The Alchemy of Architecture: Memories and Insights from Ken Tate

by Ken Tate, Duke Tate

The Alchemy of Memories and Insights from Ken Tate by Ken and Duke Tate is celebrated architect Ken Tate’s creative memoir about his life. Beginning with his days growing up in Columbus, Mississippi where he was surrounded by beautiful Greek Revival houses, the book journeys through Ken’s upbringing as a creative adolescent to his early days at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta where he started his architectural collegiate career. There Ken struggled to keep up with the hard-edged modernism being taught in school and longed to design beautiful houses with soul. His quest led him on to Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama, where he found what he was looking for in two creative professors, Jim Jones and Lewis Lanter, who mentored him. That tutelage led him to write his architectural thesis Architecture in Search of a Soul. Following graduation from Auburn, Ken journeyed to work for eccentric talent Bruce Goff in Texas and afterwards for Sambo Mockbee in Jackson, Mississippi. He established his own firm, Ken Tate Architect, in 1984 in Jackson, Mississippi, which began a lifelong career of designing houses in an alchemical way where an inner essence was breathed into them. Full of rich detail and texture, the book follows Ken’s 35-year career from Jackson to New Orleans and on to Palm Beach where the firm has opened their second office. Covering his approach to design, how architecture relates to cinema and photography, advice, reflections and even epiphanies, the book is a must read for any fan of the profession. The book features many black and white photos taken over Ken’s life and career.

Genres: Nonfiction, Architecture

158 pages, Hardcover

Published January 17, 2020

About the author

Architect, author and abstract painter, Ken Tate received his Bachelor of Architecture from Auburn University in 1975. Since that time, he has designed more than 70 houses in 16 states: California, Florida, Colorado, Mississippi, North Carolina, Texas and Tennessee to name a few, and on the prestigious island of Nassau in the Bahamas. Tate's illustrious architectural work has been published in countless magazines such as: Architectural Digest, Luxe, Veranda, Milieu, Robb Report, Forbes, Southern Accents, and The Classicist. Combining cutting edge graphic design sensitivity and exquisite photography, Images Publishing published the first four monographs of Ken's work. The first book, The New Classicists: Ken Tate Architect Selected Houses, Volume 1, established him as one of the first architect's to have a monograph of their work, igniting a trend in the industry that has become the standard. As an abstract expressionist, he has been featured in countless galleries and magazines, and has been commissioned to paint over 60 mixed media portraits. His work is in private and corporate collections across America and Canada.

Ken has always enjoyed writing since penning his groundbreaking thesis Architecture In Search of a Soul at Auburn University. Recently, he has teamed up with his son, Duke Tate, who is the author of 12 books to write The Alchemy of Architecture: Memories and Insights from Ken Tate, which was selected by The Times Literary Supplement as a 2020 Book of the Year. It has also been featured in Modern Luxury's Palm Beach Magazine, Mississippi Magazine's Heritage & Culture section, The Clarion Ledger newspaper and the mass circulated Arab News under The What We Are Reading Today section. Selected as a Great on Kindle book, it is a #1 Amazon Bestseller in the Architectural category. Ken and his son Duke have a new work of fiction titled The Architect to be released in 2021.

Reviews

[Kimberly Hancock · Rating 1 out of 5]

I feel completely taken advantage of! This book has a beautiful title and cover, touting that it is a 2020 book of the year by the “Times Literary Supplement.” What this book actually is a self-published waste of my time and money! It is published by Pearl Press LLC which is the Tate’s own company. I have no doubt that the Tates are nice people and that Ken is a competent architect but those things don’t make you an author. The book lacks depth, beauty, interest, and organization. I was hugely disappointed. I could never find proof that it was any kind of book of the year either.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very much holds true to the Spirit of Architecture as I've experienced it. I am most fascinated by this book's depiction of the cognitive work of architecture and how Ken views the world.

Some fun and notable quotes and notes:
I. The Prepackaged American Nightmarescape: Architecture Edition
"However, modern architecture, Ken states, is bad for the soul when it has a wholesale quality to it. Modern architecture has developed such a quality because it has been taught in schools as a way to very easily design and be used for mass production without soul or feeling-- processed as a machine. Unfortunately, Le Corbusier made the statement that modern architecture should be a 'machine for living,' which was taken as a mantra by architecture schools like the one Ken attended. This Pavlovian psychology that one can approach people like 'rats in a cage' has resulted in shopping malls, fast food restaurants, and apartment buildings without soul where buildings serve people efficiently, but their beauty and spirit are absent. Unfortunately, it took forever for the emerging postmodernists such as Charles Moore, Robert Venturi, and Michael Graves to take architecture in a new, more hybridized direction. And so, now a very sick built environment is prevalent in the United States..." (p. 37).

