Oklahoma Modern: event

Showing posts with label event. Show all posts

The Concrete House

I remember the giant concrete house on Highway 33 between Inola and Chouteau. It was a landmark for us during family outings to visit friends in Locust Grove. For years it sat partially completed and hollow, a house-shaped shell made of steel and concrete.

TFA Virtual Tours Highlight Modernism

Architecture tours are a big deal at the Tulsa Foundation for Architecture. But the pandemic has put a damper on Second Saturdays, the popular series of walking tours TFA has popularized. This put a serious hurt on their budget... and mission statement.

So just as the Covid-19 has forced most of us to learn how to do new things in the virtual world, so has TFA. Their tours have gone virtual.

Painting the Continuous Present

When it rains it pours!

Another great museum exhibition featuring works by Herb Greene and Bruce Goff will open January 24th at Price Tower Arts Center.

Renegades Showcases the OU School of Architecture

A new exhibit examines the University of Oklahoma School of Architecture and its unique approach to architectural studies in the years following World War Two. Renegades: Bruce Goff and the American School of Architecture features more than 150 drawings, artifacts and objects, including works by Bruce Goff, Herb Greene and many more.

Renegades: the book features essays and illustrations
of a uniquely American style of architecture.

Oklahoma's First Celebration of Mod

Last month the first Oklahoma Modernism Weekend was held at the iconic "Church of Tomorrow" in Oklahoma City. The three-day event attracted a large crowd, who were treated to a swap meet, car show, home tour and vintage fashion show.

Oklahoma's first celebration of modern architecture and design will be held May 20-22, 2015.

The event will be hosted by the Okie Mod Squad, an Oklahoma City-based group that promotes the appreciation and preservation of Mid-Century Modern design. To drive home that point they have chosen a uniquely identifiable site to host this first-ever event: The First Christian Church of Oklahoma City.

Mingle in International Style

Later this month one of my favorite Oklahoma homes will be open for a look-see.

The stunning Jones House was the home of Robert Lawton Jones- a founding principal of the Tulsa-based architectural firm Murray-Jones-Murray. Here in Oklahoma MJM is synonymous with MCM. The firm designed Mid Mod icons such as Saints Peter and Paul Church & School, First Place Tower, Bishop Kelley school and the Tulsa Assembly Center.

About the time Jones penned this sleek example of International Style we had just broken ground on another MJM project: the Tulsa International Airport. It was 1959.

The Jet Age had begun.

Tulsa's Modern Dwellings

Life has returned to downtown Tulsa in recent years.

The concrete canyons, once deserted after 5:00 pm not so long ago, are now a mecca for nightlife and loft-loving hipsters. Condos now occupy what was recently an empty lot. Vacant office space is giving way to luxury apartments. And no matter what style the building might be– residential living in Tulsa's central city is a thoroughly modern affair.

Last week I got to spend a day with some of the Oklahoma Mod Squad crew. The occasion was National Architecture Week and the Central AIA Chapter was sponsoring a tour of seven projects in the Oklahoma City area.

I had a great time and saw some inspired commercial spaces, unique homes and promising projects. Everyone agreed and we're looking forward to more pan-turnpike modernism projects in the future!

Modern Happenings

Happy Architecture Week!
National Architecture Week is sponsored by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and hopes to highlight notable architecture across the country. Social media is a target of this year's campaign as the AIA encourages tweeters and pinteresters (pinterestazzi?) to use the hashtag #archweek13. There are also events planned all around the country and listed on the AIA website. Ironically you won't find the one event happening here in Oklahoma:

Architectural Tour

Pop-Up Shops Offer Modern Treat

Modnauts venturing to Downtown Tulsa can enjoy a special treat this holiday shopping season.

The Tulsa Deco District Pop-Up Shops have returned for 2012 after a stellar performance last year. They have expanded the offerings- and locations. Most notably for fans of modernism this includes the little white block building on the corner of 7th and Boston.

For years we've been seeing Smith Bros Abstracts in the window. But the building was actually a branch bank designed by Robert Buchner for the Ponca City Savings & Loan. It has been vacant for many years.

