USModernist Radio - Architecture You Love

#349/Aluminaire: Frances Campani + Michael Schwarting + Architecture Photographer Robin Hill

Way back in 1987, New York Institute of Technology architects Michael Schwarting and Frances Campani saved the 1931 Aluminaire House from destruction, and rebuilt it.  Then they had to take it apart.  Now nearly 40 years later, Aluminaire House reached it’s final resting place at the Palm Springs Art Museum, visible today on the museum grounds.  Recorded poolside at Modernism Week,  you will hear about this visionary house, designed by Albert Frey and Lawrence Kocher, and Aluminaire’s journe...

#348/Architecture Documentaries: Louise Lemoine + Denise Zmekhol + Simon Mark Brown

Joining the show are three documentary filmmakers bravely capturing architects and architecture on film.  Making these movies is an incredible labor of love; it takes a tremendous amount of work and time, often years, you’re fundraising continually, production is expensive, even when done on the cheap, and the financial reward at the end of all that, well, let’s say you could do better working a couple of months under the golden arches.  That’s why these folks are our heroes and heroines.  W...

#347/Maritime Modernism: Peter Knego + Brian Biggott + Musical Guest Chris Brubeck

From the great postwar transatlantic liners to the sleek Scandinavian cruise ships of the 1970s, to Captain Stuebing and the Love Boat, ships and private yachts are also design showcases that featured edgy, trendsetting architecture. Maritime historian and art dealer Peter Knego and yacht owner Brian Biggott joins George poolside at Modernism Week to talk about nautical Modernism. Later on, from the studio, music from the next generation of the Dave Brubeck dynasty, his son Chris Brubeck, wh...

#346/He Saw Frank Lloyd Wright in 1950: Architect Truman Newberry + Musical Guest Julianna Raye

In May of 1950, a young man attended a packed lecture by Frank Lloyd Wright in the then-new Reynolds Coliseum at NC State in Raleigh NC.  It was the largest architecture lecture ever in North Carolina.  He was also witness to the construction of the 1954 Catalano House, sadly destroyed in 2001. Today George talks with architect Truman Newberry, now in his 90’s.  And later on, music with the charming and mindful Julianna Raye. 

#345/Modernism Week 2024: Alan Hess on Irving Gill + Erin Ellwood on Craig Ellwood + Musical Guest Lucy Woodward

Recorded poolside at the Hotel Skylark during Modernism Week in Palm Springs, prolific architect and architectural historian Alan Hess talks about California architect Irving Gill, who was doing Modernism way back in 1905; plus Erin Ellwood, daughter of Craig Ellwood, on her father’s singular legacy. Later, back in the studio, music with the enchanting Lucy Woodward. 

#344/Children Of Genius: Mira Nakashima + Peggy Risom Bull

In another of our wildly popular Children of Genius shows, we’re honored to talk with furniture designer Mira Nakashima, who carries on the tradition of her father, George Nakashima, and Peg Risom Bull, daughter of Danish furniture designer Jens Risom. 

#343/Almost Live from New Canaan: The Myron Goldfinger Panel + Musical Guest Lucy Wijnands

An exhibition last fall on the late architect Myron Goldfinger opened and USModernist was there moderating the panel’s remembrances. Circle Square Triangle: The Architecture of Myron Goldfinger, closed at the end of 2023 but will be touring other locations in 2024. Myron Goldfinger’s signature Modernist houses of the Hamptons and Westchester in New York include the wild party house featured in The Wolf of Wall Street. A favorite architect of New York City’s rich and powerful during the 1980s...

#342/Architects Michelle Kaufmann + Roger Ferris + Podcasters Ron Melk + Kevin Kennedy

Creating affordable, transportable, innovative prefab houses has been the holy grail of architecture for 100 years, and if you were reading DWELL in the early 2000’s, you couldn’t miss their coverage of the latest adventurers on that quest.  Joining us today is one of the most successful, Michelle Kaufmann, now with Google.  Later on George travels to Stamford CT to talk with Modernist architect Roger Ferris, and we wrap up with fellow podcasters Ron Melk and Kevin Kennedy of Your Valuable H...

