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Alvar Aalto, Father of Modern Scandinavian

Design

Born at the cusp of Modernism, Finnish architect


Alvar Aalto became famous for both his buildings
and his furniture designs. Aalto's unique style grew
out of a passion for painting and a fascination for the
works of cubist artists Pablo Picasso and Georges
Braque.

Born: February 3, 1898 in Kuortane, Finland


Died: May 11, 1976 in Helsinki, Finland
Full Name: Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto
Education:
Graduated with honors in architecture from Helsinki University of Technology

Important Buildings by Alvar Aalto:


 1920: White Guards Headquarters, Seinajoki, Finland
 1927-1935: Viipuri Library, Viipuri, Russia

 1929-33: Paimio Tuberculosis Sanatorium, Paimio, Finland


 1938-39: Finnish Pavilion, New York's World Fair (demolished)

 1946-49: Baker House, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA


 1949-1966: Institute of Technology in Otaniemi, Finland
 1957-1960: Lakeuden Risti Church, Seinajoki, Finland
 1959-1962: Enso-Gutzeit Headquarters, Helsinki, Finland
 1962-1965: Seinajoki Town Hall, Seinajoki, Finland
 1967-75: Finlandia Hall, Helsinki, Finland
Also Known For:
Alvar Aalto also became famous for his furniture and glassware design. With his first wife, Aino
Mariso, Alvar Aalto founded Artek, a company that continues to sell innovative furnishings.

Artistic Influences:
Alvar Aalto's passion for painting led to the development of his unique architectural
style. Cubism and collage , explored by the painters Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, became
important elements in Alvar Aalto's work. Alvar Aalto used color, texture, and light to create collage-
like architectural landscapes.

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Related People:
 Walter Gropius
 Pablo Picasso
 Georges Braque
Important Styles:
 International Style
 Nordic Classicism
 Cubism
More About Alvar Aalto:
Early works by Alvar Aalto combined neoclassical ideas with the International Style. Later, Aalto's
buildings were characterized by asymmetry, curved walls, and complex textures.

Alvar Aalto received international acclaim with the completion of the Paimio Tuberculosis
Sanatorium. The Sanatorium building established Aalto's dominance of the International style and,
more importantly, emphasized Aalto's attention to the human side of design. The patients' rooms,
with their specially designed heating, lighting and furniture, are models of integrated environmental
design. Alvar Aalto's Paimio chair (1932) assisted patient breathing.
The term Nordic Classicism has been used to describe some of Alvar Aalto's work. Many of his
buildings combined sleek lines with richly textured natural materials such as stone, teak, and rough-
hewn logs.
Alvar Aalto was also known for furniture and industrial design. In 1932, he developed a revolutionary
type of furniture made of laminated bent plywood.

ALVAR AALTO MUSEUM

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Michael Arad, Reflecting Absence

Michael Sahar Arad was one of six recipients of the Young


Architects Award given by the American Institute of Architects
(AIA) in 2006. By 2012 Arad was one of fifteen "Architects of
Healing" receiving a special AIA medal for hisReflecting
Absencedesign of the National 9/11 Memorial in New York City.
Born: 1969 in Israel. Arrived in the U.S. in 1991.

Education and Public Service:


 1989 - 1991, Israeli Military service
 1994, Dartmouth, BA in Government
 1999, Georgia Institute of Technology, Masters in Archecture
 LEED AP

Professional Experience:
 1999 - 2002, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF)
 2002 - 2004, New York City Housing Athority
 2004 - Handel Architects LLP, Partner

Principal Works:
 2004, winning design for a memorial at the World Trade Center site, New York City, selected from
more than 5,000 entrants from 63 nations.
 2004, Espirito Santo Plaza, Miami, Florida (KPF)
 2010, International Commerce Centre, Union Station Tower, Hong Kong (KPF)
 2011, Reflecting Absence, World Trade Center Site Memorial, with the office of Peter Walker and
Partners, PWP Landscape Architecture
 2012, Fifth Street Farm Green Roof, New York City Earth School

In the Words of Michael Arad:


 "I'm proud to be an American. I was not born in this country, nor was I born to American parents.
Becoming an American was something I chose to do, and I'm so grateful for that privilege because
I love the values of this country and I'm grateful for the opportunities this country has given me
first as a student and then as an architect."
 "America epitomizes for me liberty and equality, tolerance and a belief in shared sacrifices. It is a
noble social experiment that depends on every generation's engagement and belief in it. The
design of the Memorial of the World Trade Center is a physical manifestation of these values and
beliefs. It is a design formed by my experiences in New York in the aftermath of the attacks, where
I witnessed the remarkable response of the City as a community, united in its most trying hour;
united in compassion and courage, determined and stoic."
 "The public spaces of the City—places like Union Square and Washington Square—were the sites
where this incredible civic response took shape, and, in fact, it could not have taken shape without
them. These public spaces informed and gave shape to the response of its citizens and their design
is open democratic forms reflect our shared values and beliefs in a civic and democratic society
based on freedom, liberty, and yet even the individual pursuit of happiness what else is a pursuit
of solace in the face of grief."
"Public spaces form our shared responses and our understanding of ourselves and our place within
society, not as spectators, but as participants, as engaged citizens, as a community of people united by a
shared destiny. What better way to respond to that attack and to honor the memory of those who
perished than to construct another vessel for that community, another public space, a new forum, a place
that affirms our values and imparts them to us and to future generations."

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Julian Abele, black in Philadelphia
The story of Julian Francis Abele is not "rags-to-
riches" but a tale of hard work and dedication. In
college Abele called himself "Willing and Able." A
brilliant and accomplished student, Abele became the
first African-American graduate of the University of
Pennsylvania's School of Architecture. Although not
America's first architect of color, Julian Abele was
one of the first prominent Black architects in
America, finding success with the Philadelphia
architecture firm led by Horace Trumbauer. The Duke University Chapel may be Abele's most famous
building.
Born: April 29, 1881 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, according to the University of Pennsylvania
University Archives and Records Center. Some biographies list his birth as April 30.

