A HOUSE OF FURNITURE AND BEDS

Coincidentally, I married Christina who was in accord with these aspirations and visions. It was a kind of “my fair lady”/Pygmalion story of the person whose life would be reshaped and changed by a change in vocabulary, context and manners. I had already lost my Bronx accent by training for radio broadcasting, my taste in furniture and furnishings and culture was exquisitely European and contemporary Bauhaus. My sensibilities about private and personal possessions were tempered by emancipation from years of hanging drapes and putting on slipcovers to designing state of the art buildings and interiors.
Now, I was going to learn what makes architects tick. Take it apart, examine, and, reassemble it.
The first thing I did when reaching Yale was to try to introduce Gerald Popiel to key persons; and, I first met with Dr. Vincent Scully (history of architecture) who was so pleased that I had visited and sketched all of the major (and most minor) cities of Europe, and was interested in metaphors.
I had in mind to introduce Gerald to scholars at Yale. I knew that we must pursue the best minds.
He suggested I meet with Dr. Paul Weiss who may be able to help further my research in Metaphors and may be interested in Gerald’s work. Dr.Weiss and I hit it off so very well that he laid out a path of subjects and persons in the university for me to interview. Scholars especially conversant in syntax, grammar, and words.
So the scene was set for an exploration into the ideas and reasons why “form follows function”; and, why “Architecture is an Art”; and, “what makes one city, building and context different from another”.
The fact that I was an accomplished and professional draftsman, renderer and model maker distinguished me from the rest.
Each of my professors patiently spent hundreds hours with me to explain their particular theories and ideas. Peter Millard his four components of programs: conditions, operations, ideals and goals; Serge Chermayeff (then in his eighties) his theories of complementarities as I did the drafting to complete his grant/ study for university as towns for the department of transportation; assisting Henry (Hank) Pfisterer (engineer for the Empire State Building) learning engineering for indeterminate beams; Irving Kriesberg about how art is a metaphor; and the lectures and discussions with Louis Kahn, Buckminister Fuller, Mies van der Rohe, Phillip Johnson (he was my thesis "crit"); James Polcheck, James Sterling, Paul Rudolph, and dr. Charles Moore.
At Pratt I had an equally as impressive relationship with notable thinkers such as Sybil Maholy Nage, Otto Hula, Ara Ignatius, and others. And, while attending Pratt I made it my business to get to know Frederic Kiesler, the architect that designed the golden dome over the temple in Jerusalem. I worked in his shop on his molds.

The Lilliputian Chair!

I thought it only fair to show this cutie of a chair too. I originally got it for the studio off of craigslist too. $20--apparently people like to practically give away great chairs on craigslist. I fell in love with it and bought it despite it being too small and not the comfy chair I really needed/wanted. Since I got the other chair, I'm not sure what to do with this one. They're both currently at the studio creating a little seating area. I LOVE the upholstery on this, but not sure how to make it mesh with everything else. I've thought about a grey linen slipcover just to force it all together.

I'm basically having trouble getting anything to look right at the studio. This chair looked great at my house. It fit right in with everything. But then I have low ceilings at home so this little gal looked more in line with the scale. I'm starting to think the ceilings are the problem at the studio. It's not that big of a room but has 12 foot ceilings. The proportions are skewed and everything gets swallowed up by the space above. Perhaps I need to get some really tall artwork up on the walls. Hmm...