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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 chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, 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 gro ...
of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation 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-publi ...
'' 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 Britons (Celtic people), 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 ...
did he become passionate about the design style of
Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...
. 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, also called modernist architecture, or the modern movement, is an architectural movement and style that was prominent in the 20th century, between the earlier Art Deco and later postmodern movements. Modern architectur ...
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 ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
,
Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
. In the 1970s, Hill worked alongside Cornelia Brierly to design the interiors and furniture for the
Pearl Palace Pearl Palace (; Romanized: ''kakh-e Morvarid / Kāx-e Morvārid''), also known as Shams Palace (; Romanized: ''kakh-e Shams / Kāx-e Šams'') is an estate in Iran, designed by Taliesin Associated Architects (Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation) on instr ...
in
Mehrshahr Mehrshahr () is an affluent 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 the Pahl ...
,
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
. Hill died June 25, 1996, in
Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...
.Chicago Sun-Time (1996-07-01)
John deKoven Hill, 76, Wright Foundation exec
retrieved March 5, 2010
He had worked with the Wright Fellowship until his death.


References


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