Died: April 23, 1950 in Philadelphia

Education, Training, and Professional Life:


 Institute for Colored Youth and Brown Preparatory School, Philadelphia
 1898: Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art
 1902: B.A. in Arch. - University of Pennsylvania
 1902-1903: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts; worked for Philadelphia architect Louis C.
Hickman while in school
 1903-1905: traveled to Western US, worked on a house for his sister's family, Elizabeth Rebecca
Abele Cook
 circa 1905: three years of travel in Europe and study in France
 1906: began work for Horace Trumbauer; became chief designer in 1909 until Trumbauer's death
in 1938. The Office of Horace Trumbauer continued under the leadership of its principals, Julian
Abele and William O. Frank
 1942: Admitted to the American Institute of Architects (AIA)

Notable Buildings as Trumbauer's Chief Designer:


 1909-1912: James Buchanan Duke House, New York City
 c. 1912: Frank P. Mitchell house (Argentine Embassy), Washington, DC
 1915: Miramar (The George D. Widener Cottage), Newport, RI
 1915: Widener Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
 1921: Whitemarsh Hall, Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania
 1925: Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
 1927: Central Library, Free Library of Philadelphia, PA
 1928: James B. Clews Residence, Long Island, NY
 1930: Perkins Library, Duke University West Campus, Durham, North Carolina
 1935: Duke University Chapel, West Campus, Durham, North Carolina
 1938: Duke University Dormitories, West Campus, Durham, NC
 1940: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Duke University West Campus, Durham, NC
At the turn of the twentieth century, many American architects made a good living building Great
Homes of the Gilded Age. Horace Trumbauer's commission to build a New York City estate for tobacco
tycoon James B. Duke really paid off with the much larger projects at Duke University, where Julian
Abele made his mark in architecture.

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Personal Life:
 1925: Married to Marguerite Bulle, a French musician; three children, Julian, Jr., Marguerite Marie
(died in childhood), and Nadia Boulanger. The marriage dissolved by 1936 when the younger
Marguerite became involved with another musician. They never divorced.
 Julian, Jr. and Abele's sister's child, Julian Abele Cook (1904 - 1986), both became architects

Duke University Architecture:


In 1892 Trinity College moved 70 miles east to Durham, North Carolina and the Duke family began
funding campus building. By 1924, the Duke Endowment was established and Trinity College
transformed into Duke University. The original East Campus was renovated with Georgian-style
buildings, after the Collegiate Georgian Architecture popular at other universities. Beginning in 1927 a
West Campus was added, built in a Gothic-revival architectural style also popular at large, established
Ivy League institutions. Architecture was used to bring students, faculty, and prestige to the new Duke
institution—if it looked like a university, it must be one.
The Philadelphia architecture firm led by Horace Trumbauer began the transformation of Trinity into
Duke. Trumbauer's head designer Julian Abele, along with William O. Frank, tackled the Duke projects
from 1924 to 1958. Thepièce de résistance of Abele's designs is the iconic Duke Chapel, which became
the centerpiece of the West Campus.
Collegiate Gothic style is a revival of 12th century Gothic architecture, with soaring ceilings, pointed
arches, and flying buttresses. For Duke's Chapel, begun in 1930, Abele employed modern building
techniques and materials to eliminate the need to buttress the walls. Steel trusses and structural
Guastavino ceramic tile gave strength to the 210 foot structure, while local volcanic Hillsborough
bluestone distinguished the distinctive facade of the neo-Gothic design. The Chapel tower, modeled
after England's Canterbury Cathedral, became a prototype for many of the future towers of Duke
University.
Olmsted landscape architects, from the prestigious firm founded by Frederick Law Olmsted, were
employed to create a walkable campus, connecting the architecture with the surrounding natural
beauty. If the intent of Duke was to rival the great universities of the northeast, this twentieth century
campus, designed in part by a prominent African-American architect, accomplished the task.

In the Words of Julian Abele:


"The shadows are all mine."—commenting on the unsigned architectural drawings for the Gothic
Revival Duke University Chapel, Duke University Archives

5
J. Max Bond, Jr., New York Visionary

In addition to his many accomplishments, J. Max Bond, Jr. will be


long remembered for his role in developing plans for the National
9/11 Museum in New York City.

Born: 1935

Died: February 18, 2009

Education:
Harvard University: bachelor’s degree in 1955 and a master’s
degree in 1958

Major Projects:
 Schomburg Centre for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, NY
 Birmingham Civil Rights Institute in Alabama
 Martin Luther King Jr. crypt and memorial in Atlanta, Georgia
 A controversial modernist expansion of the Harvard Club in midtown Manhattan
 The Bolgatanga Regional Library in Ghana, which provided a unique roof design that provided
natural ventilation
 With his firm, Davis Brody Bond Aedas, helped flesh out plans for theSeptember 11 Memorial
Museum

Teaching:
 Columbia University

 Served as dean for the school of architecture at the City University of New York

Associations:
 Worked with André Wogenscky in France

 Worked at Gruzen & Partners and Pedersen & Tilney in New York
 Established the Architect's Renewal Committee of Harlem
 Co-founded the firm of Ryder Bond and Associates. In 1990, this firm merged with Davis Brody &
Associates

More About J. Max Bond, Jr.:


When J. Max Bond, Jr. was a student at Harvard, racists burned a cross outside his dormitory.
Concerned, a white professor at the University advised Bond to abandon his dream of becoming an
architect.

Years later, in an interview for theWashington Post, Bond recalled his professor saying, "There have
never been any famous, prominent black architects... You'd be wise to choose another profession."
Fortunately, Bond had spent a summer working for African-American architectPaul Williams and he
knew that he could overcome racial stereotypes.
After graduating from Harvard, Bond designed many office buildings, libraries, and university
research facilities in the United States. He worked on buildings designed by the Swiss-born
architect Le Corbusier, and also designed some buildings in Ghana and Zimbabwe. He became a fellow
in the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and an inspiration to young minorities in his architecture
classes at Columbia and City University.
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Denise Scott Brown, Venturi, Scott Brown & Associates

When Denise Scott Brown met and married Robert Venturi,


she had already made important contributions to the field of
urban design. Through her work as an urban planner and her
collaboration with Robert Venturi, she has brought the
artifacts of popular culture into the realm of architecture and
has shaped our understanding of the relationship between
design and society.

Born:
October 3, 1931 to Jewish parents in Nkana, Zambia. Raised in
a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa.

