About this item

One of the most prominent and prolific designers and architects of the late twentieth century, Michael Graves is best known for his popular product designs, including the world-famous Alessi whistling-bird teakettle, and controversial buildings, such as the Portland Building in Oregon, Humana Building in Kentucky, and Dolphin and Swan Hotels at Walt Disney World, Florida. Graves was widely seen as the leading voice of postmodernist architecture, which reintroduced human scale, color, and, sometimes, playful forms into the stark white vocabulary of modernism. Following a devastating illness that paralyzed him from the chest down, Graves became a tireless designer and advocate of improved health-care products and facilities before his sudden death in 2015.



About the Author

Ian Volner

Ian Volner holds degrees in the History and Theory of Architecture from Columbia University and the Institute of Fine Arts. A frequent contributor to The Wall Street Journal and Architectural Digest, he has also contributed articles on design, architecture and urbanism to The New Republic, Harper's, Artforum, The Atlantic and The New Yorker online among other publications, and is a contributing editor at Surface and Architect. He lives in Manhattan.



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