Architect builds on teaching experience
Yvonne Chiu Hays
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Graves
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"You must find a way when you teach to explain to a student, and ultimately to yourself, why something might be deemed better than something else -- that it's not just a personal reaction," he said.
Graves, the Robert Schirmer Professor of Architecture, will receive the American Institute of Architects' highest honor for an individual on Feb. 16 (see related story). As president of an international practice specializing in architecture, interior design, product design and graphic design, he has worked on everything from office towers and museums to toasters and teakettles. His 85-person firm has offices on Nassau Street in Princeton and on Broadway in New York City.
But even with his busy practice, Graves continues to teach at Princeton, where he accepted his first academic position in 1962. Each semester, he oversees thesis candidates and teaches a studio class that meets three times a week.
Graves said he enjoys the interaction with students, who are regularly engaged in his activities outside of the classroom. "I try as much as I can to bring the students into what is happening in my practice. I might take 10 minutes out of a four-hour studio and talk to them about what has happened that day, good or bad, so that they have an idea of what practice is like -- though some have worked for architects, many of them have not," Graves said.
This year, he led a group of students on a trip to Italy for a week. They looked at a site where Graves is designing two public squares as part of a competition.
"Students take professional practice courses, but insight into the kinds of projects I get -- working in 17 different countries now -- is something they ordinarily wouldn't get from other people," he said. "They seem to like the breadth a lot."
Graves claims he wasn't good at anything except drawing as a child. His artistic aspirations worried his mother, who thought only someone as good as Picasso could make a decent wage. She encouraged Graves to pursue engineering or architecture.
He received his architectural training at the University of Cincinnati and Harvard University. In 1960, he won the Rome Prize and studied for two years at the American Academy in Rome, where he is now a trustee.
Graves said Rome has been his biggest influence. "Rome is a place where the ancient architecture is superb, probably better than any other place in the world. Its medieval architecture is extraordinary; its Renaissance and Baroque architecture, even its Rococo architecture, are splendid. I don't think there is any place else in the world that has all of that. There were so many moments in Rome when it reached another zenith. It is, for me, my teacher," he said.
Some of his best known building projects include the Humana Building in Louisville, Ky.; Disney Corporate Headquarters in Burbank, Calif.; the Netherlands' Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport at The Hague; the headquarters of the World Bank Group's International Finance Corp. in Washington, D.C.; and the much-celebrated interpretive design of the scaffolding for the Washington Monument restoration in Washington, D.C.
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Toaster for Target
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Clock for Alssi
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Another classic misconception is that he spends less time and energy on his lower end product lines, such as his home furnishings for Target. His signature line for the discount department store chain has made him a household name in America. "People have this idea that if I work for Steuben vs. Target that I'm going to work harder for Steuben because it costs more," he said. "Generally, it's the other way around. It's harder to take money out of a product than to put it in. It's easier when people say there's no budget, do what you want to do. But when you're making a Volkswagon instead of a Bentley, every move counts doubly."
Partly inspired by his Target success, his firm's next product for the masses is going to be affordable housing. The residential designs are expected to come out in a year. "We're very excited about it," he said.
Other works in the pipeline include the American Embassy in Seoul, Korea, and the master plan of the Olympic Village for the 2004 Summer Games in Athens.
See related article
Graves earns AIA Gold
Medal
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January 29, 2001 Contents Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4-5 Page 7 Page 8
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