ARCHITIZER HONORS WILLIAM / KAVEN STUDIO WITH SPECIAL MENTION FOR BEST SMALL FIRM

The William / Kaven Architecture studio has been recognized by Architizer as one of the top design firms in the world. Our Special Mention for Best Small Firm in the 2023 Architizer A+ Awards is a huge honor, as the category received submissions from thousands of firms globally. Thanks to Architizer and the jury, and congrats to the other honorees.

About the Awards:
The Architizer A+Awards is the largest awards program focused on promoting and celebrating the year’s best architecture and spaces. Its mission is to nurture the appreciation of meaningful architecture in the world and champion those designers that are integral to bringing great buildings to life.

See announcement and full list of winners HERE.

ARCHITECTURE OF NORMAL REVIEWED BY ARLIS

The Art Libraries Society of North America reviewed Architecture of Normal:

“The bland sameness that characterizes much of the American built environment is fertile ground for architectural criticism. Daniel Kaven, architect and artist, offers a new entry in this genre describing the impact on the United States of successive eras of transportation technologies in Architecture of Normal: the Colonization of the American Landscape.”

Read review HERE.

IS AFFORDABLE HOUSING REALLY AFFORDABLE? KGW INTERVIEWS DANIEL KAVEN

I recently sat down with Blair Best from KGW-TV to talk about the current barriers to affordable housing in Portland.

View segment and read story HERE.

DANIEL KAVEN SELECTED AS 2023 ARCHITIZER A+ JUROR

I’m honored to announce that I’ve been invited to serve on the 11th Annual Architizer A+Awards jury this year.

The A+Awards is the world's largest architecture and building-product awards program focused on promoting and celebrating the year’s best architecture and spaces. With a prestigious jury comprised of design professionals from every continent, the 2023 A+Awards will champion the firms and individuals that have been integral to bringing great buildings to life.

The final deadline is 2/24. Submit HERE.

'AMERICAN TAPESTRY' BILLBOARD IS UP

American Tapestry, a piece from my Architecture of Normal series, is part of a group show curated by Mona Kuhn for The Billboard Creative's ninth annual exhibition during 2023 Frieze Los Angeles. Check it out on the corner of Melrose Ave. and N Gramercy Pl.

Read more about the show + access the interactive map HERE.

AON IN PRINT MAGAZINE'S 'THE DAILY HELLER'

Honored to see Architecture of Normal featured in PRINT Magazine’s The Daily Heller, a design digest dubbed a “must-follow feed in the world of design” by Wired Magazine.

"Kaven has assembled an enticing visual narrative that includes extensive historical photography, architecture commentary, personal anecdote and original art. It serves as a critical travelogue of what the world accepts as the American landscape, but leaves the door open for further debate over whether it is a dream-scape or nightmare."

— Steven Heller, The Daily Heller / PRINT Magazine

READ

DANIEL KAVEN FEATURED IN THE BILLBOARD CREATIVE EXHIBITION IN LA

A piece from my Architecture of Normal series has been selected for The Billboard Creative’s ninth annual billboard exhibition in Los Angeles, opening February 3. Look for my billboard at the intersection of Melrose Ave. and N Gramercy Pl.

This year's exhibition, curated by Mona Kuhn, is titled We The People and will feature the work of 30 artists on billboards across Los Angeles. Previously featured artists include Ed Ruscha, Paul McCarthy, Ramiro Gomez, Phung Huynh, Narsiso Martinez, Marilyn Minter, Alex Prager, and Calida Rawles.

See below for more information and full list of 2023 artists.

MORE INFO + FULL ARTIST LIST AND INTERACTIVE MAP

ARCHITECTURE OF NORMAL WINS 2022 GRAY AWARD

Architecture of Normal (Birkhäuser, 2022) has been honored with a 2022 GRAY Award in the Product Design category. I had a great time accepting the award and celebrating fellow winners at the other night’s epic GRAY Party at Seattle’s Fairmont Olympic Hotel.

The GRAY Award is a prestigious design accolade, awarded to designers in the categories of Architecture, Interiors, Landscape, and Product Design and determined by an international judging panel of design icons. This year's panel included Ini Archibong, Paul Cocksedge, Paolo Ferrari, Holly Hunt, Patrick Lam, and Mia Lehrer.

FULL WINNERS LIST
ORDER THE BOOK

DANIEL KAVEN BOOK LAUNCH AT SOHO WAREHOUSE IN DTLA

9/21 Architecture of Normal Book Launch

Join us for the launch of Daniel Kaven's book, Architecture of Normal: The Colonization of the American Landscape (Birkhäuser, 2022), and a discussion of the history and future of design in America. Kaven's expansive literary and visual assemblage, called an "enthralling cautionary tale about the future" by Metropolis Magazine, explores how evolving transportation technologies have shaped America's built environment and examines the connection between urbanization and colonization in the American West.

Wednesday, September 21, 2022
7 to 9pm

SOHO Warehouse
1000 S Santa Fe Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90021

DANIEL KAVEN ON UNFROZEN PODCAST

Episode 35: Architecture of Normal - William / Kaven Architecture’s Daniel Kaven with Host Daniel Safarik

Daniel Kaven sat down with Unfrozen Podcast host Daniel Safarik (Director, Research and Thought Leadership at Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat) to talk about his new book, Architecture of Normal (Birkhäuser, 2022), along with suburbanization, flying cars, and why “Generation Z needs to get out in the streets and be really pissed off about work-from-home.”

