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The Wounded Warrior Home Project at Fort Belvoir
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Graves' iconic 1985 tea kettle for Alessi
Chances are you first got to know architect and designer Michael Graves through his 13-year collaboration with Target. With his stylish toaster, teakettle and other household items, Graves proved that good design can, and should, be accessible to all.
From Jan. 17 to March 23, the Virginia Center for Architecture will recognize Graves' accomplishments with the exhibition "From Towers to Teakettles:Michael Graves Architecture and Design." Graves himself will visit Richmond on Feb. 7 for "A Curated Conversation with Michael Graves, FAIA."
One of Graves' recent projects can be seen at Virginia's Fort Belvoir, where he designed two prototype homes for the Wounded Warrior Home Project, which aims to improve the quality of life for wounded soldiers by making universally accessible homes available on military bases.
"From Towers to Teakettles: Michael Graves Architecture and Design" opens Jan. 17 and runs through March 23 at the Virginia Center for Architecture. Hear Graves speak on Feb. 7 during "A Curated Conversation with Michael Graves, FAIA." For details, visit virginiaarchitecture.org or call 644-3041.
R•Home: Here in Virginia you designed the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley in Winchester and Bryan Hall at the University of Virginia. When it comes to architecture, Virginia has not moved much beyond its Colonial roots. Did this influence your work on these two projects?
Michael Graves: When you say ‘move beyond' what do you want it to move to? There's a lot of craziness going on today and to get to build on the campus of U.Va. is a godsend. It is just wonderful to work in the shadow of Thomas Jefferson, and so I found that to be a delight all the way through. … It was a building of utmost context in that it had to join one part of the campus to another part of the campus, both neoclassical in the way they were designed.
R•Home: You have used a wheelchair since a bacterial infection left you a paraplegic in 2003. How did that influence your involvement in the Wounded Warrior project?
Graves: It influences everything I do. Whether I'm making a building for the general population or not, I know that people like me are going to try to use it. Therefore, it's not much different if I work for the wounded warriors. … Being in a wheelchair myself, it's very easy for me to say, "No, you can't do that, it's not going to work." And I'm an authority, then, because other people are not in the same situation I'm in. … People talk about evidence-based design. That's me in a nutshell.
R•Home: In the Wounded Warrior Project, the design, not only the accessibility but also the look is very important. That must be a unique challenge to make both of those things work in tandem.
Graves: I remember one sergeant going in with me on opening day, and he said, "My wife would love this." And I said, "Why is that?" and he said, "It's such a pretty room, she would love to decorate this." He didn't say, "Are all the doors sliding?" He said, "This is a wonderful room." He saw the first things first.
R•Home: Your firms have designed more than 350 buildings, 2,000 products, furniture, and they also do graphic design. All of these different endeavors are united by your focus on good design. What, to you, are the basic hallmarks of good design?
Graves: I think what we try to do in architecture and product design is make something that is humanistically based. Now what does that mean? It really means based on us — you, me — the people who are going to be a part of it. Not based on architecture itself, but on how architecture responds to people. It's kind of corny, actually, to talk that way, especially in an academic setting. But it is what we do. Whether we are making an ice cream scoop or a building for U.Va., we're always thinking about the people who are going to try to use it and be with it.
R•Home: You are credited with introducing good design to the masses through your landmark partnership with Target that started in 1999. Why is the concept of "good design for all" so important to you? Do you think you have achieved this goal over the past 13 years?
Graves: People call it the democratization of design, and I suppose to a certain extent, it is, but we've gotten to do what the Bauhaus tried to do because of mass marketing and mass construction. We're very pleased with that, and I think ultimately we are very proud of that accomplishment with Target.
R•Home: Are there specific elements that characterize a Michael Graves design?
Graves: There are people who say about my work — though I don't try to do this — that it has a sense of humor. I suppose that is partly due to buildings that we did for Disney, and there, you're trying for that. But in most buildings you are not trying for that. But some of them have a bit of whimsy in them I suppose. But I don't try to do that — I guess it is just in my personality.
"From Towers to Teakettles: Michael Graves Architecture and Design" opens Jan. 17 and runs through March 23 at the Virginia Center for Architecture. Hear Graves speak on Feb. 7 during "A Curated Conversation with Michael Graves, FAIA." For details, visit virginiaarchitecture.org or call 644-3041.
Listen to the complete interview with Michael Graves at richmag.com/graves
