"Harwell Harris would have been pleased with Lisa Germany's book. . . . The quality of the man permeates the work. It is honest, forthright architecture. It is void of tricks. It uses simple materials in an unself-conscious manner. It places priorities on the user. The emphasis on plan in his practice is the thread that takes us from project to project as Germany weaves the Harris tale."--Ray Kappe, FAIA, Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians

"As a young sculptor, Harwell Hamilton Harris longed for a means of expression to liberate his emotions, an artistic voice in which to communicate his feelings and connect them to the lives and sensibilities of others. This longing was answered when he visited Frank Lloyd Wright's Hollyhock House in Los Angeles and realized the power of architecture for the first time. He saw that Wright's creation functioned both as a home and as shapes that moved into and out of nature, creating sculpture on a monumental scale. This revelation inspired Harris to become an architect and to create homes that would speak to people as Wright's creation had spoken to him." "Harwell Hamilton Harris is a biography of this important American architect. Lisa Germany traces the development of Harris' life (1903-1990) and career, assessing his place in American Modernism, in the development of regionalist architecture, and in the interpretation of a modern California lifestyle that would have admirers throughout the world." "This discussion opens a window into the complexities of Modernism in America during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. Harris, his regionalism, and his emphasis on the democratic single family home, are seen against the backdrop of dispute and dissension among modern architects in this country. Germany explores Harris' career in its entirety, from the dawning of an artistic spirit through the heady days of world recognition and celebrity to leaner years when, first in Texas and later in North Carolina, he taught and practiced, forgotten by the fashionable magazines but still revered by those who had seen and felt his architecture. Throughout his life, Harris remained true to his vision of architecture, a vision still relevant today, as this biography amply demonstrates."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

In this rapidly globalizing world, any investigation of architecture inevitably leads to considerations of regionalism. But despite its omnipresence in contemporary practice and theory, architectural regionalism remains a fluid concept, its historical development and current influence largely undocumented. This comprehensive reader brings together over 40 key essays illustrating the full range of ideas embodied by the term. Authored by important critics, historians, and architects such as Kenneth Frampton, Lewis Mumford, Sigfried Giedion, and Alan Colquhoun, Architectural Regionalism represents the history of regionalist thinking in architecture from the early twentieth century to today.

Triangle Modern Architecture documents the rich history and unique cultural significance of a region that is one of the most important on the national map of modern design. Over the last 75 years, the architecture in this area has grown to creatively combine innovation and technology with the area's history, culture, unique landscape, and built context. While the Triangle has seen a great increase in interest in Modern architecture, the understanding of this design and the reasons and history behind it, have not been shared in a clear and meaningful way. There is an information gap between what is appreciated by architects and by the general public.

When we think of the gardens of Southern California, we tend to think of the enormous semiarid landscapes of the Huntington and Rancho Los Alamitos, often built on the sprawling grounds of former ranches. But there is another garden tradition in Southern California: the modest, rectangular suburban plots designed by the most famous architects of mid-century modernism: Richard Neutra, Rudolph Schindler, Gregory Ain, Raphael Soriano, Harwell Hamilton Harris, A. Quincy Jones, and John Lautner. These architects saw the garden as an outdoor extension of the space of the houses they designed, rather than a neo-Spanish fantasy to be added later by a "landscapist." Their modern gardens made use of low-maintenance, drought-resistant plants, and made room for informal outdoor living by children and adults with an emphasis on recreation and exercise. The first book of its kind, Private Landscapes profiles twenty significant gardens-and their accompanying houses-by these celebrated architects. Using contemporary photographs by Julius Shulman and newly commissioned color images, along with plans and plant lists, Private Landscapes provides a never-before-seen look at these gardens. As beautiful and practical now as they were 50 years ago, these designs continue to provide inspiration for gardeners and designers everywhere.

The Pacific Northwest was far from the centers of modern architecture, but in the middle of the last century a group of architects designed for the region's land, climate, and abundance of wood. Paul Hayden Kirk was an unlikely leader of this movement, yet his work has inspired generations of architects. Illustrated with hundreds of photos and drawings, "Paul Hayden Kirk and the Rise of Northwest Modern" tells the story of modern design in a rugged landscape.