Category Archives: Archive

Cerf House catches mod fan wave

July 16, 2016 – 9:21 pm

“Wouldn’t we all like to live here?” asked KU professor of architecture Steve Grabow to a Woodstock-like sea of people attending the Cerf House gathering June 25th. The response was affirmative, and predictable. Who wouldn’t? The Cerf House is the equivalent of a juicy steak, full of mouth-watering appeal on just about every level of midcentury modern fetishism: exceptional site, uplifting living spaces, […]

By Lawrence Modern | Leave a Comment

’50s optimism on display June 25th

May 25, 2016 – 7:56 pm

When we talk about midcentury modern we’re usually talking about the 1950s, the sweet spot for modernism in America. Modern architecture in the ’50s, like American cinema in the ’70s, was an unusually fervent period of rules-breaking and risk-taking that we continue to obsess over. Which brings us to the Cerf House. Built in 1958 at the cost of $80,000—enough to buy a fleet […]

By Lawrence Modern | Comments (1)

A humble apprentice

January 31, 2016 – 5:43 pm

Curtis Besinger, Professor of Architecture at KU from 1955-1956 and 1957-1984, was a man without pretense. He eschewed all sartorial or any other kind of extravagance in contrast to Frank Lloyd Wright for whom he worked 16 years from 1939 to 1955. Instead, Curtis drew no attention to himself, dressed modestly in browns and grays, […]

By Lawrence Modern | Comments (2)

FLW-inspired time capsule delights

October 24, 2015 – 4:56 pm

Oh yeah. It was the mod gathering to top all mod gatherings. The Beal/Charlton House event on the 18th was fantastic, probably the best attended and most satisfying that Lawrence Modern has ever done. Somewhere up there Frank Lloyd Wright was smiling. George Beal was smiling. Robert Still, the builder, was doing cartwheels. Down here, […]

By Lawrence Modern | Comments (1)

Historic modernism on view Oct. 18

September 23, 2015 – 1:56 pm

Designed in 1950 by KU architecture professor George Beal, the unassuming wooden house at 1624 Indiana — the location of our next event — is an outstanding example of Usonian architecture, a term coined by Frank Lloyd Wright to describe his vision for an organic architecture suited to the United States. Prof. Beal was a Taliesin Fellow and […]

By Lawrence Modern | Leave a Comment