Michael Graves
Graves was born in 1934 at Indianapolis, Indiana and he holds a masters for architecture from Harvard university. As a kid he used to spend long hours drawing or in his words: “As I was drawing more and more, I got better, it’s the only thing I was good at.” In the beginning of his career, he became part of the New York Five, architect group that presented an exhibit in Moma in 1967, The group members were true to architectural modernism in its purest form and were inspired by Le Corbusier work from the twenties and thirties. Many credit Graves with the change the American architecture underwent from simplified modernism to post modernism. In 1964, Graves established the Michael Graves and associates’ firm in Princeton, New Jersey. In 1985 he designed a tea kettle for Alessi, a design with an interesting bird shaped whistle. It was so successful, it made Graves into a star in the design world instantly. The tea kettle is one of the design icons of the 20th century. Graves kept designing for Alessi up to his death in 2015. The last item he designed was an homage to the tea kettle with a twist – the bird turned into a prehistoric mythical reptile with a pun intended: Tea Rex. Graves won a few important awards; the last ones are Art of Medal National in 1999 and a gold medal by the American Institute of Architecture in 2001.
Michael Graves
Graves was born in 1934 at Indianapolis, Indiana and he holds a masters for architecture from Harvard university. As a kid he used to spend long hours drawing or in his words: “As I was drawing more and more, I got better, it’s the only thing I was good at.” In the beginning of his career, he became part of the New York Five, architect group that presented an exhibit in Moma in 1967, The group members were true to architectural modernism in its purest form and were inspired by Le Corbusier work from the twenties and thirties. Many credit Graves with the change the American architecture underwent from simplified modernism to post modernism. In 1964, Graves established the Michael Graves and associates’ firm in Princeton, New Jersey. In 1985 he designed a tea kettle for Alessi, a design with an interesting bird shaped whistle. It was so successful, it made Graves into a star in the design world instantly. The tea kettle is one of the design icons of the 20th century. Graves kept designing for Alessi up to his death in 2015. The last item he designed was an homage to the tea kettle with a twist – the bird turned into a prehistoric mythical reptile with a pun intended: Tea Rex. Graves won a few important awards; the last ones are Art of Medal National in 1999 and a gold medal by the American Institute of Architecture in 2001.
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