The Source for Richmond Architecture and Design Information

Portfolio: Modernism of Willow Lawn

Willow Lawn Shopping Center opened in Richmond’s Near West End in 1956. The development was a new frontier in the city, giving concrete form to the postwar American Dream of middle class suburbanity. In the mall’s periphery a new type of suburban landscape was being developed. Offices, hotels, and apartments were created, replicating the economic …

Opinion: ChildSavers Building

Architect: Philip Johnson, renovation by Baskervill Dates: 1968, renovation in 2007 Address: 200 North 22nd Street Philip Johnson’s WRVA radio station, now the ChildSavers building, goes beyond padding Richmond’s architectural resume with an illustrious name. The building functions as a beacon of creativity and innovation in one of Richmond’s oldest neighborhoods. The materiality of concrete …

Current: In Memory of Ulrich Franzen

Noted architect Ulrich Franzen died on October 6th at the age of 91. He was born in Dusseldorf Germany but emigrated to the United States when he was 15. Franzen attended the Harvard Graduate School of Design where he met architects such as Philip Johnson, Paul Rudolph, and I.M. Pei who he worked for following …