Donald Trump, Donghia and interior design

SDR · Post by **SDR** » Tue Jan 17, 2017 7:26 pm

I was about to say -- apropos of "The Trump Dump is Liberace on steroids, but Donghia's original concept was, in the 1980s, a trip back to the 60s. It was also very non-residential, looking more like a hotel bar for the landed gentry than a home" -- that Mr Donghia may have been a forerunner of the trend now long established, wherein those with money, who travel, bring home an idea of living deluxe that is styled after the places they have visited: not only Agra or St Peters, but the Hilton or Ritz where they stayed during their travels . . .

SDR

Unbrook · Post by **Unbrook** » Tue Jan 17, 2017 9:21 pm

Sour Grapes? I don't think so. This was a man who doubted the citizenship of President Obama, until just last year. P. E. Trump deserves just the same.

SDR · Post by **SDR** » Tue Jan 17, 2017 10:12 pm

Just what we needed, at this delicate and inflamed moment in world history: a laughing-stock loose cannon leading the "free world" (as they used to call it) ?

Nick Hoppe, a sometime contributor to the San Francisco Chronicle like his father before him, wrote today that it took him one day to recover from the shock and dismay of the election result; he has decided that it will be more useful to give the new regime a chance to prove itself. Decide for yourselves if he has a point:

http://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article ... ate-result

I'll be watching "The Divided States of America" on Frontline, on TV, in an hour from now. Maybe I'll learn something of use . . .

SDR

pharding · Post by **pharding** » Tue Jan 17, 2017 10:26 pm

Be careful. Thin skinned Trumpenfuhrer might send a Tweet in the middle to weigh in on our discussion. Or Trumpenfuhrer's close friend Putin might have his agents disrupt this thread just like they threw the last election.

jay · Post by **jay** » Tue Jan 17, 2017 10:38 pm

Roderick Grant wrote:No, none of this has to do with taste. It's all about sour grapes.

Couldn't disagree more. Take out any sense of politics, and Donald Trump is still a celebrity who dominated the news for the past 2 years. And the thing is, for such a high profile person, he has peculiar taste in architecture and interior design. I'd be shocked if this discussion wasn't happening everywhere in architectural and design circles.

As for the actual politics, I agree with SDR's link. Regardless of ideology, I think its important for a society's fiercest critics to be given power with some regularity. It's easy to yell from the sidelines, much harder to deliver the fantasies they preach. (This goes for all politicians).

Regardless, when was the last time we had a president who had a significant sense of design aesthetic, good or bad?

pharding · Post by **pharding** » Tue Jan 17, 2017 11:03 pm

We will get an insights into Obama's view of architecture when his presidential library is rolled out. The firm selected, Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects, is superb and would have been my choice. The other finalists were extremely capable.

SDR · Post by **SDR** » Tue Jan 17, 2017 11:48 pm

I'm still waiting to see any images at all of a residence reportedly designed for John and Jacqueline Kennedy by a front-running contemporary architect. Was it I M Pei ?

SDR

peterm · Post by **peterm** » Wed Jan 18, 2017 1:14 am

JFK moved constantly:

http://www.curbed.com/maps/on-his-birth ... many-homes

Wexford (definitely not IM Pei!), the surprisingly modest house built for them in Atoka, Virginia, looks like a generic, pedestrian ranch house one could find anywhere in the U.S. in the early 1960s, especially California. The site is lovely, maybe not unlike Taliesin. Ronald and Nancy Reagan later lived there. The decor is a mixture of antiques and typical middle class fittings from the era. The house cost $100,000.

https://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer ... PP-23.aspx

Here is some more footage showing the grounds. (I know nothing about riding, but it appears that Jackie knew what she was doing on a horse):

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7VjPdZkh5XE

According to this, Jackie designed the house (not difficult to imagine), working with a local architect named Keith Williams. JFK didn't like the place, and was assassinated shortly after the completion:

https://www.google.com/amp/www.architec ... ent=safari

DRN · Post by **DRN** » Wed Jan 18, 2017 8:49 am

Didn't Walter Mondale buy a John H Howe designed house?

Ed Stone renovated the Eisenhower's house in Gettysburg.

I read somewhere both Clinton's separately rented or bunked in Fay Jones houses. Chat's Hypnoraygun once noted to me Bill rented Jones' 1957 Adrian Fletcher house just outside of Fayetteville for a short time as a bachelor.

peterm · Post by **peterm** » Wed Jan 18, 2017 9:28 am

Mondale' Howe house:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/esaed/384 ... hotostream

Eisenhower Gettysburg Farm was remodeled by Stone with Milton Osborne as the architect of record:

https://www.libraries.psu.edu/findingaids/1092.htm

https://www.nps.gov/Eise/index.htm

Bill Clinton lived in the Fletcher house by Fay Jones:

https://www.nps.gov/nr/feature/places/13000317.htm

Roderick Grant · Post by **Roderick Grant** » Wed Jan 18, 2017 10:46 am

You see? Politics and architecture have nothing to do with one another. You prove my point.

