Etta and Jane and I went to go see the George Nelson exhibit at the Bellevue Art Museum [by Steven Holl] on Saturday. His work spanning architecture, graphic design, industrial design and furniture design is amazing. And then you remember that it was in the 40s and 50s and it was so revolutionary and that makes it even more amazing.
this is the documentary i was telling you about. lautner was a student of frank lloyd wright and his early projects look very wright-ish in style but eventually his style becomes more his own, though the inside | outside connection is still the underlying design principle in all his projects.
i'm not sure if it talks about the roadside restaurants he did in this trailer, but i found those pretty interesting. lautner's design for googie's restaurant started a trend of 'googie architecture' [a term i had never heard of] which was criticized and dismissed by "serious" architects. i love it - it's the awesome 50's and 60's futuristic, jetsons style of gas stations, coffee shops and bowling alleys.
on my trip to boston my dad's girlfriend and oscar and i went up to salem on the ferry. we took a trolly tour of the little quaint town and i was just smitten with all the simple, rustic colonial architecture. i can't get enough of those crazy sloping roofs! or anything tidy and simple just floats my boat. the last image was this italianate feeling little piazza tucked in close to the city center, but kind of obscure. loved that.
