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unknown modernism

chigurh

Watched the movie "Frida" which had a really cool modern house in it.  Got me digging around to find out who designed it; Juan O'Gorman.  Dude has some amazing work. Pulled out my history books; Frampton and Curtis to see if there was any mention; minimal at best. 

Wondering if archinectors have other "unknown" architects from this era they can share? Architects that have great work that didn't make the cut of the white East coast intellectuals controlling the canon?  Regional?  Local?

 

 
Feb 14, 15 9:31 am
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I can't think of any right now; however, if you want to know more about O'Gorman, see Builders in the Sun: Five Mexican Architects. It has about 40 or 50 pages of material on him.

Feb 14, 15 10:24 am  · 
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I just thought of one, Gaston Eysselinck. Almost nothing has been published about him in English. From what I understand, he was an important Modernist in Belgium, but died so young (under 45, I think) that his body of work was very small and mostly houses. He is most famous for his own house:

his furniture:

and his Post Office:

Feb 14, 15 11:16 am  · 
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Also, Josef Frank. With his theory of Accidentism, Frank suggested that design should incorporate traits that make it appear to be accidental or unplanned. He justifies this position by using cities that people enjoy as examples, stating that cities generally accumulate over time and derive their charm through genuine accidents. According to Frank, complex building types cannot be art if the building is intended to function well because art is unchanging and unchangeable. Finally, Frank asserts that a certain amount of sentimentality is necessary in design, especially in house design.

Feb 14, 15 11:21 am  · 
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Andrew Geller

Feb 15, 15 11:19 am  · 
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chigurh

jw, that first dude is legit.  Marcel Bruer Chair? 

Miles, love that work, super simple, geometric.  Did you know that guy?

Feb 16, 15 11:24 am  · 
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I met met him a couple of times, a very quiet, gentle man. A childhood friend lived in one of Geller's houses that was locally known as the plane crash.

Leaked like a sieve due to difficult conditions and inexperienced builder.

Feb 16, 15 1:24 pm  · 
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It's unbelievable that so much of Geller's work has been lost. There's an excellent documentary about him at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZBLbzkIjJA.

Someone else who seems to have been virtually forgotten is Judith Chafee, although Curtis does mention her.

Feb 16, 15 2:56 pm  · 
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OM..

cool thread, here's who I can think of:

Julian Laampens

O'Neil Ford

and the Erlanger House by Jack Baker

Feb 16, 15 8:31 pm  · 
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chigurh

nice...julian laampens so good...brutal.  

can't find any decent images of that last one.

Feb 16, 15 8:39 pm  · 
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chigurh

andres casillas de alba

has some super clean modern projects, with strange scuppers/chimney adornments..

Feb 16, 15 8:40 pm  · 
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De Alba worked with Luis Barragan, and the influence is obvious.

Feb 16, 15 8:50 pm  · 
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Lampens rocks!

Dom Hans van der Laan, the monk-architect:

A modern architect whose work I like is Gion Caminada:

Feb 16, 15 10:08 pm  · 
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alisawhite009

O’Gorman continues to be an important figure in Mexico. He was a architect painter and learned from his father. His father was irish and mother was mexican.He used painting techniques that he would later employ to create two more murals in Chapultepec Castle entitled Retablo de la Independencia and Retablo de la Revolución Mexicana.

Feb 17, 15 1:12 am  · 
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poop876

great posts!

Feb 17, 15 8:30 am  · 
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JLC-1

One more, Emilio Duhart, disciple of LeCorb

http://www.plataformaarquitectura.cl/cl/02-55751/clasicos-de-arquitectura-edificio-de-cepal-emilio-duhart

Feb 17, 15 11:53 am  · 
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William Morgan

Mar 28, 15 4:58 pm  · 
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Thirteeneven09

I second William Morgan. His Natural History Museum at the University of Florida is one of the best spots on campus. Even with the major build up around it, it is still an engaging space to take in.

 http://www.williammorganarchitects.com/institutional-commercial/museum/

Mar 31, 15 10:56 am  · 
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