Further Gift of Paul Rudolph "Treasures"

Some Rudolph-ian items, recently on display at the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation. At the top-center is a print of a drawing by Paul Rudolph, showing his intentions for the structure and detail of a portion of the Deane Residence (built in Great Neck, NY). That drawing, as well as the Rudolph’s drawings for the Yale Art & Architecture Building (that are also shown here) were generously donated by R.D. Chin. Other items in this view (on the far right) are two faxes which Rudolph sent from Jakarta to the staff of his New York office (while he was traveling overseas to work with clients). In those faxes, he’d address various staff members, giving each instructions about the various projects they were working on.—and occasionally theses faxes would include small architectural diagrams. [It is worth noting that these were sent when faxing was the high-tech communications technology of its time: before e-mail, faxing was the fastest and most efficient way that businesses could use to send written and graphic information.]

A few months ago, RD Chin—an architect who had worked closely with Paul Rudolph—gave us a group of significant items to add to the archives of the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation. We showed that in a recent post—but now we want to extend our acknowledgement of Mr. Chin for a further act of generosity. He surprised us with the gift of additional Rudolph materials for our archives: drawings (renderings and construction documents), photographs, brochures, exhibit catalogs, and books.

Another view of our display of Rudolph materials—including some of the recent gifts from R.D. Chin. Among the examples is a high-resolution print of a rendering of the interior of Paul Rudolph’s Burroughs Wellcome headquarters (built in Durham, North Carolina), at the upper-left. Other recent gifts include a Rudolph rendering of the Dharmala Headquarters (built in Jakarta) at the top-center; and the plan of the Edersheim Pool House (bottom center). Other Rudolph documents, from the archives of the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation, are shown here: a vintage brochure for the Temple Street Parking Garage (featuring a Rudolph rendering) built in New Haven (shown at far-left); and an offprint of an extensive article on the Bond Center (built in Hong Kong) from a magazine for the Italian concrete industry (shown at bottom-left).

We are very grateful to RD Chin for adding these Rudolph “treasures”—the ones shown here, and many more—to the archives of the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation. The donation of materials like these help us move forward with several of our missions, including supporting the study of Paul Rudolph’s work and the preservation of his legacy. Each of the items is being cataloged and added into our database of Rudolph works.

NOTE: If any readers—including former employees or clients of Rudolph—would like to donate papers, drawings, documents, or memorabilia to the archive, we would like to talk to you! Not only may you qualify for a tax deduction for the value of the material, but we’d also like to show it off here on our blog. To learn more, contact us at: office@paulrudolphheritagefoundation.org

RD Chin, shown while working in Paul Rudolph’s office in New York, next to a model of the Concourse (built in Singapore). Just peeking out at the bottom of the photo, below the tabletop, is the top of one of the fork-shapedmetal drawing-board supports which Rudolph had designed and custom fabricated for his offices—they can be seen in photos of his New Haven studio, and they seem to have move with him to his subsequent office locations (as well as showing up in Rudolph’s perspective rendering of his New York office).

We also want to share a bit about R.D. Chin—architect and feng shui consultant:

R.D. Chin, Feng Shui Architect has a civil engineering degree (BSCE) from Tufts University and a masters degree in architecture (M.Arch) from the University of Pennsylvania.

• Mr. Chin had the privilege and honor to work with the late master architect, Paul Rudolph; he worked three periods in Rudolph’s office: 1981-1983, 1985-1989, and 1990-1996 — beginning as an apprentice to becoming his office manager.

• His feng shui training was under the tutelage of the late Grandmaster Lin Yun, Howard Choy, Master Raymond Lo, and other feng shui teachers. He also does residential and commercial consultations and performs blessing ceremonies. In addition, RD hosts a creative salon series where he shares his experiences of qigong and other meditative practices.

• He has worked on proposals for an urban planning and housing development in the Netherlands, a Feng Shui Proposal for the World Trade Center Memorial Competition, and his projects include the corporate headquarters for Felippo Berio Olive Oil, NJ; Standard Chartered Bank; and an affordable housing project for One Flushing, NY.

• He is author of Feng Shui Revealed, published by Clarkson Potter of Random House.

