Tag: michael-graves | ArchDaily

Playful and Ironic: The Legacy of Postmodernist Architecture in the United States

Olivia Poston — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Postmodernism in the United States turned architecture into a stage for cultural memory, irony, and heritage at a moment when the built environment was becoming less civic and more commercial and curated. By the late twentieth century, architectural investment no longer centered on monumental public institutions or shared federal commitment to civic space. Private development, corporate expansion, and consumer environments increasingly shaped cities across the country. Buildings took on a new role as cultural images, expected to communicate identity and meaning as much as they provided function.

Exhibition at Paul Rudolph’s Modulightor Building in New York Unites Works of Architectural Art from Gehry, Rossi, and More

Antonia Piñeiro — Wed, 27 Aug 2025 05:30:00 +0000

An exhibition of architectural drawings and photographs, titled "Architecture = Art: The Susan Grant Lewin Collection," is now on view at Paul Rudolph's Modulightor Building in Manhattan, New York. Hosted by the Paul Rudolph Institute for Modern Architecture (PRIMA), the collection brings together works by prominent architects, including Eileen Gray, Daniel Arsham, Frank Gehry, Jesse Reiser, Hani Rashid, Steven Holl, Aldo Rossi, Michael Graves, James Wines, Stanley Tigerman, John Hejduk, among others. The drawings are accompanied by a selection of photographs by architectural photographers such as Ezra Stoller, Robin Hill, Norman McGrath, Paul Clemence, and others. The exhibition opened on July 2 and will remain on view until September 20, 2025.

14 Architect-Designed Lighting, Object, and Furniture Pieces Unveiled at Milan Design Week 2025

Antonia Piñeiro — Sun, 27 Apr 2025 07:30:00 +0000

The 2025 edition of Milan Design Week took place from April 8 to April 13, 2025. During these five days, the city of Milan hosted special events, exhibitions, installations, and discussions centered on the creative disciplines, including the 63rd edition of the Salone del Mobile at Fiera Milano fairgrounds. Among the numerous activities, the event serves as an ideal opportunity to introduce the latest trends and showcase upcoming pieces from brands and designers worldwide. Among the new releases and product launches, the ArchDaily team identified a selection of products designed by architects, ranging from lighting and furniture systems to materials and small objects.

The Hidden Bias of Architectural Preservation

Diego Hernández — Fri, 10 Dec 2021 09:15:00 +0000

How do we decide which buildings are worth saving and which ones aren’t with regards to a building’s design significance? This video tells the story of the Portland Building by Michael Graves, a building with a tumultuous history that was ultimately saved from the wrecking ball when the city raised nearly $200 million to renovate the aging structure. This was spurred, in part, by the building’s inclusion on the National Historic Places list. But, that is only part of the story. What does it mean to be an Historic Place or Landmark because of architectural design? Does this distinction help to save it from premature demolition? The answers to these questions might surprise you.

Kilograph Turns Unbuilt Michael Graves Design into VR Watercolor Experience

Eric Baldwin — Wed, 18 Sep 2019 13:00:00 +0000

Design company Kilograph has announced the release of “Imagined Landscapes,” a new virtual reality experience exploring the unbuilt work of architect Michael Graves. Based on Graves’ personal paintings, “Imagined Landscapes” offers the first chance to add VR watercolors to an architectural project, turning a conceptual resort into an interactive experience for visitors.

We Need More Wheelchair Users to Become Architects

Niall Patrick Walsh — Fri, 16 Aug 2019 04:00:00 +0000

When famed architect Michael Graves contracted a mysterious virus in 2003, a new chapter in his life began. Paralyzed from the chest down, the pioneer of Postmodernism would be permanently required to use a wheelchair. Graves could have been forgiven for believing that having fought for his life, having been treated in eight hospitals and four rehab clinics, and needing permanent use of a wheelchair, that his most influential days as an architect were behind him. This was not the case. To the contrary, he would use this new circumstance to design trend-setting hospitals, rehab centers, and other typologies right up to his death in 2015, all with a new-found awareness of the everyday realities of those in wheelchairs, and what architects were, and were not doing, to aid their quality of life.

7 Architects Who Weren't Afraid to Use Color

Zoya Gul Hasan — Sat, 19 Jan 2019 06:00:00 +0000

Some architects love color, some are unmoved by it, some hate it, and some love to dismiss it as too whimsical or non-serious for architecture. In an essay on the subject, Timothy Brittain-Catlin mentions the “innate puritanism among clients of architecture,” architects and their “embarrassment of confronting color,” and how “Modernism tried to ‘educate out’ bright colors.” So, while the debate on color in architecture is far from being a new one, it is not finished, and probably never will be.

Construction of the Tallest Statue in the World Continues in India

Yiling Shen — Wed, 21 Mar 2018 08:00:00 +0000

The Statue of Unity, to be the world’s tallest statue when completed, has made significant headway with its construction. Designed by Michael Graves Architecture & Design, the Statue of Unity will be 182-meters tall and depict Vallabhbhai “Sardar” Patel, the first deputy Prime Minister of India. Standing at almost twice the height of the Statue of Liberty, the Statue of Unity project will also consist of a hotel, memorial garden, visitor’s center and miles of roadways and bridges to connect the statue to the town of Kevadia, India.