#341/Architects Dan Duckham + Randy Henning + Musical Guest Ann Hampton Callaway

Ohio native Dan Duckham moved to Fort Lauderdale in 1956 after graduating in architecture from Miami University of Ohio. Three years later in 1962 he formed his own firm and over the last seven decades, Dan Duckham completed more than 500 projects, including many Modernist houses.  Dan Duckham is one of the last living masters of Florida modern, and joining him is architect and author Randolph Henning, who in addition to his design practice writes books on architects following the tradition ...

#340/NY Architecture and Design Film Festival: Jason Cohn + Fred Noyes + Hans Christian Post + Musical Guest Jim Ketch

Recorded at New York's Architecture and Design Film Festival, George talks with Jason Cohn and returning podcast guest Fred Noyes talking Modernism Inc, a documentary about Eliot Noyes. We’ll also visit with another filmmaker from the festival, Hans Christian Post, who has a few problems with idyllic Copenhagen.  And later on, music with North Carolina’s legendary bandleader, trumpeter Jim Ketch. 

#339/Photographer Michael Biondo + FORT-LA's Russell Brown + Musical Guests Lenore Raphael + Howard Alden

There’s a new edition out of the popular book Midcentury Houses Today, and we’ll have on co-author and architectural photographer Michael Biondo.  Next up, someone we admire for keeping Modernist houses on the radar in Los Angeles, filmmaker Russell Brown,  founder of FORT LA, aka Friends of Residential Treasures. Later on, music from Durham’s Sharp 9 Jazz club with pianist Lenore Raphael and guitarist Howard Alden. 

#338/Authors Todd Cronan + Andrew Heid + Musical Guest Claudia Acuna

Two authors of new books:  Todd Cronan, with the book Nothing Permanent: Modern Architecture in California; and, don’t throw any stones, it’s Andrew Heid, with the book Glass Houses.  Later on, George and Tom welcome musical guest Claudia Acuna. 

#337/Poolside Gossip: Shawn Waldron + Nelda Linsk + Musical Guest China Forbes of Pink Martini

Have you seen that photo of the two gorgeous glamourous blondes, sitting in loungers, sipping drinks by the pool of a Richard Neutra house in Palm springs?  That iconic photo, called Poolside Gossip, was taken over 50 years ago by Slim Aarons.  Joining us Shawn Waldron, author of a new book on Slim Aarons, and one of the two women in that photo, the Queen of Palm Springs Nelda Linsk. Later on, music with China Forbes from Pink Martini, who will tell us what really happened with Eugene. 

#336/Sal Flores + Damien Lipp + Stephanie Mauro + Goli Karimi + Musical Guest Nicole Zuratis

We gear up 2024 with conversations with Damien Lipp and Stephanie Mauro on tiny houses in Iceland; Long Beach Architecture Week’s Sal Flores; a Modernist renovation in Altadena CA with Goli Karimi, and later a wonderful musical guest, Nicole Zuraitis.

#335/Getting Ready for Palm Springs: Frank Lopez + Rosemary Krieger + Christopher Georgesco + Karen Nepacena + Musical Guests Lizzy and the Triggermen.

In October, USModernist was at the Palm Springs Modernism Show and visited with hundreds of wonderful fans from around the country. We are going to be in Palm Springs again in February for Modernism Week, and in preparation, George spoke with today’s guests, architectural archivist Frank Lopez of Sunnylands, the Palm Springs Modernism Show’s Rosemary Krieger, artist Christopher Georgesco, Destination Eichler’s Karen Nepacena, and musical guest Lizzy Shapiro of LA’s hottest jazz and swing ban...

#334/The Legacy of Asian-American Architects: Mina Chow + Takashi Yanai

Returning podcast guest Takashi Yanai is a partner at Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects where he is director of both the Los Angeles and San Francisco residential studios. Returning podcast guest Mina Chow is and architect and Principal of mc2 Spaces, a multimedia company. She is also an architecture professor at USC. Mina and Takashi talk about the contributions of Asian-American architects, many of whom suffered through the forced relocation of internment camps during WWII.

