424 After the International Style: The Late Twentieth Century

rectangularity. The furniture is traditional 21.12 Robert Venturi, Chip-

pendale chair, manufactured
and nondescript rather than the modern clas-
by Knoll International, New
sics that might be expected. Guild House, a York, 1978–84.
residence for the elderly in Philadelphia (1960– This whimsical design of
3), and the Brandt House of 1970 in Greenwich, modern molded plywood
construction has a back cut
Connecticut, embody similar complexities. out in a pattern suggesting
In Learning from Las Vegas (1977, with the design of eighteenth-
Denise Scott Brown and Steven Izenour), the century Chippendale furniture.
Such conflation of modern
authors noted the relevance of vernacular and traditional forms is
architecture and buildings that signaled their characteristic of the direction
purpose with signage—a reminder that com- called post-modern.

munication was one of architecture’s primary

functions, and one that modern architects
had largely neglected. In later unbuilt pro-
jects and actual buildings, Venturi embraced
decorative ornament and references to his-
toric precedents. A 1997 proposal for a house in
Greenwich, Connecticut, is a version of George
Washington’s mansion at Mount Vernon,
oddly condensed and distorted. Venturi’s 1984
furniture designs for Knoll introduced both Venturi and Scott Brown added the out-
decorative pattern and witty references to his- standing Sainsbury Wing (1991) to the 1835
toric precedents, both elements that became National Gallery on Trafalgar Square in 21.13 Venturi, Scott Brown
hallmarks of post-modern design. A number of London. Externally, the classical detail of and Associates, Venturi
chairs were developed, all structurally alike— the older building is repeated in the form of House, Philadelphia, 1980s.

two elements of molded plywood, one the seat
and front legs, the other the back and rear legs.
The plywood planes were cut in decorative sil-
houettes evoking Chippendale, Queen Anne,
Sheraton, or Art Deco deco styles (21.12). The
surfaces of some are silk-screened with playful,
decorative designs suggestive of conventional
wallpapers, while others are patterned in bright
colors. In their own home, Venturi and Denise
variations on its theme. Openings lead to a
monumental stair with arch-shaped metal
frames overhead. The stair gives access to
lower levels, housing an auditorium, restau-
rant, shop, and other facilities. At the top of
the stair there is a bridge link element that
connects with the older building. The stair
and the bridge give alternative access to the
main galleries, which consist of sixteen rooms
The Venturis occupy an
older house as their home,
and they have introduced
into it their design idiom in
which traditional and modern
elements are easily mixed. The
painted frieze above the picture
molding, the glass and wood
built-in cabinets, the hanging
light fixture, and the dining
room furniture all suggest this
highly personal blend.

Scott Brown (his partner and wife) have used

traditional furniture and decorative patterns
in wallpapers to generate an atmosphere that is
both eclectic (in the literal sense) and comfort-
able (21.13). The Venturis have also designed
office spaces that include a showroom and con-
ference area for Knoll International in New York
and furniture with a strongly post-modern char-
acter for the same firm.
As his career advanced, Venturi began to
receive commissions for major architectural pro-
jects in which his interiors generally showed the
whimsical and contradictory qualities of post-
modernism. A faculty dining room at Penn State
University, State College, Pennsylvania (1974),
has screen walls with decorative perforations,
a truncated arched opening on a balcony, and
an ornamental lighting fixture overlooking the
sedate dining room, which is furnished with
chairs of traditional design.

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