New Book on Paul Rudolph - focusing on his Drawings

The cover of the new book, primarily focusing on Paul Rudolph’s drawings. It is published by Moleskine in collaboration with Princeton Architectural Press as part of Moleskine’s book series: Inspiration and Process in Architecture.

A SHOCKING LACK …

Any bookstore with an architecture section will probably have multiple books on Wright, Gehry, Le Corbusier, Hadid, and Stern—plus monographs on whomever is that moment’s starchitect. BUT—

But there will be few-to-none on Paul Rudolph—and that’s a shocking situation when one considers his immense accomplishments and stature, spanning a half-century career.

… ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THE GRAPHIC POWER OF HIS WORK

Architects today may compose on the screen and be married to their 3-D printers—but they still love drawings. Without a doubt, one of the things for which Paul Rudolph is most famous are his drawings, especially his sharply drawn and penetrating perspective-sections. But Rudolph was equally masterful and known for his exterior views and sketches—as well as the techniques he used to create his drawings: his particular ways with hatching, graduated linework, poché, scale figures, and indicating materials, textures, paving patterns, and the path of light (the last being a major focus throughout his career).

Still the best book on that aspect of his work is Paul Rudolph: Architectural Drawings—a large-format, presentation of examples of his drawings from the beginning of his career to the moment the book was published (at the beginning of the 70’s.) But—

But the book is currently out-of-print and—though one can sometimes find it on book-search websites—copies are expensive, commensurate with its rarity.

Roberto de Alba’s fine book, Paul Rudolph: The Late Work has a large selection of drawings—but they are primarily included as part of the book’s overall thrust: to indicate Rudolph’s design process, project-by-project. It is also out-of-print (and prices for it on the used-book market are rising)—though economically- priced copies are currently available though the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation, here.)

Roberto de Alba’s book is an indispensable work about Rudolph—and, fortunately, copies are still available.

And of course there are many excellent drawings in Timothy M. Rohan’s comprehensive monograph, The Architecture of Paul Rudolph. But the drawings are not there as a portfolio, but rather to serve the significant purpose of narrating and analyzing the complete arc of Rudolph’s life and career.

A NEW TREASURY OF RUDOLPH DRAWINGS

So if one wanted to focus on Rudolph’s graphic output, what are the choices? There’s an abundance of Rudolph drawings on-line, but that’s just not the same as seeing them as ink-on-paper—the way Rudolph conceived and made them.

Filling this gap is a new book: PAUL RUDOLPH: Inspiration and Process in Architecture

The publisher says of their selection of drawings…

… illustrate his highly emotive hand and deft drafting skill. They include his designs for Tuskegee University Chapel, Interama, Lower Manhattan Expressway, his analysis of Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona Pavilion, and his own inventive penthouse on Beekman Place in New York City.

In addition to the drawings, there’s a fascinating introduction by John Morris Dixon—the well-known editor and writer who had a long association with Rudolph—and a 1986 interview with Rudolph by the distinguished historian Robert Bruegmann.

Here are a few pages, spreads, and items from this fine new volume:

Rudolph’s perspective rendering for the building he was do to at the Interama in Florida

Rudolph’s sketches for display kiosks in the Interama

Rudolph’s sketches for furniture.

Rudolph’s sketch for the plan of a portion of the LOMEX project. [When sketching and thinking-through a project, Rudolph would often use multiple colors to develop the design.]

The book is part of a series, Inspiration and Process in Architecture, which primarily focuses on the sketches of famous (and becoming famous) modern and current architects. This growing series includes James Stirling, Dominique Perrault, Chino Zucchi, Michael Graves, Grafton Architects, Giancarlo De Carlo, and numerous others (of which Paul Rudolph is the latest addition.) The 8-1/4” high x 5” wide page format results in an inviting book that fits comfortably in the hands—yet the pages are large enough to allow Rudolph’s drawings to read clearly.

A GREAT TEAM

The book is the result of a collaboration between several talented and enterprising entities and people:

Moleskine is the well-known maker of carefully designed and crafted journals, notebooks, planners—and sketchbooks which are so beloved by architects and designers.

Princeton Architectural Press, since 1981, has enlivened the field of architecture and design publishing, offering books on the broadest range of architectural concerns—and using book and graphic design (and varied formats) to convey the content with vividness.

John Morris Dixon wrote the introduction to this volume. He was chief editor of the influential Progressive Architecture magazine from 1972 to 1996, and continues to edit and contribute to books and periodicals on the subject of architecture. He has lectured widely, including on the topic of Paul Rudolph. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, and has chaired its national Committee on Design, on which he remains active. He is a member of the board of DOCOMOMO New York/Tristate, a regional chapter of an international organization dedicated to the documentation and preservation of Modern architecture.

Robert Bruegmann conducted an interview with Paul Rudolph for the Chicago Architects Oral History Project, organized by the Department of Architecture of the Art Institute of Chicago—and a portion of that interview is included in this book. Bruegmann is an historian and critic of architecture, landscape, preservation, urban development, and the built environment. He is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Art History, Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and the author of numerous books and articles.

AVAILABILITY

The book is available through a variety of sellers, including:

• Though Princeton Architectural Press, here.

• Through Amazon, here.

BOOK DATA

• Title: Paul Rudolph: Inspiration and Process in Architecture

• Series: Inspiration and Process in Architecture

• Page Size: 5” × 8.25”

• Format: Hardcover

• Pages: 144

• Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press

• Imprint: Moleskine Books

• Official publication date: 11/05/2019

• ISBN: 9781616898656