LISTEN

ARCHITECTURE OF NORMAL IN SPACING MAGAZINE

"Book Review: Architecture of Normal – The Colonization of the American Landscape" by Sean Ruthen

Architecture of Normal was reviewed in Toronto-based Spacing Magazine.

“Part Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, and part Learning from Las Vegas, this honest portrayal of the connection between urbanization and colonization from Portland-based artist Daniel Kaven is a cornucopia of visual imagery.”

—Sean Ruthen, Spacing Magazine

READ ARTICLE

ARCHITECTURE OF NORMAL IN METROPOLIS MAGAZINE

"On the Road or In the Air, Daniel Kaven Sees the Journey as Destination" by Brian Libby

Daniel Kaven sits down with Metropolis to discuss Architecture of Normal and the future of cities in America.

“Architecture of Normal: The Colonization of the American Landscape reads like an enthralling textbook—a breezy history teeming with photography, original artwork, and timelines—even as its author offers a more cautionary take on what we have wrought.”

—Brian Libby, Metropolis

READ ARTICLE

ARCHITECTURE OF NORMAL IN THE DEMOCRACY CHAIN

Richard Speer reviews Daniel Kaven’s Architecture of Normal for The Democracy Chain.

“For a tome this sobering and cautionary, Architecture of Normal is a surprisingly zippy read. The graphic design, by Kaven himself, is dynamic and snazzy, from the fuchsia foiled cover and pink-edged pages to the counterposing of sepia-toned archival images with the vivid neons of Kaven’s own photographs and digital collages. He interrupts the historical narrative with welcome personal recollections of growing up in New Mexico and his ‘vision quests’ across the West from 2017 to 2019 as he was writing the book.”

—Richard Speer

READ REVIEW

DANIEL KAVEN VISITS GRAY'S DESIGN LOUNGE

W/K partner Daniel Kaven talks Architecture of Normal with host Brandon Gaston for Season 3, Episode 2 of GRAY Magazine’s “In the Design Lounge” interview series.

WATCH EPISODE

ARCHITECTURE OF NORMAL IN GRAY MAGAZINE

“In his new book, Architecture of Normal (through Birkhäuser), Portland-based architect Daniel Kaven explores the contrast between the grandeur of the American landscape and the underwhelming architecture of its suburban strip malls, fast-food chains, motels, and tract housing.”

— Rachel Gallaher, GRAY Magazine

READ THE ARTICLE
ORDER THE BOOK

ARCHITECTURE OF NORMAL NOW AVAILABLE

Daniel Kaven’s debut book is now available to North American and European markets. With pink foil stamping, painted page edges, 200+ full-color images, beautiful endpapers, plus a fascinating selection of historical photos and original art, the design and print quality of Architecture of Normal make for an incredible reading experience.

Architecture of Normal (Birkhäuser, 2022) explores the dissonance between the overwhelming American landscape and the underwhelming architecture of its strip malls, fast food chains, motels and tract housing. Part travelogue, art book and architectural survey, the book charts the patterns created by reigning modes of transportation and examines how we came to accept the bland, branded boxes lining America’s streets and freeways. Beginning with a portrait of ambulatory Native American societies and the introduction of horses by the Spanish, Kaven discusses the built environment as it has been shaped by trains, cars, planes and rockets, and looks toward a future architecture defined by autonomous cars and air taxis. This highly visual narrative includes extensive historical photography and Kaven’s own art.

Follow #architectureofnormal on Instagram for a peek inside the book.

ROYAL IN THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

“New York or Oregon? Thanks to Bicoastal Living, This Couple Didn’t Have to Choose” by Nancy Keates

Read the article HERE.

SKYVIEW IN THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

“The precision of the glassy, tall, white building is softened by ground-floor landscaping with trees and plants and an outdoor, fourth-floor deck garden visible from the street.”

— NANCY KEATES, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Dear Friends,

In tribute to our dear friend and client David Carter, who unexpectedly passed away just days ago, I want to share with you an article published yesterday in The Wall Street Journal on the beautiful home we designed for him and his partner, Jamie Baldwin. David was both a talented artist and a tremendous patron of our work. He would have loved to see their home—filled with his own art—and the life he shared with Jamie so eloquently memorialized in print.

— Daniel Kaven

READ FULL ARTICLE

READ MORE ABOUT SKYVIEW

SKYVIEW DESIGN TEAM:
Daniel Kaven, Partner-in-Charge
Trevor William Lewis, Partner-in-Charge
Mike Perso, Director of Architecture
Katy Krider, Director of Interiors
Joel Dickson, Project Designer
Max Taschek, Project Designer
Lauren Bruni, Project Designer

iBuildPdx, General Contractor
KPFF Consulting Engineers, Civil Engineer
SCE Engineers, Structural Engineer

Photography by Jeremy Bittermann / JBSA

DWELL FEATURES ROYAL

“Another dramatic architectural move is the chunk of negative space that the firm carved out between the upper and lower levels. The negative space serves as a moment between the dining area and the extending living room and is defined by an elegant horizontal structural beam. It also serves to seamlessly integrate the forest into the home and to further enhance the indoor/outdoor living experience.”

— Dwell

Read the full article HERE.

HYPEBEAST FEATURES ROYAL

“Sitting in the lush landscape of Portland‘s Forest Park, the front facade of the home tells a story of concrete and modern living, but on closer inspection, you quickly find the majority of the home submerged and cantilevered into the deeps green and browns of the sublime forest.”

— HYPEBEAST

Read the full article HERE.