Designing A Dream: The Architecture of the “Blue Dream” house by DS+R

As the brainchild of collectors Julie Reyes Taubman and Robert Taubman, Blue Dream is an extraordinary house designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R) that sought to renew the legacy of modernist architecture and art in the Hamptons. In advance of the launch of the eponymous book published by DelMonico Books, architecture critic Paul Goldberger will discuss the complex design process behind Blue Dream with DS+R partner Charles Renfro and Associate Principal Holly Deichmann. The panel discussion will offer insights into how Blue Dream reinterprets organic architecture for the 21st century, and stands as a striking addition to the roster of architecturally ambitious modernist houses on Long Island.

Paul Goldberger

Paul Goldberger is a Contributing Editor at Vanity Fair. From 1997 through 2011, he served as the Architecture Critic for The New Yorker, where he wrote the magazine’s celebrated “Sky Line” column. He is the author of numerous books, including BALLPARK: Baseball in the American City, Building Art: The Life and Work of Frank Gehry, Building with History, Why Architecture Matters, Building Up and Tearing Down, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, and DUMBO: The Making of a Neighborhood and the Rebirth of Brooklyn. He also holds the Joseph Urban Chair in Design and Architecture at The New School in New York City and was formerly Dean of the Parsons School of Design at The New School.

He began his career at The New York Times, where in 1984 his architecture criticism was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Distinguished Criticism. In 2012 he received the Vincent Scully Prize from the National Building Museum in recognition of the influence his writing has had on the public’s understanding of architecture. In 2017, he received the Award in Architecture of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, which called him “the doyen of American architectural critics.”

Charles Renfro

Charles Renfro joined Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R) in 1997 and became a Partner in 2004. He was the Partner-in-Charge of Blue Dream, leading the complex design process. He led the design and construction of the studio’s first concert hall outside of the US – The Tianjin Juilliard School in China – as well as the studio’s first public park outside of the US – Zaryadye Park in Moscow. Charles has also led the design of much of DS+R’s academic portfolio, with projects completed at Stanford University, UC Berkeley, Brown University, the University of Chicago, and the recently completed Columbia Business School. Charles is also leading the design of two projects in his native Texas: the renovation of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Kalita Humphreys Theater in Dallas, and Sarofim Hall, a new home for Rice University’s Visual Arts department in Houston. Charles is a board member of BOFFO, a nonprofit organization that supports the work of queer LGBTQ+ BIPOC artists and designers. He has twice been recognized with the “Out100” list, and also distinguished as a notable LGBTQ leader by Crain’s New York Business. He is a faculty member of the School of Visual Arts.

Holly Deichmann

Holly Deichmann is an Associate Principal at Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R). She was the Project Director for Blue Dream, overseeing the complex design process alongside Partner-in-Charge Charles Renfro. She was also the Project Architect of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Museum in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and the Project Director for the adjoining Park Union Bridge, a curved steel structure connecting the museum campus to the adjacent America the Beautiful Park. Holly was also the Project Director for the recently-completed Susan Wakil Health Building at the University of Sydney in Australia. She is currently the Project Director for the New Museum of Transport in Budapest, a new home for the museum located on the brownfield site of a former train repair facility.