Education:
 Attended University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, 1948 to 1952
 Architectural Association in London, England, graduated in 1955
 University of Pennsylvania, Master of City Planning in 1960, and Master of Architecture in 1965

Partnerships:
Partnered with her husband Robert Venturi in the firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates (VSBA).
For decades Brown has directed the firm's urban planning, urban design, and campus planning work.

Important Works:
 1970s: Preservation planning for historic districts in Galveston, Texas and Miami Beach, Florida
 1980s: City plan for downtown Memphis, Tennessee
 1990s: Helped prepare the master plan and schematic design for the Denver Civic Center Cultural
Complex in Denver, Colorado. Also created campus plans for Dartmouth College and the University
of Pennsylvania.
 Advised on urban planning and design for New York's World Trade Center site

Books:
 With Robert Venturi and Steven Izenour, wrote Learning from Las Vegas, The Forgotten Symbolism
of Architectural Form. The controversial book presented the idea that architects could learn
important lessons in design from commercial art like billboards and casino ads.
With Robert Venturi, wrote Architecture as Signs and Systems for a Mannerist Time (Harvard
University Press, 2004)

 AA Words 4: Having Words, London: Architectural Association, 2009

Awards:
 1985: AIA Firm Award
 1992: National Medal of Arts, U.S. Presidential award
 1996: ACSA-AIA Joint Award for Excellence in Architecture Education, Topaz Medallion
 2002: Edith Wharton Women of Achievement Award for Urban Planning; and the Vincent J. Scully
Prize, National Building Museum, with Robert Venturi

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 2005: Harvard Radcliffe Institute Medal
 2007: The Vilcek Prize, awarded to a foreign-born American, for outstanding achievement in the
arts (architecture) and for contribution to society in the U.S., The Vilcek Foundation
 2007: Athena Award, awarded to pioneers who have laid the foundation for New Urbanism,
Congress for New Urbanism
 2010: International Award, The Society of American Registered Architects (SARA), Philadelphia, PA,
with Robert Venturi

Quotes by Denise Scott Brown:


 "... we are not Postmodernists, and never were. The origins of our thinking are more complex than
that and have more sources."
-Lessons About Architecture from Planning, Metropolis magazine at
www.metropolismag.com/html/vsba/index.html
 "A new openness in the minds and eyes of architects should help their ideals to be pragmatic ones
and their utopias to be humane."
-from "Changing Family Forms" On Houses & Housing, VSBA website [accessed June 17, 2012]

Related People:
 Robert Venturi
 Dan McCoubrey, AIA, LEED AP BD+C

 Nancy Rogo Trainer, FAIA, LEED AP BD+C

 Great Women Architects


"After over fifty years as one of the world's preeminent architects, Robert Venturi has retired from
practice, while Denise Scott Brown continues to publish and present her work. For information about
Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates, Inc.'s work — including projects and bibliography — please
visitventuriscottbrown.org." [Source: VSBA website, accessed August 13, 2012]

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Daniel H. Burnham, Chicago Planner
(1846-1912)

Daniel Burnham designed some of the world's


earliest skyscrapers and helped create the first
complete plan for controlling urban growth.
Drawing upon the City Beautiful movement, Daniel
Burnham proposed a plan for Chicago that included
extensive parkland and laid the foundation for
modern theories of urban design.

Born: September 4, 1846 in Henderson, New York

Full Name: Daniel Hudson Burnham

Died: June 1, 1912 in Heidelberg, Germany

Partnerships:
 1868: Apprenticed as a draftsman under architect William LeBaron Jenney
 1872: Joined the Chicago offices of Carter, Drake, and Wight

 1873: Partnered with John Wellborn Root


 1891, after the death of Root, renamed the firm D.H. Burnham & Company
Since 1917, Burnham's firm has been practicing architecture under the name Graham, Anderson,
Probst & White.

Selected Buildings:
 1890: With Charles Atwood, the Reliance Building, Chicago, Illinois. Expanded to 14 floors in 1894
 1891: With John Root, the Art Institute of Chicago
 1902: the Flatiron Building, formerly known as the Fuller building, New York, New York
 1903: Pennsylvanian Union Train Station, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
 1907: Union Station, Washington DC
 1912: With John M. Carrere and Arnold R. Brunner, the Cuyahoga County Courthouse, Cleveland,
Ohio

Urban Design:
 1893: Served as chief coordinating architect for the 1893 World Columbian Exposition, creating a
vast, orderly Beaux-Arts plan for the city
 1904: Plan for Baguio for the U.S. Philippine Commission

 1905: Plan for Manila for the U.S. Philippine Commission


 1909: Co-authored the Plan of Chicago, which controlled urban growth and provided for extensive
parkland

Famous Quote:

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"Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood and probably themselves will not be
realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once
recorded will not die, but long after we are gone be a living thing, asserting itself with ever-growing
insistence. Remember that our sons and our grandsons are going to do things that would stagger us.
Let your watchword be order and your beacon beauty."
From Daniel H. Burnham, Architect, Planner of Cities, by Charles Moore

Related People:
 William LeBaron Jenney
 William Holabird
 William Sullivan
 Frederick Law Olmsted

Ideas and Syles:


 Beaux-Arts
 Neo-Classical
 City Beautiful Movement
 Chicago School

Free Books Online:


Plan of Chicago, by Daniel H. Burnham and Edward H. Bennett, architects
Daniel H. Burnham, Architect, Planner of Cities, by Charles Moore

From Our Architecture Bookstore:


The Devil in the White City. In a page-turning novel, author Erik Larson combines the true story of the
1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago with a fictionalized account of a serial killer who used
Burnham's design to lure his victims.

10
Santiago Calatrava, Architect and Engineer
b. 1951

Famous for his bridges and train stations, Spanish


modernist Santiago Calatrava combines artistry with
engineering. His graceful, organic structures have been
compared to the works of Antonio Gaudí.

