You drive by a modern building and it stops you in your tracks. You study it and then wonder: Who was the architect? When was it constructed? What’s the rest of the story?
If the structure is significant and in Portland, Seattle, Palm Springs or San Francisco, it might be included in the new book, “Mid-Century Modern Architecture Travel Guide: West Coast USA” by Sam Lubell with photographs by Darren Bradley (Phaidon, $35).
The graphically engaging, fact-filled flexibound book is easy to take with you wherever you go.
Portland is well represented with Saul Zaik’s elevated, eight-sided Zidell House at 2800 SW Fairmount Blvd. and Pietro Belluschi’s glass-and-aluminum 1948 Equitable Building (Commonwealth Building) at 421 SW 6th Ave. Both are easy to see from the street.
Less accessible buildings are described, too, like John Yeon’s U-shaped 1937 Watzek House, which is occasionally open for tours.
The book’s intent is for us to experience Modernist buildings, whether nearby or part of travels. A great example is the captivating, semi-circular Mount Angel Library, designed by architect Alvar Aalto in Saint Benedict.
“I almost fainted when I entered the library,” said author Lubell during an entertaining talk on Saturday, Feb. 18, in Palm Springs, California, which was part of Palm Springs Modernism Week. “It’s about progression, an astonishing architectural experience.”
Other Pacific Northwest icons like the Seattle’s Space Needle and the top-heavy Rainier Tower are included, but Lubell and Bradley went to great extent to add lesser-know works.
During the Palm Springs talk at the Ace Hotel and Swim Club, Bradley described scaling hillsides, sliding down slopes and standing in rain and snow to capture many of the 250 photos to represent each destination during a road trip up the West Coast.
Lubell, the former West Coast editor of The Architect’s Newspaper, countered that his job to write the 384-page book required less physical wear and tear.
Lubell and Bradley pared a list of 900 buildings down before they hit the road. But then they would happen upon an interesting looking exterior and explore the interior.
If they could, some of these “hidden gems” by unheralded architects were included, such as the 1960 University Unitarian Church in Seattle, which Lubell claims has the largest collection of Eames Shell chairs instead of wooden pews.
“Churches are often the most preserved midcentury modern buildings,” said Lubell, who added that sanctuaries are designed to “instill awe” and “have a light show.”
– Janet Eastman
jeastman@oregonian.com
503-799-8739
@janeteastman
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