Notes: Sick building syndrome, in other words? Sick building syndrome as a cultural/infrastructural problem? I'm curious about the choice of phrasing: "sick built environment" in the context of the present day (pub date 2019), where such a phrase is bound to bring up the (architecturally inclined) reader's association with SBS. Was that on purpose? What's the angle? If it was intentional, why was it not expanded? If it was an accident, why was the issue not addressed more thoroughly? Ken's image is one of a dreamer, and SBS as a lived physical reality is moderately contradictory to that image; did the authors shy away from that discussion because, at its core, this text seeks to cultivate an image rather than facilitate discussions of architectural philosophy?

II. Cinema, Architecture, and Thought
"Ken explains that movement through space--and how one perceives that movement--is a major cinematic device. And these same concerns affect the architect as well when they design and dream about spaces yet to be built. During his time in art school, Ken...watched...films [from Antonioni, Fellini, Woody Allen, Truffaut, Hitchcock, Sergio Leone, and more] with a keen eye towards framing movement, structure, set design, styling, etc. These visual experiences were an actual laboratory for architectural creativity -- although at the time, Ken didn't quite realize the influence it was having on him.
Experiential movement through a building is something Ken has studied and worked with in his designs for the last thirty-five years. It's something he thinks and dreams about while designing. How things are framed, the visual sequence as a person moves through the house, how the ceiling of each space and room relate to the others, what kind of response the architect wants from the occupant, what the focal points are as one traverses each sequence, the kinds of surfaces and their colors, the shadows and light that fill the space throughout the day, etc.--all are questions that film directors and cinematographers ask."

Notes: And here we see the cognitive experience of the architect most clearly. What caught my attention here was the list of things an architect/director considers followed by an "etc.". All these details and all this potential for discussion closed with a mere etc.? Why not delve into each of these things? Why not discuss them more in-depth? Ken's philosophy and approach to architecture is all very "intuitive," so addressing these probably isn't an actual checklist for him. For him it's about feeling the space. But how can those of us without that intuitive sense develop Ken's skills? How can we understand them if they are not articulated? How can we appreciate his understanding of the world if all we get is a cursory list and a closing something to the effect of "well, I'm sure you can figure it out." (p.112)
The way this is addressed as something of an aside makes me think that the authors do not intend to guard this knowledge so much as they find the articulations of particularities in design sort of...redundant. Assumed knowledge. Which, yay for them! What a cool skill to have! But I was hoping for more insights and philosophy in this book on "Memories and Insights from Ken Tate."
On a more positive note, though, I really do appreciate the (interdisciplinary!!) connection between architecture and cinema. That does open up some opportunity for readers to better understand Ken's perspective. I also strongly agree with the general sentiment that "If we study cinema, we might gain a better understanding of architecture." It's all about visual acuity! Love that! Love the recognition of that!

III. Time and Teachers
"Time is not the enemy, but a great teacher." (p. 126)

Notes: Pretty self-explanatory, this one. Just a great quote.

[Ulrika Eriksson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Duke Tate writes a loving portrait of his father, the very artistic and creative architect, Ken Tate, whom he considers to be an alchemist that can transform raw building materials to gold. Ken Tate's wish is to create houses with souls and he distances himself from modern wholesale architecture, detrimental to physical and mental health, he thinks.
Lots of interesting thoughts about architecture before and now and many references to beautiful houses in the USA. I'd love to come there and see them all.
Ken Tate has also written a book called Urban Villa. This has a cinematic zigzag layout with inspiration from his favorite contemporary author, Tahir Shah. To read more about houses with souls, read his book A Year in Casablanca, about a house with a soul with a big,big S.

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. It took me less than a day to read it. It's a fascinating account of an architect - Ken Tate - and his dreams and achievements. Tate's mission is to put human emotion in his buildings. The writing is clear and easy-to-read. I was very absorbed in this book and couldn't put it down for long. I normally don't have any interest in architecture, nor do I have any knowledge about it, but I learned some things and can now say I find architecture interesting. I enjoyed reading this and am glad I won it in the giveaway.

[Franchesca · Rating 4 out of 5]

The interesting and easy to read memoir of architect Ken Tate, written by himself and his son, Duke Tate. The use of raw materials in his buildings and insistence upon beauty and soul, beyond size and perfection in his work, is admirable and insightful.

Thank you Ken and Duke Tate, and Goodreads giveaways for the signed copy!

[Baris Freed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book