"Architecture is not a question of the purely theoretical if you're interested in building buildings. It's the art of what is possible."
Born in Kentucky, U.S, in 1918, Paul Marvin Rudolph was one of the most influential and acclaimed modernist architects in the United States.
His works are noteworthy for their artistic designs and unpredictability that appeal strongly to the senses.
In 1940, Paul Rudolph completed his undergraduate studies in architecture from Alabama Polytechnic Institute, and then, under Walter Gropius, he earned a master’s degree from Harvard University. Rudolph believed that a structure ought to be built and inspired from its interior spaces and uses, and as such, his works are distinctly broken up into eloquent elements
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It’s problematic development represents the most estranging qualities of 1960’s urbanism.
19th century urban theorist, Camillo Sitte, recommended the construction of enclosed courtyards designed to grip the user. He believed that a city should be designed like a stage for an opera, with open piazzas and squares resembling amphitheaters, twirling staircases demonstrating baroque architecture, large interior balconies etc. Inspired by him, Rudolph questioned what had become the convention of modernism. He found the era of glass walled buildings dull and monotonous. ]
Resonating with Sitte’s views, he proposed to design ‘a total work of art’, constructed with traditional masonry, stimulating a strong and positive response from the community.
He was enlisted to design a part of the proposed three building complex. However, determined to build his dream project, he soon convinced the other architects involved, to unite the structures and link them as one, which would have a centrally located 23 storey skyscraper, enclosed by a fan-shaped courtyard. The center had striking similarities when compared to an opera set, with contoured terraces resembling seats looking into the courtyard, dramatic, snake-like, baroque inspired staircase that led from the courtyard wounding its way to a plaza at Staniford and