Glass House and a Taos Pueblo. View these and other delicious entries on the Architizer blog.

Gingerbread House based on Oscar Niemeyer’s famed National Congress of Brazil, 2012. Photo Credit: Architizer.com
Source: http://www.architizer.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/White-Christmas-in-Brasilia-1-600x399.jpg

A big thanks to Prairie Mod for sharing an article about a special postmark commemorating the 50th anniversary of one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s most futuristic looking buildings, the Marin County Civic Center. Read More.

At fifty the Marin County Civic Center Still looks far ahead of its time.

Watch a slide show of the Marin County Civic Center by California architect Ron Yeo.

Frank Lloyd Wright. Marin County Civic Center, San Raphael, CA (1963).
Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Marin_County_Civic_Center_Roof_20060610.jpg

With the beginning of a new year, our thoughts usually turn to the future and to better times ahead. In this spirit we’re sharing renderings of Le Corbusier’s “Contemporary City for Three Million Inhabitants.” This image was originally posted on io9 as one of the “The Most Futuristic Cities That Never Existed.”

Le Corbusier, Contemporary City for Three Million Inhabitants (1922).
Source: http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/185phq5okl05tjpg/original.jpg

See the other Futuristic Cities that Never Existed.

Our friends at Art Deco Architecture recently shared this terrific photo of a vintage White Tower Restaurant in Baltimore, Maryland. The photo is included in the online portfolio, “Hidden Baltimore” by photographer Michael Horsley.

Michael Horsley. White Tower Hamburgers, 550 N Howard Street, (1985).
Source: http://decoarchitecture.tumblr.com/post/36353179028/white-tower-hamburgers-8-baltimore-maryland

The collection includes the White Towers shown in this post along with several haunting images of commercial architecture in Baltimore from the first half of the Twentieth Century. Click here to view more.

Michael Horsley. White Tower Hamburgers, Erdman Avenue 1 (1989).
Source: http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4073/4934905221_97f286d189.jpg

Michael Horsley. White Tower Hamburgers, Washington Blvd. (1986).
Source: http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4109/5023321925_8955a043dc.jpg

Mr. Horsley’s work can also be viewed on the American National Standard.