USModernist Radio - Architecture You Love

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#209/Albert Frey in Palm Springs: Co-Host Jake Gorst + Craig Hartzman + Brad Dunning + Marc Koller / Musical Guest Rebecca Kilgore with Dave Frishberg Aug 16, 2021

Show notes

Born in Zurich, Switzerland, architect Albert Frey was the first American to work for Le Corbusier, working on the famous Villa Savoye project among others. Le Corbusier helped Frey get a job with American architect A. Lawrence Kocher, also the managing editor of Architectural Record. After WWII, Frey moved to the resort community of Palm Springs and Frey become synonymous with desert modernism. His projects include the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway Valley Station, Palm Springs City Hall, Tramway Gas Station, and many houses. Joining George Smart and co-host Jake Gorst, director of two films on Frey, is Craig Hartzman, executive vice chair of the Palm Springs Art Museum, which is putting on a major 2022 Albert Frey Exhibition; Brad Dunning, curator of that exhibition, and Marc Koller, Albert Frey's godson. Later on, jazz with musical guest Rebecca Kilgore, accompanied by the legendary Dave Frishberg.

#208/Modernist Escapes: Stefi Orazi + Joan Gand + Musical Guests The Gand Band Aug 09, 2021

Show notes

Many of our Modernist listeners are planning long-delayed holidays. Oh where shall you go? Roman ruins? Cape Cod Villages? Colonial Williamsburg? We doubt it. You're planning to hit the Modernist hotspots, and to help you we talk with Stefi Orazi, author of Modernist Escapes. Later on, the leading edge of high school architecture education with returning guest Joan Gand - then music from Palm Springs finest, the Gand Band.

#207/Sarasota FL: Architect Guy Peterson + Musical Guest Heather Rigdon + Frank Harmon Aug 02, 2021

Show notes

In Sarasota, Florida, one of the east coast's finest centers for Modernism, names like Paul Rudolph, Gene Leedy, Victor Lundy, Tim Siebert, and Jack West dominated the design scene from the 1940's through the 1980's. Then came a new generation of architects that took things to a whole new level. One of those, Guy Peterson, joins us from Sarasota. Later on, returning musical guest Heather Rigdon, then a few minutes with Frank Harmon.

#206/Built Beautiful: Don Ruggles + Lisa Heschong + Louisa Whitmore Jul 26, 2021

Show notes

What is a beautiful building? What is an ugly building? People have very different reactions looking at say Biltmore versus Fallingwater, and not just because they are vastly different sizes. Joining us to discuss beauty in architecture is Don Ruggles, author of Beauty, Neuroscience & Architecture and Producer of a new documentary, Built Beautiful. Next, special USModernist correspondent Raymond Neutra interviews Lisa Heschong, author of Visual Delight in Architecture: Daylight, Vision, and View. Later on, a few minutes with our new design commentator, TikTok sensation Louisa Whitmore.

#205/Serial Modernist: Mark Haddawy + Musical Guest Anders Holst Jul 19, 2021

Show notes

Let's say you collect stamps. If you go to the stamp club, you're gonna find people who collect more stamps than you. Then if you go to the stamp convention, you're gonna find an even more successful crowd. Then if you go to Sotheby's for one of their top stamp auctions, you're gonna find Mr. – or Ms. -- Big. In the world of serial Modernist owners, Mark Haddawy is Mr. Big. He's had his hands and his budgets on more classic Modernist houses than just about anyone. Later on, music with the Sting of Sweden, Anders Holst.

#204/Modernist Chairs We Love: Herman Miller's Amy Auscherman + NC State's Gwen Emery + A Few Minutes with Frank Harmon Jul 12, 2021

Show notes

It's almost a certainty that before anyone owns a Modernist house, they own a piece of Modernist furniture, the gateway drug of great architecture. Today's guests are Amy Auscherman, design archivist at Herman Miller, famous for the Aeron chair, Noguchi table, Marshmallow sofa, and the Eames Lounge Chair, among many other icons, and Gwen Emery, Director of Library Environments at NC State University Libraries and the author of the book ChairHunt. Later on, a few minutes with architect Frank Harmon. Plus George's quest for an ES106!

#203/Grandpa Frank Lloyd Wright: Tom Wright + Steven Reiss + Music from Carol Sloane Jul 05, 2021

Show notes

Tom Wright studies volcanoes. If that's not exciting enough right there, and it certainly was for us, he's also the grandson of Frank Lloyd Wright and lives in a Wright House - the last one still owned by the family. Also joining us is Wright author Steven Reiss and later, music from the breakout singer of the 1961 Newport Jazz Festival, Carol Sloane.

#202/Six of Five: James Evans + Musical Guest Janis Siegel Jun 28, 2021

Show notes

Architect Jim Evans moved to the Modernist mecca of New Canaan CT in 1957. By then the town had many Modernist houses, not only by the Harvard Five of Breuer, Noyes, Johnson, Johansen, and Gores but others like Frank Lloyd Wright and Edward Durell Stone. USModernist special correspondent Rafe Schlanger talked with Evans in what would be Evans' last interview. Later, enchanting jazz from Manhattan Transfer's Janis Siegel.

#201/Grace Farms: Sharon Prince + Musical Guest Lily Frost Jun 21, 2021

Show notes

Every town hopes that someone will come along, and at no expense to the town, create something beautiful. We're not talking a new mall. We're talking acres of flowing grounds open to the public, an award-winning complex of stunningly beautiful buildings by a world-class architecture firm, and a philanthropic mission that includes, among other noteworthy causes, the elimination of slave labor in the construction supply chain. One visionary person did just that in the Modernist center of New Canaan CT, notable for houses by Philip Johnson, Eliot Noyes, John Johansen, Frank Lloyd Wright, Edward Durell Stone, Gisue and Mojgan Hariri, Jim Evans, and other famous Modernists. What did our heroine get in return for this amazing project? A cranky Planning and Zoning board and crankier neighbors who apparently are into lawsuits. Joining us is Sharon Prince, CEO and Founder of Grace Farms. Later on, jazz from Canada with musical guest Lily Frost.

#200/Return to Bertie County: Emily Piloton-Lam + Ron Wesson + Musical Guest Linda Eder Jun 14, 2021

Show notes

Bertie County, North Carolina, has only about 19,000 people, about 62% Black. That's fewer than in most city zip codes. It's one of the poorest county in the state, and the population is down about 10% over the last decade. Black farmers lost much of their land as subsidies and credit by the USDA heavily favored white farmers. In 2007, the schools were in terrible shape, as you might expect. Then, an innovative school superintendent came to town, did a great job, and got fired. One of the programs he sponsored was Project H, teaching design and construction skills to high school students. There was a documentary about this called If You Build It. Nearly 10 years later, we talk to Emily Piloton-Lam, cofounder of Project H and executive director of Girls Garage; and Ron Wesson, a Bertie County Commissioner. Later on, music with Star Search champion and Broadway star Linda Eder. This show is dedicated to that school superintendent, Chip Zullinger, who died in 2014.

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