Happy Birthday, Paul Rudolph — it's his 101st !

Rudolph in a happy mood, at the street level of one of his most compelling buildings: his about-to-be-completed Temple Street Garage in New Haven.

It’s October 23—and we celebrate Paul Rudolph’s Birth 101 years ago today (and invite you to do so too!)

This past year—Rudolph’s centenary—has been a year of “Rudolph-ian” accomplishment: in preservation, research, education, scholarship, and—perhaps most important—in creating a growing awareness and appreciation of the legacy of this great architect. But—

But rather than review the achievements of the last year (you can read of many examples in past articles on this blog) we thought it would be nice to just share some images of him—and different ones than you normally see.

Portraits of architects usually show them in a serious mode, with solemn expressions suitable for a person embarking on a great artistic or constructional task. Paul Rudolph was no exception: most pictures of him show a deeply thoughtful figure, or one engaged in disciplined, critical work.

But today we offer a couple of pictures of another, sunnier side of Rudolph—ones where the architect was clearly in a smiling, happy state.

Paul Rudolph in formal attire—with more than a hint of a smile. By-the-way: that’s not smoke in the background (as we had first thought—but Rudolph was never a smoker.) What’s [visually] suggesting smoke is light catching the curving edges of a topographic model., shown here tipped vertically to hang on a wall. Such models are part of the architectural design and presentation process—and this one might have been made, in Rudolph’s office, for one of his projects.

So Happy Birthday, Mr. Rudolph — and we look forward to your next century !