Born: July 28, 1951 in Valencia, Spain

Education:
 1975: Completed undergraduate studies at the Valencia Arts School and the Valencia Architecture
School
 1981: Completed graduate work in civil engineering at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
(ETH) in Zurich, Switzerland. Doctoral thesis: On the Foldability of Space Frames

Important Projects:
 1989-1992: Alamillo Bridge, Seville, Spain
 1991: Montjuic Communications Tower, at the 1992 Olympic site in Barcelona, Spain
 1996: City of Arts and Sciences, Valincia, Spain
 1998: Gare do Oriente Station, Lisbon, Portugal
 2001: Milwaukee Art Museum, Quadracci Pavilion, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
 2003: Ysios Wine Estate Laguardia, Spain
 2003: Tenerife Concert Hall in Santa Cruz, Tenerife, Canary Islands
 2005: The Turning Torso, Malmö, Sweden
 2009: Train Station, Liège, Belgium

 2012: Trinity River Corridor Bridges, Dallas, Texas (seetrinityrivercorridor.org)

Proposed and Under Construction:


 World Trade Center Transportation Hub, proposed for New York City
 Yuan Ze University Project, Taiwan, building complex (Performing Arts Center, Art and Design
school, and the Y.Z. Hsu Memorial Hall)

Important Awards:
 1992: London Institution of Structural Engineers Gold Medal
 1993: Toronto Municipality Urban Design Award
 1996: Gold Medal for Excellence in the Fine Arts from the Granada Ministry of Culture
 1999: Prince of Asturias Award in Arts
 2005: AIA Gold Medal
 2007: Spanish National Architecture Award

More About Santiago Calatrava:


Architect, engineer, and sculptor, Santiago Calatrava received an AIA commemorative gold medallion
in 2012 as one of the 15 Architects of Healing for his transportation hub design, a new train and
subway station at the World Trade Center site in New York City. Calling Calatrava's work "open and
organic," theNew York Times said that the new terminal will evoke the kind of uplifting spirituality
that is needed on Ground Zero. However, reconstruction plans in New York have undergone so many
revisions, much of Calatrava's original vision has been lost.

11
Le Corbusier, Leader of the International Style
(1887-1965)

Le Corbusier pioneered modernism in architecture and


laid the foundation for what became the Bauhaus
Movement, or the

International Style.
Born: October 6, 1887 in La Chaux de Fonds, Switzerland
Died: August 27, 1965 in Cap Martin, France
Name at Birth:
Born Charles-Edouard Jeanneret-Gris, Le Corbusier adopted his mother's maiden name in 1922 when
he set up a partnership with his cousin, engineer Pierre Jeanneret.

Early Training:
 Art education, La Chaux de Fonds

 Studied modern building construction with Auguste Perret in Paris


 Worked with Austrian architect Josef Hoffmann

Most Famous Buildings:


 1927-1928: Palace for the League of Nations, Geneva

 1928-1931: Villa Savoye, Poissy, France


 1931-1932: Swiss Building, Cité Universitaire, Paris
 1952: The Secretariat at the United Nations Headquarters, New York

Other Important Works:


 1922: Ozenfant House and Studio, Paris

 1946-1952: Unité d'Habitation, Marseilles, France


 1953-1957: Museum at Ahmedabad, India
 1950-1963: High Court Buildings, Chandigarh, India
 1950-1955: Notre-Dame-du-Haut, Ronchamp, France
 1954-1956: Maisons Jaoul, Neuilly-sur-Seine, Paris
 1957-1960: Convent of La Tourette, Lyon France
 1958: Philips Pavilion, Brussels
 1961-1964: Carpenter Center, Cambridge, MA
 1963-1967: Centre Le Corbusier, Zürich, Switzerland

Writings:
 1927: Vers une architecture [Towards a new Architecture]

 1942: La Maison des hommes [The Home of Man]

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 1947: Quand les cathédrales étaient blanches [When the Cathedrals Were White]

Theories:
In his book Vers une architecture, Le Corbusier described "5 points of architecture" that became the
guiding principles for many of his designs, most especially Villa Savoye.
1. Freestanding support pillars
2. Open floor plan independent from the supports
3. Vertical facade that is free from the supports
4. Long horizontal sliding windows
5. Roof gardens
An innovative urban planner, Corbusier anticipated the role of the automobile and envisioned cities
with big apartment buildings in park-like settings.

Quotes:
 "The house is a machine for living in." (Vers une architecture, 1923)
 "By law, all buildings should be white."

About Le Corbusier:
During his long life, Le Corbusier designed buildings in Europe, India, and Russia. Le Corbusier also
designed one building in the United States and one in South America.

The earlier buildings by Le Corbusier were smooth, white concrete and glass structures elevated
above the ground. He called these works "pure prisms." In the late 1940s, Le Corbusier turned to a
style known as "New Brutalism," which used rough, heavy forms of stone, concrete, stucco, and glass.

The same modernist ideas found in Le Corbusier's architecture were also expressed in his designs for
simple, streamlined furniture. Immitations of Le Corbusier's chrome-plated tubular steel chairs are
still made today.

Le Corbusier is perhaps best known for his innovations in urban planning and his solutions for low
income housing. Le Corbusier believed that the stark, unornamented buildings he designed would
contribute to clean, bright, healthy cities. Le Corbusier's urban ideals were realized in the Unité
d'Habitation, or the "Radiant City," in Marseilles, France. The Unite incorporated shops, meeting
rooms, and living quarters for 1,600 people in a 17-story structure. Today, visitors can stay at the
Unite in the historic Hotel Le Corbusier.

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DaVinci: Leonardo DaVinci, Artist and Inventor

Master of the Italian Renaissance, Leonardo DaVinci influenced


the way we build today through his research and contributions
to the fields of anatomy, physiology, mechanics, hydraulics,
physics, philosophy, mathematics, writing, engineering,
philosophy, orbital mechanics, botany, and optics. Learn more
about his final years in France.

Born near Florence, Italy on April 15, 1452,Leonardo da


Vincibecame a "rock star" of the Italian Renaissance. His notebooks illustrate his genius in art,
architecture, painting, anatomy, invention, science, engineering, and urban planning—a vast curiosity
that defines what it is to be aRenaissance Man. Where should geniuses spend their final days? King
Francis Imight say France.

From Italy to France:


In 1515, the French King invited Leonardo to the royal summer home, Château du Clos Lucé, near
Amboise. Now in his 60s, Da Vinci reportedly traveled by mule across the mountains from northern
Italy to central France, carrying with him sketchbooks and unfinished artwork. The young French king
had hired the Renaissance master as "The King's First Painter, Engineer and Architect." Leonardo
lived in the rehabilitated Medieval fortress from 1516 until his death in 1519.

