Paul Rudolph

(b. Elkton, Kentucky 1918)

Paul Rudolph was born in Elkton, Kentucky in 1918. He graduated from Alabama
Polytechnic Institute and studied under Walter Gropius at Harvard. After graduating in
1947, he entered into a five year partnership with Ralph Twitchell in Florida. When this
partnership ended, Rudolph practiced by himself in Boston, New Haven and New York.
Rudolph acted as Chairman of the Department of Architecture at Yale University from
1958 to 1965. During this same period his office worked on an immense and diverse
volume of work. Since 1952 he has worked on commissions in America, Europe, Africa,
the Middle East, and the Far East.
In his designs, Rudolph synthesizes the Modernist ideas of Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd
Wright, and Louis I. Kahn. He uses sweeping monolithic forms and intricate interior
spaces to create a powerful sculptural quality.
Rudolph has displayed an interest in the problems of urban design and completed a
succession of unexecuted projects. Preoccupied with the notion of an industrialized
"plug-in" city, he has devised schemes in which mobile residence pods are plugged into
a steel frame which connects to mechanical and electrical services.
Rudolph's work exhibits a highly personal and uncompromising style. Although his
works qualify as part of the Modern Movement, he has questioned the validity of the
movement's precepts in his later works.
Walker Guest House Commentary
"Two bays on each side of this guest cottage are filled with pivoting panels which
function as
1 the enclosing wall,
2 the ventilating element,
3 the shading device,
4 the hurricane shelter.
The third bay is filled with glass, to admit light and splendid views. When the panels are
closed, the pavilion is snug and cave-like, when open the space psychologically
changes and one is virtually in the landscape."
— Paul Rudolph. The Architecture of Paul Rudolph. New York: Praeger Publishers,
1970. p42.