If you’re a lover of modern architecture, you don’t want to miss this event. Tomorrow from 6 to 8 p.m., SMINK will host Texas architect Frank D. Welch for a reading and signing of his recently released memoir from TCU Press entitled “On Becoming an Architect.” You’ll recall, one of Welch’s designs was just showcased during the Dallas Architecture Forum’s 365 Modern Living cocktail reception series. That home is just incredible in its detail and use of materials, with warm rooms, open spaces, surprising curves, and clean lines.
Mark Lamster did a wonderful job reviewing Welch’s book, which does have its humorous parts. Welch, who studied under the tutelage of O’Neil Ford, recalls how he met the legendary architect:
At the time he met Ford, Welch was a struggling young architect, a recent graduate of Texas A&M, and Ford was at the height of his powers, with a practice spread across the state. The two had an immediate rapport, grounded in shared history; both men were genial products of rural Grayson County, just south of the Oklahoma border. When a nervous Welch brought Ford on a tour of the Houston house he had built for himself on a shoestring budget, Ford told him, “Frank, the design isn’t bad, but it looks like it was built by drunken Boy Scouts!”
I could definitely see this book becoming a mainstay for those of us who love beautiful houses and the wonderful personalities behind them. If that’s your thing (and it should be!) don’t miss this event at the SMINK showroom, located at 1019 Dragon Street in the Dallas Design District. Wine and hors d’oeuvre will be served, and it will give you a chance to see the new spring lines inside this gorgeous shop.
