Architect Victor Lundy’s long and varied career saw him produce striking, sculptural designs for homes, retail stores, churches and government buildings. Lundy was trained in the Beaux Arts and Bauhaus traditions, and though his work drew from both, his experimentation with material and form gave him a style all his own. Today, Lundy’s work is praised for its careful composition and timeless quality — and yet he remains one of the most underappreciated figures in modern American architecture.

Few American architects have had the opportunity to design an entire city. In the early 1940s, Alden B. Dow joined their ranks when Dow Chemical expanded its Freeport plant, prompting the construction of a new town for plant employees: Lake Jackson. In addition to model home designs, Dow produced plans for schools, churches, a movie theater and commercial buildings. His city plan and modern building designs formed the basis for the area’s growth in the decades that followed.

If you're looking for something new under the midcentury sun, Victor Lundy is a real find — an important yet underappreciated figure in the history of American architecture. Trained in both the Beaux Arts and Bauhaus traditions, he built an impressive practice ranging from small-scale residential and commercial buildings to expressive religious buildings and two preeminent institutional works: the U.S. Tax Court Building in Washington, D.C. (now on the National Register of Historic Places), and the U.S. Embassy in Sri Lanka.