John K. Rauch, who died on August 16 at 91, was one of the unsung heroes of postwar American architecture. As the managing partner of Venturi & Rauch (later Venturi, Rauch & Scott Brown) from its founding in 1964 until the late 1980s, Rauch played an integral but often-unacknowledged role in the design and realization of such landmark buildings as Guild House (1964) and the Institute for Scientific Information Headquarters in Philadelphia (1979), and the Trubek and Wislocki Houses (1971) on Nantucket. Working closely with the late Robert Venturi and later with Denise Scott Brown, Rauch helped effect a watershed change away from the heroic acrobatics of late modernism toward a rich architecture laden with historical references—postmodernism, as it came to be called.
The staff of Venturi, Rauch & Scott Brown in the 1980s. At the front are Robert Venturi (left), Denise Scott Brown (center), and John Rauch (right). Photo courtesy family of John Rauch
You have 0 complimentary articles remaining.
Unlimited access + premium benefits for as low as $1.99/month.