This week we got to step inside for the very first time.

A Parade of Home

Home tours used to be a window into the future. A glimpse into a fascinating world of tomorrow.

Today a home tour brings to mind ginormous houses with a lot of floorspace, but not a lot of design. The checklist usually includes an expanse of granite, a media room, lots of dormer windows (even where there are no rooms) and a touch of wood-grained vinyl. Style is typically looking backwards- like a world of yesteryear, but with big screen TVs.

This Saturday you'll have a chance to experience a home tour circa 1955. A glimpse of what the future once looked like to postwar America.

Modern Tulsa is hosting an open house and tour of a model home called the Citation.

Tulsa's Atomic Ranch
Open House & Tour
June 2, 2012 • 10am-3pm
Admission: $5 per person
1717 S. Erie • Tulsa, Oklahoma

Tulsa Roof on Display

..along with a really cool house.

Modern Tulsa is hosting another super hip "Mod of the Moment" events this Sunday at the Netherton House. If that name doesn't immediately jog your memory maybe the striking roofline of this fabulous house will:

Modern Desk Designs

Jackie admires one of the 4x8 entries at S. R. Hughes.

The crowd favorite here on Brookside:

And a pretty cool chair too! Both from local designers. Here are some more of the designs that went on the auction block to benefit local charities.
What's your favorite?

Need a Designer Desk?

How's that? "What designer?" you ask.

Well, good question. Let's just say- they might be your neighbor. Or your classmate. And they might be the "next big thing."

Last October the 4x8 competition challenged Tulsans to create a desk from a single piece of plywood. Like a 4-foot by 8-foot piece of plywood, in fact. Thus the name.

Here's a short video we shot in Palm Springs during Modernism Week last year.

One of the highlights in 2011 was a Braniff Airlines exhibit. This intrigued us since Braniff was a "local" airline that started in Oklahoma City, later headquartered in Dallas.

But that didn't interest the crowd in Palm Springs. They were there to see the colorful uniforms and far out paint schemes that Braniff introduced in the Sixties. And a few of those in the crowd came to reminisce.

Save the Date for Dallas Mods

One of our favorite events isn't in Oklahoma, but it is modern.

The White Rock Home Tour is an annual tour showcasing some of Dallas' nicest Mid-Century Modern homes. This area is northeast of downtown Dallas, near White Rock Lake, and features ranch-style and minimalist homes from the Fifties and Sixties.

Each year the tour highlights 5 or 6 homes, some vintage and some new construction. The weekend also features architectural lectures and exhibits. Proceeds from the event benefit Hexter Elementary, a nearby public school. For 2012 the tour will be held April 21st and 22nd.

So mark your calendars, Okies! We'll round up the wagons and make ourselves a convoy. Breaker, breaker. Headin' down to Big D. 10-4.

More

News Anchor Crashes Parade Float

No injuries reported.

Mechanical Snowman is a Local Favorite

Local modernista may be familiar with Shane Hood, he's quite active with Modern Tulsa, the Tulsa Foundation for Architecture and the Lortondale neighborhood. He also happens to be involved with another really cool non-profit called Fab Lab.

Plywood Challenge

I've been shopping for a new desk.

Then I read about a design competition sponsored by More Branding to design a desk from a single sheet of plywood.

Thus the name: 4 x 8.

It was so much fun they decided to invite others from the Tulsa design community to participate. Fifteen entries were received the first day. What started out as a simple office project to replace some desks has turned into a full-blown, hard-core, design throwdown. The call for entries has gone out (and reprinted when they ran out) and come January we'll see just how creative T-Town really is. But wait...

There is more.

To top it off a showcase and silent auction will be held March 2012. The proceeds from each desk will benefit the school of each designer's choice! As of yet the location is yet to be determined- but if the pace of entries continue I'm thinking airplane hanger.

So now I'm thinking it's time to design my own desk. Or maybe I'll wait and see what turns up and just buy one at the auction in March. Either way it sounds like a win-win.

Learn more about the 4X8 Design Competition

Oklahoma Modern

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