#333/Children of Genius: Francesca Breuer Wallace + Heiki Aalto-Alanen

Happy 2024!  We open up the new year with another great episode in our continuing series Children of Genius.  Francesca Breuer Wallace gives her first interview - ever - on her father Marcel Breuer; and later it’s the grandson of Aino and Alvar Aalto, Heikki Aalto-Alanen, with a new book on his grandparents. 

#332/Holiday Show: Author Toby Witte + Musical Guest Michael Sinatra + Musical Guests Peter Lamb and the Wolves

What better subject to talk about during the holidays than Modernist bliss?  Joining us is Charlotte North Carolina architect and author Toby Witte. And later, not one but two holiday musical guests:  from his new Christmas album, Michael Sinatra, and bringing holiday cheer from Raleigh NC, Peter Lamb and the Wolves. 

#331/Pioneering Leaders Phyllis Lambert + Susan Maxman

In architecture up until the 1990’s, it was raining men, and the few women architects had to work twice as hard to get the same recognition and the same pay, if they got either at all. That's slowly changing, thanks to pioneering leaders like today's guests.  Phyllis Bronfman Lambert is a Canadian architect, philanthropist, and member of the family that brought Seagrams spirits to fame in the 20th century.  She created the Canadian Centre for Architecture, one of the world's leading architec...

#330/Tom Kundig's Client Lou Maxon Rides the Rails + Peter McMahon of the Cape Cod Modern House Trust

Be careful about giving a coffee table book to your architecture-lovin’ spouse for Christmas, because one day, you might have a new Modernist house by a famous architect - plus a railroad - on your property.  Joining us is Seattle brand designer Lou Maxon and his long strange journey to build a Tom Kundig house with a unique Kundig gizmo on rails. Later on, returning podcast guest Peter McMahon of the Cape Cod Modern House Trust shares his group’s wildly successful preservation of Modernist ...

#329/Martin Voelkle of BIG

As our 23 loyal listeners know, we’re solid fans of Bjarke Ingels and his wildly successful design practice Bjarke Ingels Group spanning London, Copenhagen, New York, and China.  With projects like the combination incinerator and ski slope in Copenhagen, and Via 57, One Hudson, the Spiral, and the BIG U flood protection barrier wrapping around most of Manhattan, the firm continues to do amazing projects, even designing habitats for the moon and mars. George was back at the Bjarke Ingels Grou...

#328/Mid-Century Architect Barbara Neski + Musical Guest Staci Griesbach

The architects of midcentury houses in the 1950’s and 1960’s are all retired now, some for many years.  It’s a true privilege as fans from a later generation to sit down with these men and women and hear their stories.  Joining us today is celebrated architect Barbara Neski of New York City, now in her 90’s, famed for award-winning Modernist houses in the Hamptons.  Later, music with the charming Staci Griesbach, who headlined at one of USModernist's Moon Over Modernism events.  And she's go...

#327/Christy MacLear

Every now and then, we run into A-students who have become so accomplished in the multiple worlds of art, architecture, preservation, business, and common sense, that it’s a shame not to share those conversations.  Joining us today is Christy MacLear, the founder of Artist Ventures. She’s been CEO for Superblue, a thrilling immersive experience in Miami, which you should put on your travel list; the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, and Philip Johnson's Glass House.  She’s been Vice Chairman a...

#326/Children of Genius: John Barnes + Ainslie Gores Gilligan

In our ongoing series Children of Genius, we’ll talk to John Barnes, son of New York Modernist architect Edward Larrabee Barnes, and Ainsley Gores Gilligan, daughter of Connecticut architect and one of the Harvard Five, Landis Gores.  They join our past interviews with family of well-known architects such as Eric and Susan Saarinen, children of Eero; Raymond and Dion Neutra, children of Richard;  grandchildren of Frank Lloyd Wright and Charles and Ray Eames; and children of Craig Ellwood, Bi...

Special Event! Modapalooza in Palm Springs February 2024

George sneaks into the studio to make a special announcement.