Dreams for Romorantin, Actualizing the Ideal City:


Francis I was barely 20-years-old when he became King of France. He loved the countryside south of
Paris and decided to move the French capital to the Loire Valley, with palaces in Romorantin. By 1516
Leonardo da Vinci's reputation was well-known—more so than the next generation's young Italian
upstart, Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564). King Francis hired da Vinci, the seasoned professional,
to carry out his dreams for Romorantin.

Leonardo had already thought about a planned city while living in Milan, Italy, a city plagued with the
same public health crisis that had ravaged Europe throughout the Middle Ages. For centuries
outbreaks of the "Black Death" spread from city to city. Disease was not well-understood in the 1480s,
but the cause was thought to be related to poor sanitation. Leonardo da Vinci loved to solve problems,
so his planned city included inventive ways for people to live near water without polluting it.

Plans for Romorantin incorporated many of Leonardo's idealistic ideas. His notebooks show designs
for a Royal Palace built on water; redirected rivers and manipulated water levels; clean air and water
circulated with a series of windmills; animal stables built on canals where waste water could be safely
removed; cobbled streets to facilitate travel and the movement of building supplies; prefabricated
houses for relocating townspeople.

Plans Change:
Romorantin was never built. It appears that construction had begun in da Vinci's lifetime, however.
Streets were created, carts of stones were being moved, and foundations were laid. But as da Vinci's
health failed, the young King's interests turned to the less ambitious but equally opulent French
Renaissance Château de Chambord, begun the year of da Vinci's death. Scholars believe that many of
the designs intended for Romorantin ended up in Chambord, including an intricate, helix-like spiral
stairway.
Da Vinci's last years were consumed with finishing up The Mona Lisa, which he had carried with him
from Italy, sketching more inventions into his notebooks, and designing the King's Royal Palace at
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Romorantin. These were the last three years of Leonardo da Vinci—inventing, designing, and putting
the finishing touches on some masterpieces.
'The Last Supper'
In 1482, Lorenzo de' Medici, a man from a prominent Italian family, commissioned da Vinci to create a
silver lyre and bring it to Ludovico il Moro, the Duke of Milan, as a gesture of peace. Da Vinci did so
and then wrote Ludovico a letter describing how his engineering and artistic talents would be of great
service to Ludovico's court. His letter successfully endeared him to Ludovico, and from 1482 until
1499, Leonardo was commissioned to work on a great many projects. It was during this time that da
Vinci painted "The Last Supper."

'Mona Lisa'
Da Vinci's most well-known painting, and arguably the most famous painting in the world, the "Mona
Lisa," was a privately commissioned work and was completed sometime between 1505 and 1507. Of
the painting's wide appeal, James Beck, an art historian at Columbia University, once explained, "It is
the inherent spirituality of the human creature that Leonardo was able to ingenuine to the picture that
raises the human figure to some kind of majesty."
It's been said that the Mona Lisa had jaundice, that she was a pregnant woman and that she wasn't
actually a woman at all, but a man in drag. Based on accounts from an early biographer, however, the
"Mona Lisa" is a picture of Lisa Gioconda, the real-life wife of a merchant, but that's far from certain.
For da Vinci, the "Mona Lisa" was forever a work in progress, as it was his attempt at perfection. The
painting was never delivered to its commissioner; da Vinci kept it with him until the end of his life.
Today, the "Mona Lisa" hangs in the Louvre Museum in Paris, France, secured behind bulletproof
glass, and is regarded as a priceless national treasure.

The Design Process:


Architects often speak of the built environment, but many of Leonardo's designs were unbuilt during
his lifetime, including Romorantin and the ideal city. Project completion may be a goal of the
architectural process, but Leonardo reminds us of the value of the vision, the design sketch—that
design can exist without construction. Even today looking at a firm's website, design competitions are
often included on the Projects list, even if the contest is lost and the design is unbuilt. Design sketches
are real, necessary, and, as any architect will tell you, repurposable.
Da Vinci's visions live on at Le Clos Lucé. Ideas and inventions from his sketchbooks have been built to
scale and are exhibited at the Parc Leonardo da Vinci on the grounds of the Château du Clos Lucé.
Leonardo da Vinci shows us that theoretical architecture has a purpose—and is often ahead of its
time.

15
Peter Dominick, Denver Architect

Architect Peter Dominick became well-known for designing rustic


buildings inspired by vernacular architecture of the American
West.

Born:
June 9, 1941 in New York City. From age 5, raised in Colorado.

Died:
January 1, 2009 after a cross-country skiing excursion in Aspen,
Colorado. He was 67.

Education:
 St. Mark’s School in Framingham, Massachusetts

 Yale University. Studied under architecture professor and historian Vincent Scully. Bachelor of
Science in Architectural Studies, 1963
 University of Pennsylvania. Studied with architect Louis Kahn. Master of Architecture degree, 1966
 Traveled through the South Pacific, Asia, India, the Middle East and Africa, 1966-1968

Important Projects:
 Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge at Disney World in Orlando, Florida
 Grand California Hotel in Anaheim, California
 Revitalization of Vail, Colorado
 The Platte River Road Monument in Kearney, Nebraska, a museum that is also a bridge across a
highway
 Wilderness Lodge at Walt Disney World
 Neighborhood development at Riverfront Park in the Central Platte Valley, Colorado

About Peter Dominick:


 Peter Dominick of 4240 Architecturedesigned hotels, office buildings, homes, and interiors
throughout the USA. He was especially known for designs that incorporated motifs drawn from
the American West.
 Dominick's massive and evocativeWilderness Lodge at Walt Disney World in Florida resembles
an old wood-timber lodge. At the center is a vast lobby with six-story high log columns,
enormous chandeliers topped with glowing teepees, two 55-foot hand carved totem poles, and
an 82-foot-tall stone fireplace. The effect might be kitsch or comical if it weren't so impressive...
and so respectful of American history.
 Dominick drew his inspiration for the Disney Wilderness Lodge from several famous Western
inns: the Old Faithful Inn at Yellowstone National Park, the Ahwahnee Hotel at Yosemite, Lake
McDonald Lodge at Glacier National Park, and Timberline Lodge at Mount Hood, Oregon.

