Alan Hess - Architect

ALAN HESS ARCHITECT


NEW BOOK - COMING OCT 5, 2010
	*Casa Modernista: A History of the Brazil Modern House* (Rizzoli) Text by Alan Hess. Photos by Alan Weintraub Release date Oct. 5, 2010 Oscar Niemeyer may be the best-known Brazilian architect internationally, but Brazilian Modernism produced architecture far more varied than even that one brilliant maverick could. This book traces the residential designs of Brazilian Modernists from 1927 to 2010. Not only did Brazil master the fundamentals of Modern design, it launched into a creative expansion of theory and practice that astounded the world. Many of Brazil's architects were the equal of Niemeyer in creativity, including Affonso Eduardo Reidy, João Vilanova Artigas, and Lina Bo Bardi. Of Niemeyer's generation, Olavo Redig de Campos, Henrique Mindlin, Rino Levi, and Oswald Arthur Bratke re-shaped the rapidly developing nation in the image of Modernism. The next generation produced startling re-interpetations of Modernism that deserve to be better known, such as Ruy Ohtake, Marcos de Azevedo Acayaba, and Pritzker-prize winner Paulo Mendes da Rocha. The fertility of Brazilian design continues today with the work of architecture like MMBB/SPBR (Angelo Bucci, Fernando de Mello Franco, Marta Moreira, and Milton Braga), Isay Weinfeld, and Marcio Kogan. These architects harnessed the forces of the twentieth century and captured an indelible sense of the Brazilian character.

FILMS - featuring Alan Hess
	"William Krisel, Architect" Every great Modern architect sought the Holy Grail of well-designed mass-produced housing. But where Wright, Gropius, and Bucky Fuller failed, William Krisel was one of the few to succeed. Jake Gorst’s new film produced by DesignOnScreen draws well-deserved attention to this intriguing Southern California architect of the mid-twentieth century. His designs for the contemporary tract Alexander Houses in Palm Springs are among his best known. Check out this trailer, and ask your local indie theaters to book this film.
	"Desert Utopia: Mid-Century Architecture in Palm Springs" Palm Springs shelters one of the most astonishing concentrations of Modern architecturs in the mid-twentieth century. Until recent years, this treasure trove of Modern design was little known. Jake Gorst's film brings these riches of the Coachella Valley to general attention, including the work of William Cody, Donald Wexler, E. Stewart Williams, Albert Frey, Richard Neutra and john Lautner.
	"Journeyman Architect: The Life and Work of Donald Wexler" Donald Wexler’s straightforward, modest, but creative architecture is an example of the hidden history of California Modernism in the mid-twentieth century. In the 1962 Steel Houses for the Alexander Company in Palm Springs (seen at left), he came as close as any architect ever did in creating a practical modular steel house for mass production. Directed by Jake Gorst and produced by DesignOnScreen.

WEB INTERVIEWS WITH ALAN HESS	On Las Vegas February 2010

ARCHITECTURE COLUMNS BY ALAN HESS IN THE SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS	San Jose's New Airport Terminal by Fentress Architects July 17, 2010