Presented as part of Mid-Century Masters, a multi-part series of archival podcasts of presentations held at the Architectural League by leading figures in post-war modernism.

Architect Natalie de Blois joined Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill (SOM) in 1944, less than ten years after the firm was founded. As the first woman at SOM to reach the level of senior designer, de Blois worked on some of the firm’s most significant projects, including Lever House, Pepsi Cola, the Union Carbide Building, and the Connecticut General Life Insurance Headquarters. Nathaniel Owings, one of the firm’s founders, wrote of her in his autobiography that “her mind and hands worked marvels in design–and only she and God would ever know just how many great solutions, with the imprimatur of one of the male heroes of SOM, owed much more to her than was attributed by either SOM or the client.” (Women in American Architecture, 1977) In this conversation with architect Françoise Bollack, recorded at the League in 1987 as part of a series called “Three Modern Architects,” de Blois discusses the full scope of her career.

Please note: The audio is difficult to understand at some points. We apologize for the inconvenience.

http://archleague.org/av_podcast/DAP_DeBlois.mp3

The League’s Digital Archive Project is made possible by contributions from the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency; and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

Presented as part of Mid-Century Masters, a multi-part series of archival podcasts of lectures held at the Architectural League by leading figures in post-war modernism.

Max Abramovitz (1908-2004) was a partner, with Wallace Harrison, of Harrison and Abramovitz. Either as lead architects or as team members, Harrison and Abramovitz participated in some of the most significant commissions of the 20th century, including the United Nations and Lincoln Center. Abramovitz himself served as director of planning for the United Nations and was architect of Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. In this lecture from 1994, Abramovitz discusses the full scope of his career, beginning with the Trylon and Perisphere for the New York World’s Fair (1939) to his later work for U.S. Steel and Banque Rothschild.

Due to its length, this podcast is split into two parts. Click on the title to play the video.

Part 1 (58:28)
Part 2 (49:28)

The League’s Digital Archive Project is made possible by contributions from the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency; and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

Presented as part of Mid-Century Masters, a multi-part series of archival podcasts of lectures held at the Architectural League by leading figures in post-war modernism.

In March 1976, the Architectural League, under then president Robert A.M. Stern, honored Ray and Charles Eames at a dinner at the National Arts Club in New York City. The dinner was held to celebrate the Eames’ design of the bicentennial exhibition, “The World of Franklin and Jefferson,” held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art from March 5 to May 2, 1976. In this recording from that evening, short introductions and toasts by Stern, Robert Blake of Herman Miller (the sponsor of the dinner), and architect Peter Blake are followed by a presentation by Charles Eames of the the firm’s projects, including the Eames House and their work for the Metropolitan Museum. The presentation ended with the screening of a film by the Eameses, the audio of which was recorded and available here.

http://archleague.org/av_podcast/DAP_Eames.mp3

The League’s Digital Archive Project is made possible by contributions from the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency; and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

Presented as part of Mid-Century Masters, a multi-part series of archival podcasts of presentations held at the Architectural League by leading figures in post-war modernism.

California architect Craig Ellwood (1922-1992) lectured at the Architectural League in 1987 as part of a three-part series called “Three Modern Architects.” Known as much for his exuberant lifestyle as for his work–which included three Case Study Houses (No. 1953, 17, 18)–Ellwood was one of the most visible faces of California modernism. At the time of this lecture, which he claimed was his first in ten years, Ellwood was living in Italy and working as a painter and sculptor, although the lecture announcement indicated that he had “recently begun to practice architecture again,” more than a decade after having closed his firm.

http://archleague.org/av_podcast/DAP_Ellwood.mp3

The League’s Digital Archive Project is made possible by contributions from the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency; and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

Unfinished Modern
April 11 and 18, 1984

At the height of postmodernism in 1984, the League commissioned Arthur Drexler, then the director of the Department of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art, to deliver a two-part lecture on future directions in architecture. Drexler used the occasion to argue for a renewal of modernism, suggesting that though much of it was repetitious, modernist architecture was experiencing “a period of refinement that…merit[ed] investigation and analysis.” Recognizing the dilemma that postmodernism represented for many architects, Drexler asserts that modernism had not died, it had simply fulfilled many of its original aims and needed to look for new sources to revitalize itself.

The Devaluation of Architecture
The Devaluation of Architecture
Recorded: April 11, 1984
Running time: 53:09

Architecture in the Millennium
Architecture in the Millennium
Recorded: April 18, 1984
Running time: 1:13:27

The Digital Archive Project is made possible with support from the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency; and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

Image: Lecture poster, designed by Massimo Vignelli.

Presented as part of Revisiting Postmodernism, a digital archive series of presentations held at the Architectural League by leading theorists and practitioners of 1980s post-modernism.

Organized in 1985 in conjunction with the publication of Jencks’ Towards a Symbolic Architecture (Rizzoli, 1985), the lecture makes the case that “some of the formal and linguistic problems of architecture” have been met and that architects must now move into the next stage of postmodernism: symbolic architecture. Features an extensive discussion of the design of the Thematic House, Jencks’ London townhouse designed by himself and Terry Farrell.

Jencks–Symbolic Architecture

The League’s Digital Archive Project is made possible by contributions from the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency; and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

Presented as part of Revisiting Postmodernism, a digital archive series of presentations held at the Architectural League by leading theorists and practitioners in 1980s post-modernism.

Organized on the occasion of a 1980 exhibition on the work of early 20th century, neo-Georgian architect Mott Schmidt, this panel discussion considers the issue of revivalism in architecture through current work presentations by (in order of presentation) Allan Greenberg, Robert A.M. Stern, and Frances Halsband.

Revivalism Revived

The League’s Digital Archive Project is made possible by contributions from the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency; and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

Presented as part of Revisiting Postmodernism, a digital archive series of presentations held at the Architectural League by leading theorists and practitioners of 1980s post-modernism.

A conversation with Michael Graves; Stan Allen, Dean, Princeton School of Architecture; and Sarah Whiting, Assistant Professor, revisiting the Portland Building twenty-five years later. Co-sponsored with the Princeton University School of Architecture.

Click on the title to play the video.

Part 1
Part 2
The League’s Digital Archive Project is made possible by contributions from the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency; and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

Presented as part of Revisiting Postmodernism, a digital archive series of presentations held at the Architectural League by leading theorists and practitioners of 1980s post-modernism.

Michael Graves gives an extensive presentation of the Portland Building, one of the icons of postmodernism, in this lecture presented shortly after the building’s completion.

DAP_graves.mp3

The League’s Digital Archive Project is made possible by contributions from the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency; and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

Presented as part of Revisiting Postmodernism, a digital archive series of presentations held at the Architectural League by leading theorists and practitioners of 1980s post-modernism.

A lecture by James Stirling on the firm’s recent projects at the time, centered around an extensive discussion of the Neue Staatsgalerie Stuttgart.

DAP_Stirling.mp3

The League’s Digital Archive Project is made possible by contributions from the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency; and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.