#325 A/Modapalooza in Pam Springs

#325/Albert Frey, Inventive Modernist: Adam Lerner + Brad Dunning

Few large art museums in the world are dedicated to architecture as well as art, and joining us is Adam Lerner, the CEO of one of those, the Palm Springs Art Museum.  A few blocks away, that museum owns another museum, the Palm Springs Architecture and Design Museum, location of an upcoming January exhibition on architect Albert Frey, the patron saint of Modernist design in Palm Springs.  Curating that exhibition, we have the noted and in-demand Palm Springs and LA designer, preservationist,...

#324/The Getty's Chandler McCoy + AI with Michael Gilbride

Back in the 1980’s, architect Richard Meier got a commission for a series of buildings in Los Angeles.  The Getty Foundation, sourced from the prestigious family of oil fame, wanted a huge new complex on land they owned off the 405.  This would turn out to be one of the largest private commissions in the world at the time, costing about 1.3 billion by the time it opened in the 1990’s.  Of course, the neighbors fought it, as neighbors do with just about anything Modernist, and now it’s a sour...

#323/Organic Architecture: Michael Johnson + Bart Prince + Musical Guests Peter Lamb and the Wolves

The Modernist architecture we love is exciting, edgy, sometime inexplicable, often brilliant.  Modernism has been around a long time, yet there’s also been a movement beyond  Neutra and Corbusier and Gropius and Breuer and Mies, that’s frequently misunderstood.  We’re talking about organic architecture, houses that make Neutra look downright classical. Organic architects are a fiercely independent breed, using their intuition like Yoda would use the Force, taking on unusual materials and con...

#322/Stewart Hicks of YouTube's Architecture with Stewart

Returning podcast guest Stewart Hicks is best-known for his wildly popular YouTube video series Architecture with Stewart, and in his spare time, he’s Associate Dean at the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago.  Every few weeks, you’ll find a new YouTube release helping the general public, which is us, on topics as varied as the desperation of contemporary mall architecture, why linear cities don’t work, why people want to live in corncob-shaped buildings, the late...

#321/Andras Szanto: The Future of Museums

What modernist architect doesn’t want a museum commission? Along with airports and hotels, or huge corporate campuses for  tech bros, museums are the most lucrative and high-profile projects an architect can get.  Budgets are big, backers are rich, publicity is guaranteed, and most of the time clients want the architect to fully self-express their wildest plans. It’s a good deal for the museum, too, as they get to brag about their remarkable new building.  A graduate of the PhD program in so...

#320/Melodie Yashar of ICON + Jan Schmidt-Garre on BV Doshi + NY ADFF with Kyle Bergman

Melodie Yashar is VP for building design and performance at ICON, a firm devoted to developing 3D construction. Their neighborhood of attractive, affortable 3D-printed houses, designed by the Bjarke Ingels Group, went on sale in Austin TX this past June.  Later on, we talk with German director Jan Schmidt-Garre whose latest film is The Promise: Architect BV Doshi, an intimate portrait of the late architect’s life and work.  But first, we check in with Kyle Bergman, founder of the New York Ar...

#319/Palm Springs Glamour: Will Friedwald + Courtney Newman + Susan Claassen

Palm Springs has seen its share of glamour, from the Hollywood celebrities who made the place their playground last century to the musicians and entertainers who kept the party going. Today we’ll hear from Will Friedwald on the jazz trio The Poll Winners; Courtney Newman on the classic entertainers who flocked to Palm springs; and Susan Claassen, who has brought legendary Hollywood costume designer Edith Head to life.  If you don’t know who Edith Head is, think Edna Mode from the Incredibles...

#318/Modernist Renovations: Nick Martin + Matt Loader + Iain King + Musical Guest Jen Ash

Renovations on Modernist buildings can be particularly tricky. Nick Martin's firm recently remodeled Charles Gwathmey’s Tolan House in the Hamptons.  Matt Loader and Iain King of Loader Monteith lead Modernist preservation projects including the Glasgow School of Art Mackintosh Building, the Jenners Building redevelopment, and something definitely not Modernist, Rosslyn Chapel, a church made famous the Dan Brown book and movie, the Da Vinci Code. More recently, Loader Monteith conserved and ...

