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This new, profusely illustrated book on the history of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth by Frederick Gifun features the architecture of the campus and its original designer, Paul Rudolph. It contains a wealth of images including reproductions of drawings as well as historical and contemporary photographs of the campus. For additional information, see the web site:

http://www.umassd.edu/umdhistory/welcome.cfm

John Peter:

What in your opinion, are three of some of the greatest works of modern architecture and why?

Paul Rudolph:

I feel the Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoie [Poissy, France, 1929] demonstrated the sense of continuity of space, the unfolding space, in an admirable way. It also stated eloquently Le Corbusier’s feeling about man’s relationship to nature, which has proved to be prophetic.

John Peter:

What is an architect?

Paul Rudolph:

75 Years of Architecture at MoMA
http://www.moma.org/exhibitions/exhibitions.php?id=5090
The Philip Johnson Architecture and Design Galleries, The Museum of Modern Art
November 16, 2007–March 10, 2008

This is the title of a user group of photos of Paul Rudolph buildings from Yahoo's Flickr photosharing web site. There are over 2,300 images of projects from the familiar to the very obscure. A great resource for images.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/paulrudolph/

The web site was upgraded today. One of the main improvements to the site is that now the images are available in a gallery display when you click on the name of the project. This should make the selection useful images much easier.

“I was a visiting critic at Princeton and for reasons that I don't remember, maybe I never knew, he was at Princeton and was brought into the drafting room where I was. We were introduced and he said, "And what are you doing here?" I said, "Well, I'm trying to teach a bit." He said, "Only prostitutes teach." I think that was the extent of that conversation. Another time he was at Philip Johnson's house, uninvited, unexpected, one Sunday morning. I happened to be a guest there. He and Philip put on a great show for us.

"If one were to make a prognostication, again, one would say that the aesthetics of pre-cast reinforced concrete will lead us to an architecture which depends on the play of light and shadow, as opposed to the architecture which depends basically, for its aesthetic values, on reflections which come from a curtain wall. This does not mean to say that the curtain wall is no longer meaningful as a dress for the steel cage. It does have meaning. But it’s just that it’s not the only way to do it.

"Many of these drawings, especially the perspective sections, would encapsulate in a single image the range of Rudolph’s concerns as an architect. There was his quest to define and model space with light and planar surfaces – his interest in climate and the relationship between structure and services – his explorations into modularity and the potential of prefabrication – a later interest in high-density urban megastructures.

Check out this url to acquire a driving tour of the Sarasota School of Modern Architecture. Most of Paul Rudolph's projects in the area are included.

http://www.modernsarasota.com/drivingTour/register.cfm