Pierluigi Serraino

"Rarely has the architectural profession, or any creative discipline, undergone such close scientific scrutiny as it did during the 1958 inquiry on the creativity of architects. The directors of this study at Berkeley's Institute of Personality & Social Research masterminded an investigation that drew 40 of the greatest architects practicing at the time, subjecting them to three days of intensive solitary and group testing, in the idealistic pursuit of mapping their minds. Deploying an array of tests reflecting then-current psychological theories, the study sought to answer questions that still apply to creative practice today- What makes a person creative? What are the biographical conditions and personality traits necessary to actualize that creativity? For the first time, the study's findings have been gathered and analyzed through numerous original sources, including questionnaires, aptitude tests, and interview transcripts that show how some of the greatest American architects evaluated their own creativity and that of their peers. In The Creative Architect, Pierluigi Serraino charts the development and implementation of this historic study, producing the first look at an amazing and unknown episode in the annals of modern architecture."

Inside the Great Midcentury Personality Study

The Creative Architect

Sam Lubell

Emily Bills

The style and mythology of Mid-Century Modern California architecture as seen through the expert lens of Marvin Rand Los Angeles photographer Marvin Rand created iconic images of some of the most celebrated architectural creations of his time, photographing buildings by the likes of Modernist masters Craig Ellwood, Louis Kahn, and Frank Lloyd Wright to capture the essence of their work - and, in doing so, played a critical role in shaping the Mid-Century California style now worshiped the world over. The discovery of Rand's archive has brought a treasure trove to life, and California Captured showcases it - and the period - as never before.

Mid-Century Modern Architecture, Marvin Rand

California Captured

Julius Shulman: Modernism Rediscovered

A Structural Expressionist (Basic Art)

Eero Saarinen, 1910-1961

Julius Shulman

A new appreciation for the genius of architectural photographer Julius Shulman has opened the way for hundreds of abandoned masterworks to be rediscovered. The images burned in our memories, which to us represent the spirit of fifties and sixties design, were those widely published in magazines and books; but what about those that were not? The abandoned files of Julius Shulman show us another side of Modernism that has stayed quiet for many years. The exchange of visual information is crucial to the development, evolution, and promotion of architectural movements. If a building is not widely seen, its photograph rarely or never published, it simply does not enter into architectural discourse. Many buildings photographed by Shulman suffered this fate, their images falling into oblivion. With this new book, Taschen brings them to light, paying homage to California Modernism in all its forms. It's like sneaking into a private history, into homes that have rarely been seen and hardly appreciated as of yet. Bringing together nearly 300 forgotten masterpieces, Modernism Rediscovered breathes eternal life into these outstanding contributions to the modern architectural movement.

Modernism Rediscovered

Pierluigi Serraino

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