#468/Children of Genius: Christen Johansen + Ben Colburn + Musical Guest Veronica Swift

Herb Greene is a giant in the field of organic architecture, and his great-niece Lila Cohen is making a long-awaited documentary about his life and work. Jesse Lazar is Executive Director of AIA New York, one of the largest and most active chapters in the country. Monica Penick talks about her new book. And closing us out, musical guest Harin W, using AI to create the sound of vintage atomic era lounge music.

Let's visit one of our favorite Modernist cities, New Canaan CT. It's a town full of Modernist houses made famous by architects called The Harvard Five others - and today we'll talk with David Prutting, the New Canaan contractor who's built many Modernist houses over the last 50 years. Then we'll talk with the architect of New Canaan's newest Modernist house, Sacha Roubeni. Later, we're back in the studio with returning musical guest Carrie Marshall.

Today's episode brings together some big names in design: architects Steven Holl and Dimitra Tsachrelia, then authors Robert Ivy, Cathleen McGuigan, and Peter MacKeith discussing their new book Out There: Architecture Across America. And later, returning podcast guest, for whom we swoon, Halie Loren.

Cameron Hassid bought a bankrupt, boarded-up Richard Neutra apartment building in Los Angeles and turned its restoration into a second career. Bay area architect Darren Kelly is an expert on Rush Creek Village, Ohio's little-known Usonian-inspired community, and the author of a new book. Author Patrick Cannon retired from public relations and wrote a comprehensive book on Frank Lloyd Wright's work in Oak Park and River Forest. And closing us out, returning musical guest Nicole Lvoff.

It's author day on the show. Trig Thoreson wrote a biography of architects Louis Sullivan and Daniel Burnham. Owen Hopkins wrote a book on Brutalist buildings in London. Craig McDonald wrote Mid-Century Modern Midland, exploring the architectural history of Midland, Michigan. Later, returning musical guest Lucy Woodward, one of our favorites.

Christopher Hawthorne spent fourteen years as the L.A. Times' architecture critic before becoming Los Angeles's first-ever Chief Design Officer. Chris Freeland runs Library Services at the Internet Archive, leading the charge to keep our digital past from fading away, and later, musical guest Kitty Kallen, via her son Jonathan Granoff. Kitty's 1954 hit "Little Things Mean a Lot" topped the charts for nine straight weeks and made her one of the defining voices of the era.

It's our Children of Genius edition – part of a long-running series interviewing the kids of famous architects. First up, not falling far from the tree, architect Christen Johansen, son of Harvard Five member John Johansen in Connecticut's epicenter of Modernism, New Canaan. Next, Ben Colburn — a Massachusetts real estate attorney whose father, I.W. Colburn, helped define Chicago modernism and even bought an island in Scotland. Later, musical guest Veronica Swift.

On today's episode, architect Anne Fougeron spent thirty years proving that architecture can be both beautiful and socially responsible —  and the New York Times named her Suspension House one of the thirteen best modern homes in the world. Laurinda Spear co-founded Arquitectonica in a 600-square-foot studio in Coconut Grove and changed the face of Miami's architecture. And,  at 22 years old, our musical guest Aviana Gedler has already won numerous awards and released a debut album.

There's no business like the architecture business, and the AIA chose out first guest Carole Wedge as CEO to lead their 98,000 members. Architects Julia Jamrozik and Coryn Kempster make cool swing sets and pipe installations - and they wrote a book about kids who grew up in Modernist houses. Darcy Frank MacKay is one of those lucky kids.  She grew up in a 17,000-square-foot Pittsburgh house with a rooftop dance floor, an indoor swimming pool, and furniture designed by none other than Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer. 

We talk with the brilliant author and architect Richard Saul Wurman, who wrote more than ninety books, founded TED talks, and pretty much created the field of information architecture.  Architectural historian Kim Hoagland sues Donald Trump over the East Wing demolition, and musical guest, the lovely Quinn Lemley, brings Hollywood glamour back to life.