USModernist Radio - Architecture You Love

If you've seen a thriller like North By Northwest or Diamonds are Forever (or many others since) you may have noticed that the bad guy has impeccable taste.  The classic villain has custom-tailored suits (or dresses, let's not be sexist), a high-end car you can't even buy used at Carmax, a British or vaguely Russian accent, and a gorgeous Modernist house, preferably with a killer view as certainly...

Tom goes around the world!  Frank is Shanghai'd!  And George mumbles something about an evil lair!  Learn more about what's coming up as USMR resumes March 6 with great guests.

In 1957, architect Jorn Utzon unexpectedly won the commission for the iconic Sydney Opera House.  His submission was one of 233 designs from 32 countries, many of them from the most famous architects of the day.  Saarinen described the design as "genius" and declared he could not endorse any other choice. Yet building the project was rife with politics, cost overruns, incompetent cost estimators i...

Sean Knorsandi of the Paul Rudolph Foundation Every year, Sarasota Mod in Sarasota FL throws a great conference on mid-century modern and this year was focused on Paul Rudolph , an architect who made his name in exciting coastal architecture before moving on to become Dean of Architecture at Yale.  Rudolph's work is recognized around the world for bold, progressive masses.  People are polarized ar...

Stephanie Grosskreutz of Visit Sarasota Every year, Sarasota Mod in Sarasota FL throws a great conference on mid-century modern and this year was focused on Paul Rudolph , an architect who made his name in exciting coastal architecture before moving on to become Dean of Architecture at Yale.  Rudolph's work is recognized around the world for bold, progressive masses.  People are polarized around h...

Every year, Sarasota Mod in Sarasota FL throws a great conference on mid-century modern and this year was focused on Paul Rudolph , an architect who made his name in exciting coastal architecture before moving on to become Dean of Architecture at Yale.  Rudolph's work is recognized around the world for bold, progressive masses.  People are polarized around his work.  Modernists praise his visionar...

Every year, Sarasota Mod in Sarasota FL throws a great conference on mid-century modern and this year was focused on Paul Rudolph , an architect who made his name in exciting coastal architecture before moving on to become Dean of Architecture at Yale.  Rudolph's work is recognized around the world for bold, progressive masses.  People are polarized around his work.  Modernists praise his visionar...

Every year, Sarasota Mod in Sarasota FL throws a great conference on mid-century modern and this year was focused on Paul Rudolph , an architect who made his name in exciting coastal architecture before moving on to become Dean of Architecture at Yale.  Rudolph's work is recognized around the world for bold, progressive masses.  People are polarized around his work.  Modernists praise his visionar...

Every year, Sarasota Mod in Sarasota FL throws a great conference on mid-century modern and this year was focused on Paul Rudolph , an architect who made his name in exciting coastal architecture before moving on to become Dean of Architecture at Yale.  Rudolph's work is recognized around the world for bold, progressive masses.  People are polarized around his work.  Modernists praise his visionar...

Hi folks, here's a few minutes of fun, our "best of" clips from 2015.  Happy New Year!  George, Frank, and Tom

Todd Kosmerick is University Archivist for NC State University's Archives.  He and his staff collect, preserve, and make accessible vast physical and online resources that document the growth and development of the university and its continued service to the people of North Carolina.  It provides a resource for study and scholarship while ensuring that future generations will have resources availa...

Architect Harwell Hamilton Harris FAIA never reached the celebrity status of his peers such as Richard Neutra and Frank Lloyd Wright , yet his quieter career work stands as some of the most brilliant of the 20th century.  Practicing primarily in California, Texas, and North Carolina, his achievements in residential, commercial, and academic settings earned national admiration and awards including...

In the deep woods of Wisconsin, about an hour outside of Madison, sits one incredible house.  If you didn't know otherwise, you'd be sure it was a Frank Lloyd Wright design.  And you'd be close.  It was designed by his son-in-law, William Wesley Peters.  The place has been immaculately maintained and restored by a loving couple who are looking to downsize.  You'll hear from those owners, their rea...

