O'Neil Ford Interview

View Resource

Read the Fine Print

Subject:

Arts

Institution Name:

WGBH

Collection:

WGBH Open Vault

Abstract:

'Design Archives' raw material on the architect O'Neil Ford, consisting of 4-hour interview on five videocassettes. One of the cassettes does not contain interview footage, but 29 raw, unedited minutes of exterior and interior shots of Ford's buildings. Tape 1 (57:00): Introduction by Lacy about Ford's background, contributions, and fame; educational background at International Correspondence School of Scranton, PA; first job experience; inspiration for being an architect; places/countries where he has designed buildings; reasons for his notoriety; dislike of "publicity for publicity's sake" in architecture; his "non-style" of architecture (use of crafts and honesty of materials); childhood experiences and family influences; influences of other architects on him; dislike of egoism in architecture; architects he's fond of; houses he designed in San Antonio; impressions of other architects; disdain for fashion in architecture; works between WWI and WWII; studies in Europe in 1930's; following of a traditional path in architecture; origins of his interest in historical preservation; works in Texas, Georgia, and D.C. in the 1930's; work under Lyndon B. Johnson on the LaVillita Project in the 1930's and his relationship with Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1960's; relationship with politicians and governments regarding environmental issues. Tape 2 (58:00) (contains some audio problems): The journals he has kept for past 29 years; involvement in education -lecturer, professor at the University of Virginia and lecturer at Harvard; disappointment at high schools' inability to prepare students for college-level engineering and architecture; the need for schools to emphasize the arts; his architecture videos designed for children; fights with governments to preserve nature and parks; views on Pompidou Center in Paris; difficulty with designing new commissions and putting human qualities in buildings; distaste for modern materials; technology in architecture; necessary limitations and seriousness that should exist in architecture; disdain for egoism by young architects whose avant-garde designs are undertaken simply to gain fame; the learning process among architects at his office; treatment of interiors and landscapes as they relate to his firm's architectural plans; age vs. experience in architecture; value of design competitions. Tape 3 (59:00): Fame in and feelings for San Antonio; his knowledge of the city and its people; the need for restraint in architecture; dislike for over-ornamentation; contributions of Bauhaus on architecture; refutes Philip Johnson's idea of monumental architecture; brief views on architecture in London, Rome, Paris, New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles; development along San Antonio's river; ugliness of U.S. suburbs; vulgarity of American architecture; ideas of Las Vegas and its architecture; influence of the advertising industry on architecture, especially the use of billboards; damage of parking lots and garages on cityscapes; active social life in downtown San Antonio; beauty of Paris, especially due to the Metro and the use of underground parking; livability of London; award ceremony in his honor in Waxahachie, Texas. Tape 4 (49:30): Business of architecture; how his firm gains clients (corporations, universities, museums, and hospitals); ideas on hospital design, based on his own stays in hospitals; ideas on airport design and university design; regional architecture and its relevance in today's age; the need to respect indigenous materials and characteristics; stresses common sense and simplicity in architecture; dislike of dogma; church design -its simplicities and complexities; disdain for modern architecture and architects who are "primadonnas' simple, sensitive arrangement of ancient buildings at the ruins of Mexican and Central American Indian cultures. Tape 5 (29:00)--MARKED "Reel 1--Building Footage"

Languages:

English

Material Type:

Primary Source

Media Format:

Text/HTML, Video

Conditions of Use:

Custom License
Free to view for educational use only. Copyright restrictions apply for all other uses.