Forgotten Modern: California Houses 1940-1970

Forgotten Modern: California Houses 1940-1970
by Alan Hess

Forgotten Modern: California Houses 1940-1970
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Book Summary Information

Author: Alan Hess
Photographer: Alan Weintraub
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-09-11
ISBN: 1586858580
Number of pages: 280
Publisher: Gibbs Smith

Book Reviews of Forgotten Modern: California Houses 1940-1970

Book Review: Forgotten Architects
Summary: 3 Stars

If you're looking for a work on modernism's more obscure aspects that you may not already know, this is a good coffee table book. But it is probably more noteworthy for what it leaves out than what it covers, and is not the authoritative work it could have been.

First it glosses over such key areas as "Googie" and ultra-modern, contemporary architecture, and tends to favor middle-of-the-road and so-called "organic" architecture, some of which is more vernacular than modern.

Second, although it refers to influential, name designers and architects such as Cliff May and Douglas Honnold, it doesn't show any of their work for the sake of comparison, or expand on the work of some of its subjects. Besides custom homes, for example, since noted modernist Edward Fickett also designed "tens of thousands of [contemporary] mass-produced homes," where are they?

Third, it could have elaborated more on construction methods and structural systems, which would have added depth and dimension to how the homes were built.

And finally, unlike most works on architecture, the book has no plans or drawings. None whatsoever. Site plans, floor plans, and cross sections can be worth a thousand words, and show at a glance relationships that are hard to describe and understand in words. This omission alone would have gone a long way to adding relevance and context to the photographs.

Summary of Forgotten Modern: California Houses 1940-1970

Forgotten Modern reveals the work of the innovative architects building in California from the 1930s to the 1970s. With groundbreaking and illuminating examples that will alter the way we think of California architecture, Hess and Weintraub focus on those that exemplify early mid-entury modern, variations on minimalism, and organic architecture.

Though architects, historians, and the public alike have overlooked many of these superb architects from California's past century, this book intends to bring them back to our attention. All the architects included here are important in helping to show the breadth of design, that styles like Organic were more widely represented than we have previously realized, and that the fertile soil of California design fostered a wide spectrum of remarkable ideas-even if not all developed a significant school of followers.

Chapters Include:

  • A New Introduction to Midcentury California
  • Searching For Midcentury Modern
  • Variations on Wood and Steel Modernism
  • Organic Architecture
  • History Plus Modernism
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