Facade of Michael Graves' Postmodernist Portland Building Dismantled in Preparation for Recladding

Patrick Lynch — Fri, 09 Mar 2018 16:20:00 +0000

Work has begun on the dismantling of the facade of Michael Graves’ iconic Portland Building, part of a $195 million project that could see the building lose its inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places.

Spotlight: Michael Graves

Patrick Kunkel — Sun, 09 Jul 2017 14:00:00 +0000

As a firm believer in the importance of making good design accessible to the public, Michael Graves (July 9, 1934 – March 12, 2015) produced an enormous body of work that included product design alongside his architecture. Graves brought Postmodernism to the public eye through his emphasis on ornament and aesthetics, and stood firmly behind his design philosophy even as it went out of vogue.

Understanding British Postmodernism (Hint: It’s Not What You Thought)

Timothy Brittain-Catlin — Wed, 29 Mar 2017 04:00:00 +0000

In this essay by the British architect and academic Dr. Timothy Brittain-Catlin, the very notion of British postmodernism—today often referred to as intimately tied to the work of James Stirling and the the thinking of Charles Jencks—is held to the light. Its true origins, he argues, are more historically rooted.

Kean University to Acquire Michael Graves Residence After Rejection by Princeton

Patrick Lynch — Thu, 30 Jun 2016 12:00:00 +0000

The residence belonging to famed Postmodernist architect Michael Graves will be sold to Kean University, home to the new Michael Graves College for architecture and design, after receiving approval from its board of trustees. Following Graves’s death last year, the architect’s will stipulated that the residence, his studio, another property were to be donated to Princeton University, Graves’s neighbor and longtime employer. But Princeton University felt the buildings would be better served in another capacity and rejected the gift, allowing Kean to step in.

Michael Graves on Discovering Architecture, the Rewards of Practice and the Most Important Element of Design

Maria Spassov — Thu, 02 Jul 2015 09:30:00 +0000

When he passed away in March, Michael Graves left a design legacy stretching back 50 years and encompassing some of the most dramatic changes in architecture of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. In this interview, conducted in 2012 for her new e-book "Celebrity Designers: 50 Interviews on Design, Architecture, and Life," Maria Spassov quizzes Graves on his career, from the first moment he decided to be an architect to what he believes to be his greatest achievement.

Opinion: Why Michael Graves Should Have Won the Pritzker

Lachlan Anderson-Frank — Sun, 21 Jun 2015 09:30:00 +0000

In March of this year, two of the world’s great architects died in the same week. The coincidence was unusual not because of the similarities between these two men - the advanced stage of their careers, their age and relative success - but because of the marked differences. In the few days between their mutual passing, one of the two was awarded architecture’s highest medal, the Pritzker Prize. This year’s winner, Frei Otto, had been notified of his triumph in the months prior to his death. Someone you might call his alter ego – stylistically that is – the late, great Michael Graves, died shortly after the prize was awarded to Otto.

Metropolis Magazine Collects Tributes to Michael Graves

Dario Goodwin — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 08:00:55 +0000

In some exceptional cases, an architect can be just as monumental as the buildings they design. Michael Graves, who passed away in March, certainly had a huge influence over the architecture of the late 20th century, with works ranging from the geometric icons of early post-modernism such as the Portland Building, to the slightly more staid Denver Central Library, to the outlandish kitsch of his Swan and Dolphin resorts for Disney. Though his death brought well-deserved attention to his work, it's just as important to remember Graves as a person, and the influence he had on people throughout his lifetime. As such, Metropolis Magazine has brought together a group of Graves' friends, colleagues and collaborators to remember Michael Graves.

Brooklyn Academy of Music Showcases 5 Murals by Michael Graves

Karissa Rosenfield — Fri, 29 May 2015 12:43:47 +0000

Brooklyn Academy of Music is showcasing five murals by the late Michael Graves as part of the institution's permanent visual art collection. All completed in 1974, the paintings were originally commissioned by Charles Gwathmey - one of the New York Five, along with Graves. And, as the New York Times reports, their "heightened use of color and ornamentation" portray a "general shift away from minimalism." Read more about the murals, here.

Michael Graves and MOS Architects Win Cooper Hewitt National Design Award

Karissa Rosenfield — Wed, 06 May 2015 07:00:57 +0000

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum has announced the winners of its 2015 National Design Award. Taking top honors, the late Michael Graves has been honored with the "Lifetime Achievement" award for "broadening the role of architects and raising public interest in good design as essential to the quality of everyday life."

"A Joy of Things": The Architecture World Remembers Michael Graves

Rory Stott — Sat, 14 Mar 2015 09:30:48 +0000

This past Thursday Michael Graves, the famed member of the New York Five and one of the Postmodern movement's great icons, passed away at age 80. With a legacy spanning more than 350 buildings and 2,000 product designs for companies like Alessi, Target and J.C. Penney, Graves will be remembered as a prolific designer, but for many within the profession his 50-year career will be memorable for so much more. Since news of Graves' death broke on Thursday, tributes have been posted all around the internet, starting with his company's official statement which said: