Coming up: Life and Work of Frank Lloyd Wright in and around NYC

Sign up for Inside/Out: Frank Lloyd Wright and The City, a long weekend of tours and exhibitions to benefit Frank Lloyd Wright's Martin House Complex in Buffalo, NY.

The description on the Martin House Complex website's events page promises “exclusive access to Wright-designed private residences, entry into museum special exhibitions, and the unique opportunity to visit Manitoga, the home and studio of famed mid-century designer Russel Wright”.

The event takes place Thursday, 22 May – Sunday 25 May, and since space is limited, you should reserve your spot quickly by calling 716-856-3858. Reservations are due by April 8.

I first heard about the Martin House Complex at one of the New Canaan Historical Society's Modern House Day Symposiums when Toshiko Mori was a speaker and showed photos of the elegant visitor's center called the Greatbatch Pavilion that her office had just completed. 

The long-weekend event sounds like a great time for FLW enthusiasts to pack in a lot of interesting and diverse viewing. – GF

From the newspapers

In today's Newsday, AP writer Stephanie Reitz has the kind of story that we like to see appear fairly frequently to keep the Modern Architecture movement present in the public's awareness. Bite-sized stories like this which include some history and some current issues are so valuable to inform people who don't know of these wonderful expressions of our recent history, and to keep those who appreciate and hope to protect them up-to-date and inspired.

We'd like to mention to her, though, that the status of the Alice Ball house has changed, as we noted Friday in the post below.

And we (well, Tom in particular) would ask her to reconsider the broad assertion that, "While pragmatists may worry about what others see while looking in [the large windows typical of Moderns], a modernist architecture buff focuses solely on the view looking out. That means the landscape is precisely designed, often with a few focal points such as strategically placed birch trees or a fieldstone courtyard illuminated by lights tucked under the roof line's metal fascia." Most of the Moderns we've known and loved and even lived in are designed to exist respectfully and unobtrusively in their landscape. But I know what she's talking about - homeowners like Craig Bassam and Scott Fellows, who she refers to in her story, have been extraordinarily attentive to the landscape around their homes (here's another they own in in New Canaan), as it is an extension the precisely and beautifully restored structures. They understand one of the most moving and important things about a Modern house, as Reitz quotes Craig Bassam, "It's not like living in a regular house because you're really living within the landscape" – GF

MIMOA – mapping Europe's Modern Architecture

What a great idea if you can't get to the cities you'd love to visit to see the modern architecture offerings, or have some places you'd like to share! MIMOA stands for Mi Modern Architecture. Here's how they describe their site: It is the best source of information for your city trip in Europe with all Modern Architecture in one view. MIMOA shows Europe’s Modern Architecture on a map with the address and all additional information you need to actually find and visit interiors, parks, public places, buildings and bridges.

MIMOA is free and open for everyone to contribute: publish your projects, posts comments and ratings, define your personal favorites and keep track of the projects you’ve visited. All this personal information, reviews and opinions, define the current trends in architectural Europe.

MIMOA is intended for anyone interested in Modern Architecture, design, culture, photography, cities, Europe, travelling, visiting buildings, knowing how to get there, whether the project is public and what the opening hours are. You can make your own personal convenient architecture guide.

An interactive map lets you choose a city and shows how many projects entries there are - great for planning a trip and for keeping a record of your own travels and architectural observations. – GF

the old + the new = just right

I've always been enamored of very old buildings (mostly in Europe) whose interiors have been renovated and given a modern look with a clean, and open feel. Formerly barns, "working" buildings, or just ancient houses, they're often painted pristine white inside, and outfitted with unobtrusive recessed lighting, and the original stonework and centuries-old structural wood elements are revealed. So sensible and soothing, I almost forget to be amazed at how perfectly the 2 architectural languages work together!

I can click through the samples of architects' work on this website for hours, especially the Swiss ones. Here are some pix or work from a favorite firm, Markus Wespi Jérôme de Meuron architekten. I adore this house. – GF

Modern in Hawaii: Exhibition of the work of Vladimir Ossipoff

Here's a modern architect I'd never heard of. Vladimir Ossipoff (great name!) was born in Russia in 1907, raised in Tokyo and schooled at Berkeley, and practiced architecture in Honolulu. Read this story, and follow the link at end of the story to read about the exhibition at the Honolulu Academy of the Arts. Be forewarned – the Academy's website is really bizarre to read and navigate. Tip: find a white area and your cursor should turn into a "minimize" symbol. Click that to get more navigable stuff on your screen. – GF