Paul rudolph in new york

ARCHITECTURE & DANGER : 3 TOWNHOUSES AS QUEER SPACES.

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PLAYBOY TOWNHOUSE, Rendered Cross Section, 1962

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PLAYBOY TOWNHOUSE, Master Bedroom Rendering, 1962.

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PLAYBOY TOWNHOUSE,  Dining Room Rendering, 1962.

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PLAYBOY TOWNHOUSE, Living Room Rendering. 1962

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Hirsch / Halston Residence, Facade /  101 East 66th Street, New York, NY.

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Halston Residence

4th Floor Plan

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Halston Residence

3rd Floor Plan

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Halston Residence

2nd Floor Plan

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Halston Residence

1st Floor Plan

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THESIS: Architect Paul Rudolph completed three private urban oasis in New York city between 19xx – 19xx. These three projects were designed for gay male clients at a time when gay men held significant cultural power in New York. This article will examine the cultural significance of these architectural spaces in terms of their legacy of queer aesthetics as well as their appearance in film and other means of representation. Rudolph’s own identity as a gay man in the closeted era in which he lived will be interpreted in relation to the very ‘out’ social life of the fashion designer Halston who held famous parties in his Rudolph designed townhouse before and after nights at Studio 54. These parties were extensively documented in both the Andy Warhol Diaries and photographs of the time.

Public and private lives  of two gay men

Imagining a queer social life for these spaces.

The modern architectural language of the houses is somewhat similar to various residential projects of Rudolph but in its own way illustrate a very specific language in these three works of architecture. Most evident is the use of structural I Beams or Sections arranged so as to make a series of cages

PROJECTS: Rudolph Beekman Place Penthouse

Halston’s Townhouse

  FILMS: The Departed [Boston Police HQ]

The Royal Tenenbaums [Rudolph Beekman Place Penthouse]

Setting:  Richie Tenenbaum’s apartment 

Hamlet (2000) [Rudolph Beekman Place Penthouse]

Ultrasuede: The Halston Biography

  ILLUSTRATIONS:  Film stills & section perspective drawings.

Images of Halston’s House

Playboy Townhouse Illustrations

REFERENCES: Andy Warhol Diaries.

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