Michael Graves (1934 – Present)
Architect and Product Designer – Princeton, New Jersey
Borrowing heavily from the past, architect Michael Graves combines whimsy and sophistication. His buildings often incorporate columns, pediments, arches, and other historic details.
Michael Graves is often credited with moving American architectural thought from abstract modernism to post-modernism. Graves founded his practice in Princeton, New Jersey in 1964 and taught at Princeton University in New Jersey for almost 40 years. His works range from grand projects such as the Public Services Building in Portland Oregon to playful designs for furniture, teapots, and other household items.
Borrowing heavily from the past, Graves uses columns, pediments, arches, and other historic details. His buildings often combine whimsy and sophistication. Michael Graves was, perhaps, at his most playful when he designed the Dolphin and Swan Hotels for the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. The Dolphin Hotel is a turquoise and coral pyramid. A 63-foot-dolphin sits on top, and water cascades down the side. The Swan Hotel has a gently curved roof-line topped with 7-foot swans. The two hotels are connected by an awning-sheltered walkway over a lagoon.
Michael Graves is also known for designing furnishings, artifacts, jewelry, and dinnerware for companies such as Disney, Alessi, Steuben, Phillips Electronics, and Black & Decker. Most recently, Michael Graves is most famous for designing more than 100 products, ranging from a toilet brush to a $60,000 outdoor pavilion, for Target stores.
In 2003, a sudden illness left Michael Graves paralyzed from the waist down. Now confined to a wheelchair, Graves combines his sophisticated and often whimsical approach to design with a deeper understanding of the importance of accessibility.
Distinguished Work:
The Dolphin and Swan Hotels
Team Disney” Building in Burbank, California
Michael Graves’ home in New Jersey