#317: More Than Architecture: Object Modernism

Modernism isn't just architecture; it also highlights the artists and artisans whose textiles, ceramics, furniture, and other objects bring modern spaces to life. Recorded at Modernism Week 2023, we’ll hear from a gaggle of interesting guests:  Susan Brown, Alexa Griffith Winton, Leigh Wishner and Charlotte Von Hardenburgh on textile artist Dorothy Liebes; Annalisa Capurro and Paul Ortega on the Swedish Modern design of Svenskt Tenn; ceramics historian Margaret Carney on midcentury dinnerwar...

#317/More Than Architecture: Object Modernism

Modernism isn't just architecture; it also highlights the artists and artisans whose textiles, ceramics, furniture, and other objects bring modern spaces to life. Recorded at Modernism Week 2023, we’ll hear from a gaggle of interesting guests:  Susan Brown, Alexa Griffith Winton, Leigh Wishner and Charlotte Von Hardenburgh on textile artist Dorothy Liebes; Annalisa Capurro and Paul Ortega on the Swedish Modern design of Svenskt Tenn; ceramics historian Margaret Carney on midcentury dinnerwar...

#316/Lustrons: Virginia Faust + Mark Siebel + Musical Guest Monika Ryan

In 1946, Carl Strandland asked for $15 million worth of emergency loans to build small houses for GIs returning from WWII. Strandland was not an architect, but his idea that metal neighborhoods could be prefabricated and swiftly built was persuasive, and Lustron prefab house was born. To manufacture the ten tons of steel that went into each two-bedroom Lustron, Strandland bought a 25-acre factory in Columbus OH which was used during WWII to build fighter planes. A few years and only about 3,...

#315/Photography and Color: Ethan Wayne + Laurie Kratochvil + Amy Shepherd + Sara McClean + Musical Guest Ariel Pocock

As more and more midcentury buildings get destroyed, we have to rely on midcentury photography collections as a window into the past and as inspiration for the future. Today we’ll talk to Ethan Wayne, son of actor John Wayne, Laurie Kratochvil, and Amy Shepherd about the John Hamilton Collection, a priceless trove of photographs from Hollywood’s golden age.  After that, paint company Dunn-Edwards’s head colorist Sara McClean talks about keeping the midcentury color vibe alive. And later, jaz...

#314/Et Tu, Brutalism? Concrete Love with Owen Hopkins + Musical Guests Poinsettia

Architectural historian Owen Hopkins has written or edited 16 books on architecture and his stories have appeared in Architectural Design, Dezeen, the Independent, and Blueprint, among many others. A graduate of the Courtauld Institute in London, Owen has served as architectural program curator at the Royal Academy of Arts, senior curator at Sir John Soane’s Museum, and now the director of Newcastle University’s new Farrell Centre. His latest book is about brutalism, those large concrete bui...

#313/Vishaan Chakrabarti + Missy Wood + Sharon Prince + A Few Minutes with Jody Brown

Vishaan Chakrabarti is the Founder and Creative Director of Practice for Architecture and Urbanism where he leads the firm’s growing global portfolio of cultural, institutional, and public projects. His latest book is A Country of Cities: A Manifesto for an Urban America; his major argument is that well-designed cities have the capacity to address some of our gravest social ills, including environmental degradation and decreased social mobility.  Missy Wood is the founder and CEO of FORMUS, ...

#312/The WG Show: WG Clark + Wendy Goodman

What would happen if you threw the letters of the alphabet in a hat, drew out two at random, then asked people with those initials on a podcast?  Today we find out, and just like Sesame Street, today’s show is brought to you by the letters W and G.  We could have chosen from musician Woody Guthrie, grandpa on the Waltons Will Geer (George: loved that guy), one of the brothers Grimm, Wilhelm, and of course architect Walter Gropius.  They were, ahem, not available, so today we’ve got two wonde...

#311/Leo Marmol + Stuart Graff + Jennifer Gray + Musical Guest Elaine Lucia

Architects Albert Frey and Lawrence Kocher designed the Aluminaire House in 1931 for New York’s Allied Arts and Industries Exhibition. Tens of thousands of people went through this experimental house design. Now, over 90 years later, Aluminaire has been sitting in a tractor trailer, boxed up, at the Palm Springs Museum of Art. Joining George is Leo Marmol of the legendary LA firm Marmol Radziner. He's a Board member for the Palm Springs Art Museum and is coordinating the design team responsi...