 Outside the Disney Wilderness Lodge, Dominick created a striking landscape with a steep
waterfall cascading into a steaming geyser.

16
Charles and Ray Eames: American Designers
Mr. Eames (1907-1978) and Mrs. Eames (1912-1988)

Husband and wife team Charles and Ray Eames became


famous for their furniture, textiles, industrial designs,
and practical, economical house designs. The couple met
at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan and
married in 1941. They shared credit for all their design
projects.

Charles Eames:
Born: June 17, 1907 in Saint Louis, Missouri
Educated: Two years in the architecture program at
Washington University in St. Louis, followed by travels in Europe.

Early Career: In 1929, joined with Charles M. Gray to form the firm of Gray and Eames, which
designed stained glass, textiles, furniture and ceramics.
Advanced Study: Studied at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan, where he collaborated
with Eero Saarinen and became head of the industrial design department.
Partnership: In 1941, married Ray Kaiser and formed a design partnership.
Died: August 21, 1978 in Saint Louis, Missouri

Ray Eames:
Born: December 15, 1912 in Sacramento, California
Birth Name: Bernice Alexandra Kaiser
Educated: Studied painting under Hans Hofmann in New York and in Provincetown, MA from 1933-
1939, then studied at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan
Partnership: In 1941, married Charles Eames and formed a design partnership.
Died: August 21, 1988 in Los Angeles, California
Buildings by Charles and Ray Eames:
Charles and Ray Eames helped supply affordable housing for veterans returning to the United States
after World War II. Houses designed by the Eames featured high-quality prefabricated materials that
were mass produced for efficiency and affordability.

 Eames House (Also known as Case Study House #8)


 Kwikset Prefabricated House, prototype house kit for Kwikset Lock Company

Furniture by Charles and Ray Eames:


Charles and Ray Eames experimented with molded, flexible, adaptable furniture and storage units for
homes and public spaces. They also designed the machinery and production methods needed to
manufacture their furnishings. See:
Furniture by Charles and Ray Eames

About Charles and Ray Eames:


Charles and Ray Eames were among America's most important designers, celebrated for their
contributions to architecture, industrial design, and furniture design. The Eameses believed that a
house should be flexible enough to accommodate work and play.

The role the Eames duo played in modernizing North America is explored in A Legacy of Invention, an
online exhibit from the Library of Congress.
EAMES: The Architect and the Painter, a well-received 2011 documentary by Jason Cohn and Bill
Jersey, is now available in DVD.
17
Peter Eisenman
b. 1932

Born: August 11, 1932 in Newark, New Jersey


Education:
 Bachelor of Architecture Degree from Cornell

 Master of Architecture Degree from Columbia University's


Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation
 M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Cambridge in
England

Teaching:
Peter Eisenman currently teaches at Yale University, offering studio courses and courses in design,
visual analysis, and architecture theory. Eisenman has also taught at Cambridge University, Harvard
University, Princeton University, Ohio State University, and The Cooper Union.

Important Buildings and Projects:


 1989: Wexner Center for the Arts, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio (with Richard Trott)
 1993: Greater Columbus Convention Center, Columbus, Ohio

 1996: Aronoff Center for Design and Art, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
 1999-present: City of Culture of Galicia, Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain
 2005: Berlin Holocaust Memorial (Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe), Berlin
 2006: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

Related People:
Peter Eisenman headed an informal group of five New York architects who wanted to establish a
rigorous theory of architecture independent of context. Called the New York Five, they were featured
in a controversial 1967 exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art and in a later book titled Five
Architects (). In addition to Peter Eisenman, the New York Five included:
 Charles Gwathmey
 Michael Graves
 John Hejduk

 Richard Meier

More About Peter Eisenman:


Until recently, Peter Eisenman was known mainly as a teacher and a theorist. His first major public
building was Ohio's Wexner Center for the Arts, designed with architect Richard Trott. Made up of
complex grids and a collision of textures, the Wexler Center is a hallmark of Deconstructivist design.
Since then, Peter Eisenman has stirred controversy with buildings that appear disconnected from
surrounding structures and historical context. Often called a Deconstructionist, Eisenman's writings
and designs represent an effort to liberate form from meaning. Yet, while eschewing external
references, Peter Eisenman's buildings may be called Structuralist in that they search for relationships
within the building elements.

18
Sverre Fehn, Norwegian Architect

Born: August 14, 1924 in Kongsberg, Buskerud, Norway


Died: February 23, 2009
Education: 1949: Architectural School of Oslo
Important Projects:
 1958: Norwegian Pavilion at the Brussels World
Exhibition
 1962: Nordic Pavilion at the Venice Biennale
 1963: Schreiner House in Oslo, Norway
 1967–1979: Hedmark Museum in Hamar, Norway
 1990: Busk House at Bamble, Norway
 1991: Glacier Museum in Fjaerland, Norway
 1991: Aukrust Museum
Major Awards:
 1993: Académie Française d'Architecture Gold Medal
 1997: Heinrich Tessenow Gold Medal and Pritzker Architecture Prize
Teaching :
Sverre Fehn taught at the School of Architecture in Oslo from 1971 to 1995. He also lectured at the
Architectural Association School in London, University of Yale, Cooper Union of New York, and many
other colleges and universities.

Influences:
Sverre Fehn was powerfully influenced by the primitive architecture he saw during travels in Maroc in
1952 and 1953. Fehn also worked in Paris in the studio of Jean Prouvé. While there, he felt the
influence of Bauhaus architect Le Corbusier.
About Sverre Fehn:
Norwegian Architect Sverre Fehn was a Modernist, yet he was inspired by primitive shapes and
Scandinavian tradition. Fehn's works were widely praised for integrating innovative new designs with
the natural world.

Sverre Fehn on the Web:

The Paradox of Sverre Fehn, essay by Ada Louise Huxtable


In the Words of Sverre Fehn:
 "I have never thought of myself as modern, but I did absorb the anti-monumental and the pictorial
world of Le Corbusier, as well as the functionalism of the small villages of North Africa. You might
say I came of age in the shadow of modernism."

