Calvin C. Straub

rdf:langString Calvin C. Straub

rdf:langString Calvin Chester Straub FAIA (March 16, 1920 – October 21, 1998) was an American architect who had significant impact on architecture as both a designer and an educator. His modesty, confidence, passion for life, and no-nonsense approach resonated with a generation that, like himself, came of age in the World War II era. His influence extended through four subsequent generations as a popular professor of architecture. Straub was a professor of architecture at University of Southern California (1946–1961) and Arizona State University (1961–1988). As a senior partner at Buff, Straub and Hensman, he joined forces with his former students and USC alumni to produce an important body of work. The lifestyle magazine Sunset often featured his accomplishments, which were considered influential in shaping a post-World War II contemporary Southern California style. His enthusiasm for architecture inspired generations of students, including Frank O. Gehry, Pierre Koenig, and many others — common among gifted and committed instructors, some reached pinnacles of success, wealth, or fame that eluded him. Straub lived and worked at the epicentre of the evolving Southern California architecture of his day. He knew Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959), Henry Mather Green (1870–1954), R.M. Schindler (1887–1953) personally and was briefly an employee of Richard Neutra (1892–1970). His architectural work was published extensively, usually with images by famed architectural photographer Julius Shulman. Straub is best known for his Southern California buildings, especially the approximately 30, mostly residential projects produced in his partnership with Conrad Buff III and Donald Hensman: Buff, Straub and Hensman (1956-1961), later named Buff, Smith and Hensman after Straub's departure. This work won numerous awards. Straub and his contemporaries had a common culture — a comradeship born through military training and shared wartime experiences — that inspired a progressive architectural movement. The community of like-minded architects who were also military veterans included Craig Ellwood (1922–1992), Alfred Newman Beadle (1927–1998), Gordon Drake (1917–1951), Pierre Koenig (1925–2009), Ralph Haver (1915–1987).