James Allen Walter, The Maverick of Modernism by Domus

Today I’ve decided to point you towards an article of interest, but I do have a few comments that I want to say myself about this piece written by Domus, the famous architecture and design publication. They recently put together this special feature on their website about industrial designer, writer and architect James Walter which they titled “The Maverick of Modernism”.

And what a fantastic read it was with stunning imagery to compliment it, I was taken aback by the buildings that he’s designed and the creativeness of them. Sort of seems fitting that you can see Eames chairs throughout, I guess it’s the same sort of design aesthetic. I thought the writer Katya Tylevich did a great job at researching and captivating throughout, finishing with a nice paragraph to end.

James Walter was obviously quite a fascinating individual, he lived his life with deep philosophical meaning and liked to build according to his own personal vision. A stubborn character that exuded confidence in all manner of fields, he never stuck to just one specific sector and liked to showcase his talents as a photographer, furniture designer, graphic designer, illustrator and much more.

His homes sought this idea of creativity and adventure, for example they had no privacy inside and were fully integrated and seamless, but the outside was a different story, with the main entrance not clearly marked and being purposefully difficult to find. This mixed with entryways that build anticipation, it created an experience like no other and felt like something really homely and inviting as an owner. Obviously stunning scenery and open windows help, which you can see in the set of photos below, but overall the houses worked and solved a particular problem.

I don’t want to talk on too much as I think it will break up the feature and you won’t go over to read it, so for now I’ll just kindly point you towards the Domus website via the link below. Other recommended reads would be The Ulm School of Design and Domesticated Brutalism, you definitely won’t be disappointed!

www.domusweb.it

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