 "I always thought I was running away from traditional Norwegian architecture, but I soon realized
that I was operating within its context. How I interpret the site of a project, the light, and the
building materials have a strong relationship to my origins."

 "When I build on a site in nature that is totally unspoiled, it is a fight, an attack by our culture on
nature. In this confrontation, I strive to make a building that will make people more aware of the
beauty of the setting, and when looking at the building in the setting, a hope for a new
consciousness to see the beauty there, as well."

19
Sir Norman Foster and High-Tech Architecture

Pritzker Prize-winning British architect Norman Foster is famous for


"High Tech" design that explores technological shapes and ideas. In
addition to winning the world's most prestigious awards for
architecture, he has been knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.

Born: June 1, 1935 in Manchester, England

Early Life: Born in a working class family, Norman Foster did not
seem likely to become a famous architect. Although he was a good
student in high school and showed an early interest in architecture,
he did not enroll in college until he was 21 years old. Foster won numerous scholarships during his years at
Manchester University, including one to attend Yale University in the United States.

Education:

 1961: Manchester University School of Architecture


 Master's Degree, Yale University, Henry Fellowship
Partnerships:
In 1963 Foster co-founded the successful "Team 4" architectural firm with his wife, Wendy Foster, and the
husband and wife team of Richard Rogers and Sue Rogers. His own firm, Foster Associates (Foster + Partners),
was founded in London in 1967.
Buildings by Sir Norman Foster:
 1970-74: Willis Faber and Dumas Building,  1990-1995: Faculty of Law, University of
Ipswich, United Kingdom Cambridge, United Kingdom
 1977: Sainsbury Centre, Norwich, United  1991-1993: Lycée Albert Camus, Fréjus, France
Kingdom  1991-97: Commerzbank , Frankfurt, Germany
 1979-86: Hongkong and Shanghai Bank, Hong  1992-99: Reichstag Dome, New German
Kong Parliament, Berlin, Germany
 1987-1991: Century Tower Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo,  1995-2001: Daewoo Research and Development,
Japan Seoul, South Korea
 1987-1997: American Air Museum, Duxford,  1998-2003: Albion Riverside, London, United
United Kingdom Kingdom
 1988-1995: Metro Entrance, Bilbao, Spain  2003: 30 St Mary Axe (The Gherkin), London, UK
 1989-1992: Cranfield University Library,
 2001-2006: Hearst Tower, New York City
Bedfordshire, United Kingdom
 2008: Terminal T3, Beijing, China
 2005-2013: The Bow, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Under Construction:
 2 World Trade Center. A sagging real estate market has stalled construction on Norman Foster's proposed
skyscraper for Ground Zero in New York City.
Awards and Honors:
Sir Norman Foster has won numerous awards and honers, including

 1983: RIBA Royal Gold Medal


 1990: RIBA Trustees Medal for the Willis Faber Dumas building
 1990: Knighthood from the Queen of England
 1994: American Institute of Architects Gold Medal
 1997: Appointed by the Queen to the Order of Merit
 1999: Pritzker Architecture Prize
 1999: Honored by the Queen as Lord Foster of Thames Bank

20
Richard Buckminster Fuller (Bucky): Architect,
Philosopher, and Poet

Famous for his design of the geodesic dome, Buckminster


Fuller spent his life exploring "what the little, penniless,
unknown individual might be able to do effectively on
behalf of all humanity."

Born: July 12, 1895 in Milton, Massachusetts


Died: July 1, 1983

Education of Buckminster Fuller:


Expelled from Harvard University during freshman year

Awards Won by Buckminster Fuller:


 44 honorary doctoral degrees
 Gold Medal of the American Institute of Architects
 Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects
 Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

Important Works by Buckminster Fuller:


 1932: The portable Dymaxion house manufactured
 1934: The Dymaxion car
 1938: Nine Chains to the Moon
 1949: Developed the Geodesic Dome
 1967: Biosphere, the US Pavilion at Expo '67, Montreal, Canada
 1969: Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth

 1970: Approaching the Benign Environment


 1975: Synergetics: Explorations in the Geometry of Thinking (read Synergeticsonline)

Quotes by Buckminster Fuller:


 "Whenever I draw a circle, I immediately want to step out of it."

 "You must choose between making money and making sense. The two are mutually exclusive."
 "We are blessed with technology that would be indescribable to our forefathers. We have the
wherewithal, the know-it-all to feed everybody, clothe everybody, and give every human on Earth a
chance. We know now what we could never have known before--that we now have the option for all
humanity to make it successfully on this planet in this lifetime. Whether it is to be Utopia or
Oblivion will be a touch-and-go relay race right up to the final moment."

About R. Buckminster Fuller:


Standing only 5'2" tall, Buckminster Fuller loomed over the twentieth century. Admirers affectionately
call him Bucky, but the name he gave himself was Guinea Pig B. His life, he said, was an experiment.

When he was 32, Buckminster Fuller's life seemed hopeless. He was bankrupt and without a job. He
was grief stricken over the death of his first child and he had a wife and a newborn to support.
Drinking heavily, Buckminster Fuller contemplated suicide. Instead, he decided that his life was not
his to throw away: it belonged to the universe. Buckminster Fuller embarked on "an experiment to
21
discover what the little, penniless, unknown individual might be able to do effectively on behalf of all
humanity."

To this end, Buckminster Fuller spent the next half century searching for "ways of doing more with
less" so that all people could be fed and sheltered. Although Buckminster Fuller never obtained a
degree in architecture, he was an architect and engineer who designed revolutionary structures.
Buckminster Fuller's famous Dymaxion House was a pre-fabricated, pole-supported dwelling. His
Dymaxion car was a streamlined, three-wheeled vehicle with the engine in the rear. His Dymaxion Air-
Ocean Map projected a spherical world as a flat surface with no visible distortion.

But Buckminster Fuller is perhaps most famous for his creation of the geodesic dome - a remarkable,
sphere-like structure based on theories of "energetic-synergetic geometry'' which he developed
during WWII. Efficient and economical, the geodesic dome was widely hailed as a possible solution to
world housing shortages.

During his lifetime, Buckminster Fuller wrote 28 books and was awarded 25 United States patents.
Although his Dymaxion car never caught on and his design for geodesic domes is rarely used for
residential dwellings, Fuller made his mark in areas of architecture, mathematics, philosophy, religion,
urban development, and design.

