Marc Whipple 6/18/17 Marc Whipple 6/18/17

Design for Human Well Being

Most basically, our houses give us shelter from the weather, a place to sleep protected from lions and tigers and bears, and room to keep our stuff.

Marc Whipple 3/15/16 Marc Whipple 3/15/16

Is Future Design a Virtual Reality?

Design professionals have been trained to visualize three-dimensional space from two-dimensional drawings, so the challenge has always been how best to help clients see what they see...

Marc Whipple 1/28/16 Marc Whipple 1/28/16

Remembering Ceramicist Harrison McIntosh

Harrison McIntosh, California modernist potter and sculptor, passed away this week at the age of 102.

Marc Whipple 12/20/15 Marc Whipple 12/20/15

Modern Icon: Andy Warhol

It is a common conception that Andy Warhol’ Campbell Soup Cans paintings (stencil and silk-screen), 1962, were purely a cynical commentary on American commercialism.

Marc Whipple 11/24/15 Marc Whipple 11/24/15

Eiffel Tower Ushers in the Modern Era

The wrought iron lattice work tower located at one end of the Parc du Champ de Mars was named for Gustave Eiffel, the engineer whose company designed and built it.

Marc Whipple 9/24/15 Marc Whipple 9/24/15

Modern Icon: The Stahl House

The most widely seen photograph epitomizing the mid-century modern southern California lifestyle is of the Stahl House, Case Study House #22, taken by Julius Shulman.

Marc Whipple 9/7/15 Marc Whipple 9/7/15

The Modern Case Study Houses

The brainchild of John Entenza, editor o Arts & Architecture magazine, The Case Study Houses were to be experiments in modernism celebrating the possibilities of efficient and affordable housing, much needed at the end WWII.

Marc Whipple 8/15/15 Marc Whipple 8/15/15

Modern Design for Summer Heat

As heavily populated countries like China, India, and Brazil become more affluent, the demand for air conditioners is rising with the oceans, and creating the energy to run those chill machines for many millions of homes will be difficult and climatically expensive.

Marc Whipple 7/31/15 Marc Whipple 7/31/15

The Bradbury Building: a Utopian Concept

One cannot guess from the Bradbury Building’s modest Renaissance Revival exterior of brown brick, sandstone, and terra cotta detailing, that it holds an interior that has fascinated and delighted visitors for all of its 122 years.