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It’s true. The Bureau of Friends has a Facebook page.

If Facebook is how you roll, pop in, say hello and learn what’s going on with the Bureau of Friends. . .and their friends.  Just click right here and sign on.

An Embarrassment of Riches

This week was an embarrassment of design riches.

On Monday, I finally walked through the front door of Philip Johnson’s 1949 Glass House. It was the last day that the 47-acre property and the house would be open to visitors, until Spring 2010.  Wednesday night, I was an honored guest of Leo Marmol and Ron Radziner at the Interior Design Magazine Hall of Fame, in New York City. Wait, there’s more! I sat an arm’s length away from mid-century furniture design hero, Vladimir Kagan and, my fine date for the event was the delightful Hilary Lewis, architecure scholar and long-time colleague of Philip Johnson. It was a starry night in a constellation of  wonderful.

If you’re new to Leo and Ron, here’s a primer: The Marmol Radziner boys have some serious cred’ in modernist architecture. They’re well known for their meticulous renovations of Neutra’s Kaufman House, a ranch house by Cliff May built in 1956, and a 1962 Lautner house in L.A. . . and more, but it’s Marmol Radziner’s own designs that are especially moving and relevant, in my opinion.

I was a fan and became a bona fide friend, while learning about their sustainability-focused prefab designs. A few years ago, I enjoyed a Leo-led tour of the Marmol-Radziner prefab factory, which was a lesson in building efficiency, eco-saavy design and an apt elevation of craftsman-builder to artist and steward.

Congratulations to Marmol Radziner—friends of the Bureau and official inductees to the designers Hall of Fame.

ReadyMade Magazine Interview on the Bureau

ReadyMade magazine describes itself  as “. . .a do-it-yourself, lifestyle magazine for young people who are smart, upwardly mobile, urban-minded and environmentally conscious. ReadyMade entertains and informs through DIY projects for fast-evolving lifestyles.”

The Bureau of Friends is honored to be featured in the December 2009 issue as part of their “Movers and Makers” series. Special thanks to Caitlan Thornton for getting it just right.

Here’s a link to the 2-page spread “Friends of Change”, which uses the online service Coverleaf to provide a paperless, digital version of ReadyMade and other magazines.

Keep an eye on ReadyMade. We’re expecting great things from them.

1% for the Planet // 2 or 3 Things I Know // Cook+Fox Architects // Domestic Daddy // Eco Fabulous // fuseproject // Goodlifer // goods of conscience // Greensulate // Loomstate // Marmol Radziner // New Leaf Paper // Organic Farming Research Foundation // Partners & Spade // PUBLIC Bikes // Slipstream Strategy // Southern Exposure // The Edible Schoolyard // The Kitchen Sisters // Trend Union // Volume Inc. //
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