• Contact information—

  www.RDChin.com

  rdchin53@gmail.com

  (917)669-8099

MAGNIFICENT GIFT OF RUDOLPH DRAWINGS

R. D. Chin donates “a treasure" of Paul Rudolph original drawings, prints, and graphics to the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation

Some of the Paul Rudolph drawings and documents donated by R.D. Chin to the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation. At the top-left is a rendering of the base of the Wisma Dharmala Tower in Jakarta; at the top-center are two sketches for the Yale Art & Architecture Building; at the top-right is a poster for an exhibit of Rudolph drawings that took place at the Max Protetch Gallery; at the bottom right and center are drawings for the Edersheim guest facilities, and at the bottom-left is a perspective rendering of an interior in the LIcht Residence. Photo: Kelvin Dickinson, for the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation

R. D. Chin—architect, interior designer, former key staff member of Paul Rudolph’s architectural office, and Feng Shui master (and author of a significant book on the subject)—gave a thrilling presentation at the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation’s first SpaceMaker Salon Series event.

R.D. Chin, standing at center—architect and Feng Shui master—and a former key member of Paul Rudolph’s staff. In this shot, taken during his presentation at July’s S;pacemaker Salon, he is explaining the various Rudolph drawings and documents which he has generously donated to the archives of the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation. The event took place within the Modulightor Building, in the 5th & 6th floor duplex gallery space. Copies of R. D.’s book,, Feng Shui Revealed: an Aesthetic, Practical Approach to the Ancient Art of Space Alignment, can be seen on display at the lower-right corner Photo: Kelvin Dickinson, for the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation

During his talk, on Friday, July 19th, 2019, R. D. spoke of how he began to work at the Paul Rudolph office, and his many fascinating experiences there (working very closely with Rudolph). He revealed how he transitioned to his current path, becoming a highly-regarded Feng Shui consultant, and showed examples of his working method—on architectural projects ranging from residences to a bank.

RD Chin, at left, the featured speaker at July’s SpaceMaker Salon. Drawings from his professional portfolio are in the foreground, and one can see some of the diagrammatic analysis drawings which he uses in his Feng Shui consulting work. RD said that one of the things he leaned from Paul Rudolph was the use of color when working out a design problem and in evolving architectural solutions. Photo: Kelvin Dickinson, for the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation

During the presentation he rolled out drawings from the Rudolph office—both of projects he worked on, and other Rudolphian graphics—explaining the use and and meaning of each. He then surprised the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation by saying that he was donating them to our archives.

These drawings and documents are a significant addition to the body of sketches, renderings, construction drawings, and graphics that Rudolph and his staff generated across his half-century career—and the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation will be cataloging them and making them available for scholarly study. For now, we thought you’d like to see some of the amazing treasure which R.D. Chin has donated to us, and a selection is below.

One of the donations was a high-quality print of Rudolph’s detailed perspective rendering for the base and lower floors of the Wisma Dharmala Tower in Jakarta. Photo of drawing by Kelvin Dickinson, for the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation

A floor plan for changing rooms, rest room, and the lounging area in a proposed outbuilding for the Edersheim Residence in Larchmont, NY. The diazo print is dated 1988. Photo of drawing by Kelvin Dickinson, for the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation

Rudolph’s perspective rendering of the “living room and glass loggia” of the Licht Residence in Hewlett Harbor, NY. A project of the mid-1980’s, this drawing was incorporated into the cover sheet of the construction drawings—of which a full set of diazo prints was donated by Mr. Chin. Photo of drawing by Kelvin Dickinson, for the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation

The donation included a print of a rendering of the Concourse in Singapore, a project of the late 1970’s/early 80’s. The print is the highest-resolution version we’d ever seen of that perspective drawing, and this is a detail from it. Photo of drawing by Kelvin Dickinson, for the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation

A preliminary sketch, pencil on tracing paper, for an exterior elevation of Paul Rudolph’s most famous work: the Yale Art & Architecture Building (now known as Rudolph Hall). Photo of drawing by Kelvin Dickinson, for the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation

On the same sheet as the above elevation drawing is this small diagram, showing the “pinwheel” parti that is the basis of the Yale building’s floor plans. Photo of drawing by Kelvin Dickinson, for the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation

Two of Paul Rudolph’s “tornado people” (excerpted from the elevation sketch, above)—the type of scale figures which Rudolph used for much of his career, and a “signature” of his drawings. Photo of drawing by Kelvin Dickinson, for the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation

We give our profound thanks to R.D. Chin for this magnificent donation—a gift, not just to the foundation, but to the larger world of all those who admire Paul Rudolph, and seek to lean from his legacy.