Berkeley’s Four Modern Days

Berkeley is better known for brown-shingled cottages than sleek modern homes. But that may change thanks to ‘Form + Function @ Library - A Weeklong Celebration of Mid-Century Modernism,’ which runs at Berkeley’s Central Library May 5-12.

On Sunday, May 5, at 1:30 p.m., Berkeley film director Jason Cohn will show and discuss his film Eames: The Architect and The Painter, about designers Charles and Ray Eames.

The next day, at 6:30 p.m., architect Pierluigi Serraino, author of the book NorCalMod, will show images and discuss non-residential work of the East Bay by such architects as Bruce Goff, Welton Becket, Warren Callister, Mario Ciampi, and others.

On Saturday, May 11, at 11 a.m., the library will show the amazing short films by Charles and Ray Eames. Then at 3 p.m., children 6 and older can get hands-on during a workshop entitled ‘Thoroughly Modern Mid-Century Mobiles.’

And on Sunday, May 12, Dave Weinstein, CA-Modern magazine’s features editor, will argue that Berkeley has long been a mecca for modernism in a slide show focusing on homes in Berkeley and nearby Kensington and El Cerrito.

The talks concentrate on the East Bay because its modern buildings get less attention than those in San Francisco, says librarian Dayna Holz. “It appeals to a kind of order, and it brings beauty to functionality,” she says of modernism. “Librarians like order.”

For more info on ‘Form + Function,’ click here.