Mid-Century Modernism on Film

For those of you lucky enough to have traveled to Palm Springs for the annual Modernism Week, congratulations!  Since I was trapped by snow and work, I could only wish that I could have been there.  Perhaps, next year!  In the meantime I eagerly anticipate the following Design Onscreen films titled Desert Utopia: Mid-Century Architecture in Palm Springs, and William Krisel, Architect  when both are available for viewing in a theater nearby and on DVD.


Desert Utopia: Mid-Century Architecture in Palm Springs from Design Onscreen on Vimeo.


William Krisel, Architect from Design Onscreen on Vimeo.

Design Onscreen premiered various films during the annual celebration.  Visit Design Onscreen for more information on their films.

R.I.P. Eduardo Catalano

MIT Professor Emeritus of Architecture, Eduardo Catalano died  at age 92 on January 28, 2010.  Catalano, a modernist architect from Argentina, designed a house for himself in Raleigh, North Carolina in 1954 while serving as a professor at the NC State University School of Architecture.  His house was unique for its hyperbolic paraboloid roof.  The Catalano House was declared "House of the Decade" in the fifties, and even famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright praised his work.  Sadly, the house had fallen into disrepair and was demolished in March 2001 by a real estate developer.

According to MIT News, "Catalano sought harmony in science, technology and the visual arts. He designed the U.S. embassies in Buenos Aires and in Pretoria, and the Juilliard School of Music at New York City's Lincoln Center. In addition to his buildings, Catalano designed and donated a stainless steel sculpture to the city of Buenos Aires in 2002."

More information about Eduardo Catalano can be found at Triangle Modernist Houses and Jetset Modern.