John deKoven Hill (1920–1996) was an American

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

, honorary

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of the

Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Taliesin West was architect Frank Lloyd Wright's winter home and studio in the desert from 1937 until his death in 1959 at the age of 91. Today it is the headquarters of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. Open to the public for tours, Taliesin ...

and editorial director of ''

House Beautiful ''House Beautiful'' is an interior decorating magazine that focuses on decorating and the domestic arts. First published in 1896, it is currently published by the Hearst Corporation, who began publishing it in 1934. It is the oldest still-publish ...

'' magazine.

Biography

Hill decided to become an architect early on in his life, but not until he visited

Taliesin Taliesin ( , ; 6th century AD) was an early Brittonic poet of Sub-Roman Britain whose work has possibly survived in a Middle Welsh manuscript, the '' Book of Taliesin''. Taliesin was a renowned bard who is believed to have sung at the courts ...

did he become passionate about the design style of

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...

. Hill skipped his high school graduation ceremony to enroll in the Taliesin Fellowship program on June 17, 1938. Because Hill was so young even among the apprentices, Wright often introduced him not by his name but by "This is Johnny. His father left him on my doorstep in a basket." With only a high school education, Hill started very green as an apprentice but went on to become Wright's chief architect and right-hand man. Hill had a keen sense of balance and an eye for design, and took responsibility for the designs and furnishings of all the interiors of the buildings Wright designed. Hill and Wright designed a number of buildings together where Hill acted as chief architect. From 1953 to 1963 Hill served as the architecture editor for ''House Beautiful'' magazine and in 1964 became its editorial director. In this function, Hill helped promote the cause of

Modern architecture Modern architecture, or modernist architecture, was an architectural movement or architectural style based upon new and innovative technologies of construction, particularly the use of glass, steel, and reinforced concrete; the idea that form ...

and particularly Wright's " Organic" approach. He went on to become treasurer of the Taliesin Fellowship and honorary chairman of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. He was the chief designer for the J. Ralph & Patricia B. Corbett House (1959–1960) in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. In the 1970s, Hill worked alongside Cornelia Brierly to design the interiors and furniture for the

Pearl Palace ) , native_name_lang = Persian , former_names = Kakh-e ُMorvarid ( fa, كاخ مروارید) , alternate_names = Kakh-e Shams, Shams Palace, Morvarid Palace , image = Pearl Palace -Kakh e Morvarid- Karaj Iran.jpg , image_alt = , caption = ...

Mehrshahr Mehrshahr () is a wealthy and luxury area located south-west of Karaj city in Alborz province, Iran. History In 1960s the area was mostly made up of large apple orchards which was designed and built by Ali Saroukhani and owned by the members of ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. Hill died June 25, 1996, in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

.Chicago Sun-Time (1996-07-01)
John deKoven Hill, 76, Wright Foundation exec
''The High Beam'', retrieved March 5, 2010 He had worked with the Wright Fellowship until his death.

References

External links

Looking for the Last Dive

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, John Dekoven 1920 births 1996 deaths Modernist architects 20th-century American architects