Michael Hammond is co-founder and Editor in Chief of World Architecture News (WAN). He chairs the WAN AWARDS jury panel and produces the topical series of podcasts, Shop Talk which has featured many of the world's leading architects over its 100+ programmes to date.  Prior to WAN, Michael spent 25 years in construction project management before taking up writing; he authored Performing Architectur...

Craig Dykers , at just 28 years old, received international acclaim after winning the $350 million commission for the Library of Alexandria in Egypt .  He is founder of the design firm Snøhetta , with offices in Oslo Norway and New York , architect for some of the most amazing modern buildings in the world.  Snøhetta is the design architect for the James B. Hunt Jr. Library at NC State University....

Aidan Buehler is 14 years old. He's an eighth grader in Chapel Hill NC with an interest in drafting.  What he did next is remarkable.  Instead of just piddling around on his computer like most kids, he contacted Chapel hill architect Lucy Carol Davis to be his mentor on a school-wide design competition.  Aidan's house was one of the most elaborate projects.  According to his interview with the New...

Nathanial Kahn is a director and producer.  He is also the son of architect Louis Kahn , one of the most influential architects of the 20th century.  In 2003, he produced the Oscar-nominated film My Architect about the life and work of his dad, interviewing people who knew Kahn including Frank Gehry, Philip Johnson, and I.M. Pei.  Kahn created modern buildings with the feel and presence of ancient...

Eames Demetrios is the grandson (and namesake) of Charles and Ray Eames and leads the Eames brand which has roared back into the public eye.  His mission is communicating, preserving and extending the brilliant work of designers Charles and Ray Eames who were best known by the public for their furniture and for their 125 short films, including the much-heralded-and-still-relevant Powers of Ten.  ...

California i nterior designer Brad Dunning grew up in Memphis and LA. He has early, wilder roots in the LA punk rock scene as part of the original Gun Club, a seminal noisy punk/blues band.  Widely praised as designer to the stars such as Tom Ford, Sofia Coppola, and Demi Moore,  Brad has been featured in Architectural Digest and created a look the magazine calls Cocktail Modern. Plus, he helped r...

The world's largest erector set:  the Lustron was a house you put together with a screwdriver.  It was metal, yet would never rust.  It was ingeniously heated and insulated.  It came on a truck ready for assembly.  A brilliant design produced only a few years after WWII, the Lustron now has a cult following to repair and preserve them -- or assemble ones long in storage. Author Tom Fetters is King...

Landscape architect Susan Saarinen , daughter of architect Eero Saarinen , granddaughter of architect Eliel Saarinen   (pronounced sahrr -uh-nen) , and Raymond Neutra , retired physician and epidemiologist in California, son of architect Richard Neutra (pronounced noy -tra). In the 1950's when the general public really didn't pay much attention to architects, Richard Neutra and Eero Saarinen were...

Justin Shubow is President of the National Civic Art Society , a Washington DC educational non-profit for the classical and humanistic tradition in public art and architecture.  With a background in law, philosophy, comedy, and physics, his sharp wit informs and entertains through articles in Forbes and appearances before Congress and various Washington committees. We talk about Frank Gehry's desi...

Paul Rudolph was not as well-known as Frank Lloyd Wright but he designed some of the most fascinating and creative Modernist buildings in America. While inspiring a generation of architects, the public generally does not warm to his large brutalist designs, finding the intense use of concrete and steel to be ugly and oppressive.  But hey, we love 'em, and today we welcome two passionate and willin...

Sarah Susanka is an internationally-known architect and author of the best-selling "Not So Big" series of books, which kicked off with The Not So Big House in 1997.  Over the years, she has been featured on Oprah, Charlie Rose, and many architecture and design publications.  She lives in Raleigh, North Carolina. Monique Lombardelli is a San Francisco filmmaker, CEO, Realtor, and developer. She pro...

Joe Kwon is the cellist for the internationally acclaimed band The Avett Brothers.  He's the client of Robby Johnston and Craig Kerins , principals in the design/build firm Raleigh Architecture & Raleigh Construction.  Block by block, they are developing a stretch of Raleigh's downtown into small, sustainable, walkable Modernist houses.  Joe's recently built house is the third in what will be abou...