Welcome to the Paul Rudolph Foundation

Paul M. Rudolph (1918-1997) was born a minister’s son in Elkton, Kentucky. Inspired by architecture at an early age, Rudolph studied architecture as an undergraduate at Alabama Polytechnic (now Auburn University), and after a brief period in the Navy during WWII, he successfully completed graduate studies at Harvard under Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius. Rudolph was a pioneering architect in Sarasota, Florida, a major figure of the ‘Sarasota School of Architecture,' which gained international attention for innovative solutions to the modern American home. He was Dean of the Yale School of Architecture from 1958-1965, during which his best known work, the Yale Art & Architecture Building, was completed and became both a Modernist icon and a topic of controversy. After his tenure at Yale, Rudolph continued during the next 30 years to create some of Modernism's most unique and powerful architecture.  Despite the wane Rudolph’s popularity during the dominance of Post-Modernism in the late 70’s and 80’s, his work and legacy has had a profound impact on the architecture of our era. Rudolph, who is today considered one of America’s great Late Modernist architects, was during his lifetime always an inspirational mentor to those whom he taught. His former students include some of contemporary architecture’s most internationally respected architects, such as Lord Norman Foster, Lord Richard Rogers, and Robert A.M. Stern, among many others distinguished in the field.

The Paul Rudolph Foundation was established in 2002 to further the knowledge, preservation, and understanding of the work of Paul Rudolph in the context of 20th Century architecture and design.  Through preservation and advocacy activities, educational initiatives, maintaining and developing an archive of written and graphic materials, as well as public programs, the Foundation seeks to communicate the legacy of this unique American Master in a larger architectural and cultural context to interested students, journalists, scholars, and the general public.

The Foundation operates under IRS code section 501(c)(3) as a non-profit membership organization.  You contributions to the Foundation are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.  We hope you will join the Foundation and other distinguished individuals who respect and seek to preserve the body of work of the late Paul Rudolph (1918-1997).

Help save Paul Rudolph's iconic John W. Chorley from demolition.
For more information go to John W. Chorley Elementary

To visit the Paul Rudolph photo group on flickr - go to the Art & Architecture of Paul Rudolph

To visit the Paul Rudolph Foundation's blog - go to The Paul Rudolph Foundation on blogger