#310/Modernist Renovator Jeff Fink + Brick and Wonder's Drew Lang

If you’re considering buying a midcentury Modern house, you’re surely going to need some repairs, maybe as much as a full renovation.  Mostly likely you’re not in construction or architecture, so you’re gonna need help and you really don’t want to screw it up.  The good news is that there are expert builders around the country who specialize in Modernist houses, old and new, and today we’ve got the Sultan of Schindler, Jeff Fink of LA and Santa Barbara. Later on, Drew Lang, principal of Lang...

#309/Landscape Architecture: Roderick Wyllie + James Lord + Musical Guest Al Strong

You know when you go to an impressive Modernist building, part of what’s impressive is more than just the structure.  The landscape all around the building, from the sidewalks to the signage to the plants to how the sun hits everything just right – this is the stuff that the general public often takes for granted.  But it doesn’t happen by accident, and it’s not typically part done by the building’s main architect.  What often takes a building from good to great is an important profession ca...

#308/Designer/Builder Alicia Hylton Daniel + Of Houses: Daniel Munteanu

Joining us here in the studio is designer and builder Alicia Hylton-Daniel, owner of the Durham North Carolina firm Hylton Daniel.  Later on, from Romania, it’s the creator of the wildly popular “of houses” blog, architect Daniel Munteanu. 

#307/Don't Worry Darling, It's The Kaufmann House: Adele Cygelman + Cathy Whitlock + Chris Baugh + Musical Guest Noel Paul Stookey of Peter Paul + Mary

One of the most famous homes in Palm Springs is the Kaufmann House, designed by Richard Neutra.  It was recently the star of Don't Worry Darling, filmed right before it sold, and there's a rich history there.  Even Barry Manilow owned it at one point!  Adele Cygelman is the author of Palm Springs Modern and Arthur Elrod: Desert Modern Design. Her recent research focused on Edgar Kaufmann’s first wife, Liliane, and his second, a woman who, um, assumed hostessing duties after Liliane retreat...

#306/Professor Barry Bergdoll + Musical Guest Joanne Brackeen

Welcome to USModernist Radio, where we talk and laugh with people who enjoy, own, create, dream about, preserve, love, and hate Modernist architecture, the most exciting and controversial buildings in the world.  Joining us today is one of foremost architectural historians in the world, professor, and former Museum of Modern Art architecture curator Barry Bergdoll, plus a special guest!  Later, music with legendary jazz pianist Joanne Brackeen. 

#305/Today's Modernism In Palm Springs: Sean Gaston + Brett Woods + Joe Dangaran + Anthony Poon

We all love midcentury Modernism, but what about new Modernist houses? How much do you follow the past versus innovating for the future? After all, we are not the same culture and technology and building materials we were in the 1950's. And what about renovations? Today's show features homeowner Sean Gaston, who's working on a restoration project close to our hearts, a hyperbolic paraboloid house; author and architect Anthony Poon; and some of the hottest residential architects in LA, Brett ...

#304/Robert Rubin + Musical Guest Libby York

Joining us is Robert Rubin, no not the guy who was secretary of the Treasury under Bill Clinton, although people do get them confused.  This Robert Rubin built one of the world's only Modernist golf clubhouses and will be transforming that golf course into a Modernist enclave. He also saved and restored a Pierre Chareau house in Paris, the famous Maison de Verre. Later, great jazz with musical guest Libby York.

#303/Modernism Week Places Part 2: Elvis Honeymoon House + Rancho Mirage + United Arab Emirates + Isokon

More fun Modernist places most people don't know - explored from conversations at Modernism Week 2023  between George Smart, Tom Guild, and:  Simcha Schtull on the Elvis Honeymoon House, Melissa Riche and Dan Allen on Rancho Mirage, Dana Al-Marashi and TK Harvey on the United Arab Emirages; and the famous Isokon building in the UK with Magnus England and Leila DayBelge.