Category Archives: Archive

Shibui: ‘Easy to live with beauty’

January 30, 2015 – 6:34 pm

It would be hard to overemphasize the influence that Japanese design has had on the development of modern architecture in the West. Indeed, nearly 400 years after the Katsura Imperial Villa was constructed in Kyoto, modern architects are still in awe of the precise geometrical forms of its sukiya-style buildings and the abstract beauty of […]

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Lawrence Public Library, Jan. 11th:

December 11, 2014 – 4:41 pm

Emerging from the devastation of World War II, Japan entered an intense period of reconstruction in the 1950s, propelled in large part by international successes in design-related industries. These attracted the interest of foreigners in residence and soon came to the attention of Elizabeth Gordon, editor-in-chief of House Beautiful magazine from 1941 to 1964, who […]

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A Lawrence residence

September 30, 2014 – 10:43 pm

Lawrence Modern recently had the privilege of touring Dan and Nicole Sabatini’s decidedly contemporary home, which is tucked away largely out of view in the Hillcrest neighborhood of Lawrence. The gathering turned out to be an architectural surprise find: most of the more than 50 who attended were unaware that such a fabulous house existed in […]

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In Memoriam – Betty Jo Charlton

August 3, 2014 – 8:30 am

Betty Jo Charlton, who died on July 22 at age 91, was one of the last links to a nearly forgotten Frank Lloyd Wright-KU connection. Her home at 1624 Indiana St. was designed by KU Architecture School Dean George Beal, who was a good friend of Wright’s and often hosted him when he passed through […]

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Thomas House midcentury joy tour

July 2, 2014 – 10:56 am

One of Lawrence’s hidden gems, the Thomas House, was on full display Sunday, and polished to a high sheen by the current owners, Deb and Ray Rowden. More than 50 Lawrence Modern guests roamed the property, which in its design, siting, landscaping, and casual feel — you could say breeziness — is a fusion of […]

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