A new monograph in the RISD Architecture Series edited by John Caserta and Lynnette Widder examines the work of Providence architect Ira Rakatansky. Though less well known in New England than Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer with whom he studied at Harvard in the 1940s, Rakatansky has been one of the few champions of modernism in Rhode Island throughout his career.
The book examines Rakatansky's residential and commercial projects from 1944 to 1964 with archival photography and also revisits some of the homes he designed, showing how they are lived in today. The book's subtitle, As Modern as Tomorrow, came from a 1948 Providence Journal headline announcing the building of Rakatansky's first house and feels apropos today where traditional architecture is still dominant in New England. The monograph includes essays by historian Joan Ockman and Lynnette Widder, a professor of architecture at RISD, and was designed by John Caserta whose desire to bring overdue recognition to Rakatansky, his many Providence-area projects and modernist architecture in Rhode Island brought the book to life.
Ira Rakatansky: As Modern As Tomorrow can be purchased online at risd | works and William Stout Architectural Books. Visit The Design Office for more information.
If you are in the Providence area, John Caserta and Ira Rakatansky will be signing books on Thursday, June 24 at 5:30pm at the Brown Bookstore and on Saturday, June 26 at 2pm at Books on the Square.
Images: ©The Design Office/John Caserta
Dirty Little Secrets of Tidy Families
Hillary & Michael's Refined Roost
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Nomade Express Slee...
My Staple Summer Cocktail Recipe: Campari & IPA Spritzer
Recipe: Ham, Cheddar & Chive Egg Bakes
i'm ready to read this book just based solely on the design of his office!
Why do these modernists enjoy windows too high to actually look out of? (Lousy grammar, but you get my drift.)
That's my beef with it, too, FantasticMF. It looks pretty, but those high windows give it a closed-in feeling, like a cave ... or a cubicle.
great find - thanks for the tip on this book. the office interiors look something like a prototype I just created in our offices.
regarding the window height question that others asked commented on... perhaps it stems from the need for light and privacy... or maybe the view is just nasty :)