#425/Michigan's Peter Forguson + UK's Michael Diamant + Musical Guest Brent Jensen

E. Fay Jones is a name most architects know but the public does not.  A student of Frank Lloyd Wright, Jones blurred the line between indoors and outdoors with careful use of wood, stone, and glass.  It’s like these buildings just emerge from the woods. Today, we’ve got three people dedicated to preserving Jones legacy. David McKee worked for Jones and is the go-to guy for restoring houses.  We’ll talk with Jonathan Formanek, who created the E. Fay Jones Conservancy, along with his partner, Andy Whitmore, who live in the Faubus house in Arkansas.  And back in the studio, we talk with influencer Maggie Weber, whose takes on bad design keep us laughing. 

We've got author and architect Peter Forguson celebrating Michigan’s extraordinary collection of bold, Modernist houses with the new book Contemporary Michigan, from the UK, Michael Diamant rants against Modernism, and later on, musical guest Brent Jensen serves classic tunes made famous by Paul Desmond.  

Kata Walters went from the catwalk to the construction site, changing from an international career in modeling to building Modernist houses.  Allison C. Meier shares her map of New York, uncovering hidden histories in architecture and culture from cemeteries to the streets. Kyle Bergman of the New York Architecture and Design Film Festival shares this year’s highlights, and from Sweden, musical guest Klas Lindquist.  

Tom shares exciting details of Moon Over Modernism, a benefit cocktail party Saturday, October 11, in Raleigh NC.  The next weekend, we'll host a jazz brunch a special Gates and Ford house in New Canaan CT. Tickets for both: www.usmodernist.org/tours.

We’re back with one of our most popular segments, Children of Genius. Them apples don’t fall too far from the tree, and today we’ll hear from two that dropped nearby, Toby Rapson and Ron Kappe. They grew up immersed in Modernist design with some of the most influential architecture of the 20th century, thanks to their fathers Ralph Rapson and Ray Kappe, tradition they continue today. Later, Modernist homeowner and musical guest Holly Cole.  

You all know we love midcentury modern houses in Palm Springs, but what about new ones?  These will be the houses we will tour and sip martinis at and give lectures about 40 years from now.  Today we’ll talk with one of those architects, Jill Lewis, about a new house in the Desert Palisades area of Palm Springs, along with the landscape architect for that project, John Hreno.  Then we’ll meet the leader of SOCOMCM, architect Edward Peck, plus returning jazz vocalist Jaimee Paul. 

Who’s the author of that architecture book on your coffee table?  It’s probably written by one of our guests, Dominic Bradbury and Adam Stech.  Later on, jazz with returning musical guest Elijah Rock. 

Today, it’s Bartlesville, Oklahoma, home to Frank Lloyd Wright’s skyscraper, the 19-story Price Tower, talking with new owners Macy Snyder-Amatucci and John Snyder, about their plan to bring the tower back to life. Then it’s on to Washington DC and the administration’s plans for architecture, with writer and critic Ian Volner. Next, World’s Fairs with Bill Cotter, and later, music from jazz pianist Lenore Raphael.

Do you like architecture?  Do you like Jeopardy?  Recent Jeopardy contestant Jade Snelling is an archivist at Virginia Tech working at the International Archive of Women in Architecture, preserving the history of women architects around the world. Next we've got Catherine Croft, the Director of the Twentieth Century Society dedicated to protecting Britain’s most significant 20th-century buildings. Then special musical guest, Thomas Lauderdale and Pink Martini.

Every serious Modernist fan knows about the Case Study Houses, the legendary program started by John Entenza of Arts and Architecture Magazine in the 1950’s, attracting top and emerging architects to create affordable houses for Los Angeles.  We’ll talk with Dustin Bramell, who’s working to create a new series of Case Study Houses; Cary O’Dell on the great Bucky Fuller;  mother-daughter duo Sarah and Debbie Dykstra share the story of their Frank Lloyd Wright house, and music by Lenore Raphael.