We've all heard about "Fake News"; I propose we coin the term "Pre-News." Clintonistas are kvetching about the horrors of a Trump Administration that hasn't even begun yet. Wait a 100 days until you have something of substance to comment on. In a roundabout way, Nick Hoppe has said the same, but with that stink of condescension peculiar to Frisco, the land of Pelosi. ("You'll find out what's in the bill [ACA] after you pass it.")

We all know Trump is vulgar, but from what I gather, off-camera Hillary Clinton is a screeching harridan. Six of one.... All politicians who succeed have serious problems as humans. Those who don't, like Mondale (who never won an election to a post he had not originally been appointed to), quietly slip into irrelevance. Trump simply exposes his failings. He doesn't care. Look out! If you care about French politics, Marine le Pen has a good shot at replacing Francois Hollande! Along with Brexit, the world seems to be moving substantially to the right. That is not necessarily either a good or bad thing, as Nick Hoppe might say, but for the Sons of Bernie Sanders, it does not bode well.

When you get right down to it, the difference between right and left is the difference between capitalism and socialism. All the side effects of those two systems notwithstanding, one works and the other doesn't.

peterm · Post by **peterm** » Wed Jan 18, 2017 11:49 am

The subject I presented was more about interior design, decoration and the concept of taste, than architecture. Donald Trump has his name on a fine tower here in Chicago. The architecture is strong, but he didn't design it. Whether or not you consider the subject to be "of substance" or not, I found the family photo and Melania/Barron baby stroller photo to be extremely interesting, in the same way that we have dissected McMansions, 50,000 square foot palaces in Bel Air, or the demolition of an important structure.

A glimpse into the private world of the most powerful man in the world is perhaps worthy of discussion whether you approve or not. And it *does* reveal something of his character and priorities whether we are willing to admit it or not.

BTW- please don't label me (not sure about others here...?) as a Clintonista (whatever the hell that is...). Nothing could be further from the truth.

Roderick Grant · Post by **Roderick Grant** » Wed Jan 18, 2017 12:50 pm

Peter, I didn't say nor imply that Trump has designed any building with his name on it; he's not an architect, you know. But his taste -- in architecture or interior dÃ©cor -- cannot and should not be a metric to evaluate his ability to be President. Whatever you think of Golden Melania, the political implication is unavoidable. By the way, I agree with you on that count.

Glimpsing the private world of anyone who is powerful is as likely to give a false as well as an accurate impression of his/her ability to function as President, since all persons who have aspired to that lofty office have been, in one way or another, powerful. Even the relatively poor Truman and Obama had power before they were elected. Would a glimpse into Bess Truman's rabid anti-Semitism have disqualified Harry for the job? Would Wilson's good taste in accommodations have trumped his racial bigotry?

I haven't labeled you anything. It's the supporters of Clinton who seem unable or unwilling to accept that she lost the election who are demeaning the smooth transfer of power that those same persons called for before the election who are a vexation. If you have gone at least that far, good for you.

peterm · Post by **peterm** » Wed Jan 18, 2017 1:07 pm

I could give dozens of reasons why he is unfit to be president, but it would be inappropriate here. That's why I limited my post to the superficial trappings, as opposed to his character, policy positions, leadership abilities, business skills, potential criminal activity or experience.

My point is simple: A rejection of Donald Trump should not be seen as the equivalent of an endorsement for Hillary Clinton, at least from my point of view and friends of mine who are disgusted by this man.

And those who were/are strong supporters of Clinton might have every right to be upset since she won the popular vote by a very large margin.

Mod mom · Post by **Mod mom** » Wed Jan 18, 2017 3:46 pm

Peter, whether we agree with it or not, the candidates strategized their campaigns knowing that the winner of the electoral college, not the popular vote, would win the presidency. We had 2 candidates with record unfavorability ratings and voters who where very angry at the corruption within the establishment.

To give you an idea how fed up this years electorate was, despite there being 53 million more registered voters in 2016 in comparison to 2008, Barack Obama received 3.7 million more votes in 2008 than did Hillary Clinton in 2016. Enthusiasm wins elections. You might have seen the slogan "Giant Meteor 2016...just end it already". (I'm a voting integrity activist that holds the crazy notion that our elections should be fair, transparent and verifiable)

Although I enjoy the fact that there is a refrain from politics on this site, we are at an precedented (or unpresidented, as was recently stated by one of the 2) stage in the history of this country that calls for "all hands on deck". Democracy is not a spectator sport. I encourage all chatters to get involved with an organization that they believe will improve and protect principles that are important to them. As lovers of organic architecture, I would think that protecting our environment from further degradation for future generations to enjoy, might be something we all can agree on.

My 2 cents..I refrain from future political statements but wanted to make that suggestion before I moved on. Peace.