Richard Southwick's guest appearances

Richard Southwick

US Modernist Radio - Architecture You Love

Art Insiders New York Podcast hosted by Anders Holst

Kyle Bergman

Craig Dykers

Paul Goldberger

Richard Saul Wurman

Julius Shulman

Jane Fonda

Ralph Lauren

Frank Gehry

Michael Stern

Tom Wright

Suzanne Somers

AJ Lambert

Adrian Kinney

Marsh Davis

Allison Arieff

OwlTail

Richard Southwick, Partner at the international architecture firm Beyer Blinder Belle, tells the fascinating story behind the preservation, restoration and reinvention of Eero Saarinen’s architectural masterpiece, the TWA Flight Center at J F Kennedy International Airport, now called the TWA Hotel. Saarinen described the head house form as being like the “Leonardo da Vinci flying machine", according to his associate Kevin Roche.  Hailed as the “Grand Central of the Jet Age,” the TWA Flight Center welcomed hundreds of thousands of travelers to JFK Airport from 1962 through 2001. Since then tens of thousands of people have been touring the building. We talk about the beautiful design of the building, the genius of Eero Saarinen and Richard’s favorite role models as well as his top three projects over his successful career.

<a href="https://www.beyerblinderbelle.com/profile/people/richard_w_southwick" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Richard Southwick</a>, Partner at the international architecture firm <a href="https://www.beyerblinderbelle.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Beyer Blinder Belle</a>, tells the fascinating story behind the preservation, restoration and reinvention of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eero_Saarinen" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Eero Saarinen’</a>s architectural masterpiece, the TWA Flight Center at J F Kennedy International Airport, now called the <a href="https://www.twahotel.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">TWA Hotel</a>. Saarinen described the head house form as being like the “Leonardo da Vinci flying machine", according to his associate Kevin Roche.  Hailed as the “Grand Central of the Jet Age,” the TWA Flight Center welcomed hundreds of thousands of travelers to JFK Airport from 1962 through 2001. Since then tens of thousands of people have been touring the building. We talk about the beautiful design of the building, the genius of Eero Saarinen and Richard’s favorite role models as well as his top three projects over his successful career.

TWA FLIGHT CENTER/HOTEL - Interview with Richard Southwick

There’s a building at JFK airport in New York that people have been talking about for almost 60 years.  At one time, it was the world's most modern airport terminal, bringing the Jet Age fully into public consciousness.  This building had no peer; and its creator, Eero Saarinen, was one of the most visionary architects in the world. For years the airline TWA (later absorbed by American Airlines) used it as a glamorous gateway to the world, sending off passengers in an era people dressed up to fly and there was no such thing as airport security.  The volume of passengers increased so much that the building had to be abandoned.  After a few decades in mothballs, and dangerously close to demolition, Saarinen’s TWA terminal has been meticulously restored and expanded, with a world-class hotel adjacent and even better, a massive underground conference facility you’d never know was there. Host George Smart was in New York for a huge gala opening inside that underground conference center.  He talked with Richard Southwick, project partner in charge with restoration architects Beyer Blinder Belle.  But first, George sat down in Los Angeles at the iconic Beverly Hilton with Saarinen’s son, Eric Saarinen. Then George is back in New York with architects Anne Marie Lubrano and Lea Ciaverra, of the not-surprisingly named firm Lubrano Ciaverra, for the brilliant new TWA hotel, you know, he one with the massive underground conference facility. 

There’s a building at JFK airport in New York that people have been talking about for almost 60 years.  At one time, it was the world's most modern airport terminal, bringing the Jet Age fully into public consciousness.  This building had no peer; and its creator, Eero Saarinen, was one of the most visionary architects in the world. For years the airline TWA (later absorbed by American Airlines) used it as a glamorous gateway to the world, sending off passengers in an era people dressed up to fly and there was no such thing as airport security.  The volume of passengers increased so much that the building had to be abandoned.  After a few decades in mothballs, and dangerously close to demolition, Saarinen’s TWA terminal has been meticulously restored and expanded, with a world-class hotel adjacent and even better, a massive underground conference facility you’d never know was there. Host George Smart was in New York for a huge gala opening inside that underground conference center.  He talked with Richard Southwick, project partner in charge with restoration architects Beyer Blinder Belle.  But first, George sat down in Los Angeles at the iconic Beverly Hilton with Saarinen’s son, Eric Saarinen. Then George is back in New York with architects Anne Marie Lubrano and Lea Ciaverra, of the not-surprisingly named firm Lubrano Ciaverra, for the brilliant new TWA hotel, you know, he one with the massive underground conference facility.

#121/The Incredible TWA Hotel at JFK:  with Eric Saarinen + Architects Richard Southwick, Anne Marie Lubrano + Lea Ciaverra