Alan Hess

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (August 2011)

Alan Hess (born 1952) is an American architect,^[1][2] author, lecturer and advocate for twentieth century architectural preservation.

"Alan Hess [is] a prominent California architecture critic who has written extensively on roadside strips," writes the New York Times (March 6, 1994). Through 2009, Alan has written and/or co-authored eighteen books, published numerous articles on the architecture of Googie, Las Vegas, Frank Lloyd Wright, Oscar Niemeyer, John Lautner, Ranch Houses, Palm Springs, Organic architecture, Mid-century Modern design, and suburbia. He has been the architecture critic for the San Jose Mercury News since 1986.

Biography

Born in California in 1952, Hess received his BA at Principia College, a Master's degree in architecture from the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture, and is a licensed architect. After working with architects William Coburn, and Callister Payne and Bischoff, Hess started his own firm specializing in residential work and historic preservation. His first book, Googie: Fifties Coffee Shop Architecture (Chronicle Books 1985) focused on a neglected and popular Modern form. Following books continued to explore overlooked chapters in twentieth century architecture and urbanism. He is responsible for qualifying several landmark buildings for the National Register of Historic Places, including the oldest operating McDonald's in Downey, Stuart Company Plant and Office Building and Bullock's Pasadena in Pasadena, and the Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Published works

• Googie: Fifties Coffee Shop Architecture (Chronicle Books, 1985)
• Viva Las Vegas: After-Aours Architecture (Chronicle Books, 1993)
• Hyperwest: American Residential Architecture on the Edge (Whitney Library of Design, 1996)
• The Architecture of John Lautner (Thames & Hudson, 1999)
• Rancho Deluxe (Chronicle Books, 2000)
• Palm Springs Weekend: The Architecture and Design of a Midcentury Oasus. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books. 2001. pp. 180. ISBN 0-8118-2804-4-2.  (coauthor: Andrew Danish)
• Googie Redux: Ultramodern Roadside Architecture (Chronicle Books, 2004)
• The Ranch House (H.N. Abrams, 2004)
• Organic Architecture: The Other Modernism (Gibbs Smith, 2006)
• Frank Lloyd Wright: The Houses (Rizzoli, 2006)
• Oscar Niemeyer Houses (Rizzoli, 2006)
• Forgotten Modern: California Houses 1940-1970 (Gibbs Smith, 2007)

References

External links

• Alan Hess