Exhibition on ‘renegade architects’ of the American School of Architecture to open in San Francisco

A new exhibition is set to open at the Center for Architecture + Design in San Francisco, shedding light on a little-known yet influential movement in American architecture. Do Not Try to Remember: The American School of Architecture in the Bay Area opens on February 20, 2025, and will run through August 8, 2025, offering an insight into a “group of renegade architects” who “broke all the rules, shaping a uniquely American vision of design.”

The exhibition examines the work of architects trained in the mid-20th century at the University of Oklahoma under the guidance of figures such as Bruce Goff and Herb Greene. Departing from European modernist traditions, the architects instead pursued originality, contextual sensitivity, and structural expressiveness. Their ethos, known as the American School of Architecture, identified with California’s cultural openness, economic expansion, and dramatic landscapes.

Among the featured architects are Valentino Agnoli, Violeta Autumn, Robert Bowlby, Donald MacDonald, John Marsh Davis, Mickey Muennig, and Robert Overstreet. “The exhibition presents the history of this Organic Architecture and suggests these quietly radical structures still have much to teach designers, architects, and planners addressing the most pressing challenges of our time,” the Center for Architecture + Design notes.

Curated by Marco Piscitelli of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, with support from Stephanie Pilat, Angela Person, and a team of historians and designers from the University of Oklahoma, the exhibition presents original drawings, models, photographs, and archival materials. The exhibition’s key themes include the pedagogical philosophy of Bruce Goff, the influence of California’s environment on architectural design, and the innovative use of materials and structures.

The exhibition will be open to the public from February 20 to August 8, 2025, at the Center for Architecture + Design in San Francisco.