The pioneering postmodern architect dies at age 80.  Michael Graves Denver Central Library Michael Graves, a pioneering postmodern architect and designer best known for the Portland Building in Oregon and his iconic Kettle with Bird Whistle, died today of natural causes at his home in Princeton, New Jersey. He was 80 years old. Related links Newsmaker: Michael Graves Michael Graves Retrospective As Firm Turns 50 Newsmaker: David Mohney, Acting Dean of the Michael Graves School of Architecture “For those of us who had the opportunity to work closely with Michael, we knew him as an extraordinary designer, teacher, mentor,

July 2011 Reassessing the rise and fall of Postmodern architecture It is now nearly a quarter of a century since Postmodern architecture — which proposed to make historical references respectable once again — was declared officially dead by none other than its most capricious establishment advocate, Philip Johnson. His exhibition Deconstructivist Architecture (co-curated in 1988 with Mark Wigley) at New York’s Museum of Modern Art brought an abrupt end to a trend that had lasted just over two decades. Photography ' Rollin La France The house Robert Venturi designed for his mother Vanna in Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania (1964). Image courtesy

The architect discusses winning this year's Driehaus Prize, which honors classical architecture and traditional urbanism, and how he plans to spend the $200k award. 2012 Driehaus Prize winner Michael Graves Photo courtesy University of Notre Dame School of Architecture Michael Graves is better known for appropriating traditional forms in his monumental Postmodern compositions than for being a strict classicist, so it may seem surprising that in December he was named the winner of the 2012 Driehaus Prize, which celebrates architects who advance classicism in their work. Graves, the founding principal of the New York- and New Jersey-based firm Michael Graves