The Alchemy of Architecture by Ken and Duke Tate: book review

The Alchemy of Architecture: Memories and Insights (2020) is the memoir of architect Ken Tate through the questions of his son Duke Tate. It covers Ken Tate’s life from childhood to the age of sixty-nine.

Born on Christmas Day in 1950, Ken Tate grew up with brothers David, Russell, and Dickie, and sister Genie. He graduated from Auburn University in Alabama in 1975 with a thesis: Architecture in Search of a Soul. He began his own firm in 1984.

Tate brings the soul into a building and art into architecture. He starts his memoir in his hometown of Columbus, Mississippi and the Greek Revival homes with a mixture of influences, and moves along the spectrum of architecture to New Urbanism. He describes himself as a ‘true pluralist’ – a lover of all styles. He also discusses his team, their works, the client-architect relationship, and his second love – abstract painting.

With his wife Charme, they have a classic idea of comfort and beauty. His home designs are inspired by history, cinema, photography, and alchemy (transforming ugliness into beauty; and transforming the past to life).

Tate closes with epiphanies, advice, and reflections, which are the most interesting passages. Within the book is a list of other references and books that influence his works, as well as many black and white photographs.

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MARTINA NICOLLS

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MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of: The Paris Residences of James Joyce (2020), Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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