The Art and Architecture of Paul Rudolph

This biography has been written as a memorial tribute to Paul Rudolph by graduates whom he taught at the Yale School of Architecture. What emerges is a picture of a man who was probably America’s most talented Late Modernist, whose dynamic designs and superb graphics contributed to the golden period of the 1960s when Mies van der Rohe, Louis Kahn and Robert Venturi all had a profound influence on progressive modern architecture. This is the first comprehensive study of Paul Rudolph’s work and features 23 major projects, presented through drawings, photographs and theory. It traces his early rise to eminence when he became Director of Architecture at Yale University at the age of 39, his precipitous decline in the 1970s, and his steady resurgence over the last 25 years through his schemes in Asia and the Far East. Anthony Monk is amongst a group of eminent architects who were taught by Rudolph — including Lord Norman Foster, Lord Richard Rogers, Robert Stern, Eldrid Evans and Shin’lchi Okada — many of whom contribute personal pen-portraits in a special feature. With their vivid descriptions of Paul Rudolph’s techniques, ideas, talent, management and personality, they explain why they believe he was one of America’s great modern architects.