22
Frank Furness: Philadelphia's Gilded Age Master

Architect Frank Furness designed some of the most elaborate


buildings of America's Gilded Age.

Born:
November 12, 1839 in Philadelphia, PA

Full Name:
Frank Heyling Furness

Died:
June 27, 1912 at age 72. Buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery in
Philadelphia, PA

Education:
Frank Furness attended private schools in the Philadelphia, but did not attend a university or travel
through Europe.

 1857: Apprenticed to architect John Fraser in Philadelphia


 1859-1861 and 1865: New York studio workshop of Richard Morris Hunt
Between 1861-1864, Furness was an officer in the Civil War. He received the Congressional Medal of
Honor.
Partnerships:
 1866: Opened his own practice in Philadelphia

 1867-1871: Joined John Fraser and George W. Hewitt to form Fraser, Furness & Hewitt. Fraser and
Hewitt each left the firm later on.
 1873: Louis Sullivan studied with Furness
 1881: Partnered with Allen Evans. Other architects later joined.
Built Mansions:
Frank Furness designed grand homes in the Philadelphia area, and also in Chicago, Washington DC,
New York State, Rhode Island, and along the New Jersey seashore. Examples:

 1874-75: Fairholme (Fairman Rogers house), Newport, RI (significantly altered)


 1874-1875: Fairholme Carriage House (now Jean and David W. Wallace Hall), Salve Regina
University, Newport, RI
 1875 and 1894: Thomas Hockley House, Philadelphia
 1878: Emlen Physick Estate, Cape May, NJ
 1881: Dolobran (Clement Griscom house), Haverford, PA
 1881: Knowlton Mansion, Philadelphia
Transport and Rail Stations:
Frank Furness was chief architect of the Reading Railroad, and designed for B & O and the
Pennsylvania Railroads. He designed many railway stations in Philadelphia and other cities. Examples:

 1886-88: Philadelphia Terminal, Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, Philadelphia (demolished)


 1882: Mount Airy Station, Philadelphia & Reading Railroad, Philadelphia
 1892-93: Broad Street Station, Pennsylvania Railroad, Philadelphia (demolished)
23
 1887: Water Street Station, Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, Wilmington, Delaware
 1908: French Street Station (Wilmington Station), Wilmington, Delaware
 1908: Pennsylvania Railroad (now Amtrak), Wilmington, Delaware
Churches by Frank Furnesss:
 1885: First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia

 1886: St. Michael's Protestant Episcopal Church, Birdsboro, PA PA


 1897: All Hallows Church, Wyncote, PA
More Great Buildings by Frank Furness:
 1872-1876: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia
 1876: Centennial National Bank (now the Paul Peck Center of Drexel University), Philadelphia

 1889-90: Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades, Elwyn, PA


 1890: Baldwin School (built as the Bryn Mawr Hotel), Bryn Mawr, PA
 1891: University of Pennsylvania Library (now the Anne and Jerome Fisher Fine Arts Library),
Philadelphia
 1892: New Castle Library Society building, New Castle, Delaware
 1896-97: Merion Cricket Club, Haverford, PA
 1907: Girard Trust Company Building (now the Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia)
Furniture Design by Frank Furness:
In addition to buildings, Frank Furness also worked with cabinetmaker Daniel Pabst to design
furniture and custom interiors. See examples at:

 Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York


 Philadelphia Museum of Art
 University of Pennsylvania
Important Styles:
 Beaux Arts
 Gothic Revival
 Neoclassical
About Frank Furness:
Elaborate architecture flourished during America's Guilded Age, and Frank Furness designed some of
the most flamboyant. His mentor, Richard Morris Hunt, gave Furness a foundation in the teachings
of John Ruskin, the Gothic Revival style, and Beaux Arts. However, when Furness opened his own
practice, he began to combine these ideas with other styles, often in unexpected ways.
During his career, Frank Furness designed more than 600 buildings, mostly in Philadelphia and the
Northeast USA. He became a mentor for Louis Sullivan, who carried Furness's ideas to the midwest.
Architectural historians say that the influence of Frank Furness helped shape the Philadelphia
School led by the 20th century architects Louis Kahn and Robert Venturi.
Furness co-founded the Philadelphia Chapter of the A.I.A. (American Institute of Architects).

Photos of buildings by Frank Furness are housed in the Architectural Archives of the University of
Pennsylvania.

24
Charles Garnier, Designer of the Paris Opera

Inspired by Roman pageantry, French architect


Charles Garnier wanted his buildings to have
drama and spectacle. His design for the
magnificent Opera House in Paris combined the
classicism of Renaissance architecture with ornate
Beaux Arts ideas.

Born: November 6, 1825 in Paris, France


Died: August 3, 1898 in Paris, France
Full Name: Jean Louis Charles Garnier

Education:
 Early education at the École Gratuite de Dessin

 1842: Began studies with Louis-Hippolyte Lebas at the École Royale des Beaux-Arts de Paris
 1848: Won the Premier Grand Prix de Rome
 1849: Studied at the Academy in Rome
 1852: Traveled through Greece and Turkey

Great Buildings by Charles Garnier:


 1857-1874: Opéra in Paris
 1878: Casino at Monte Carlo
 Bischoffsheim Villa at Bordighera
 Hotel du Cercle de la Librairie in Paris

Important Styles:
 Beaux Arts
 Renaissance Revival
 Second Empire

About Charles Garnier:


 Jean Louis Charles Garnier was born into a working class family. He was expected to become a
wheelwright like his father. However Garnier wasn't healthy and his mother didn't want him to
work in a forge. So, Charles Garnier took mathematics courses at the École Gratuite de Dessin.
His mother hoped he would get good, steady work as a surveyor, but Charles Garnier achieved
much greater success.

 After studying architecture at the École Royale des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Charles Garnier spent
five years at the Academy in Rome. He was inspired by Roman pageantry and aspired to design
buildings that had the drama of a pageant.

 The highlight Charles Garnier's career was his commission to design the Opéra in Paris. With
its magnificent hall and grand staircase, the Opera House combined classical Renaissance ideas
with lavish ornamentation. Garnier's opulent style reflected the fashion that became popular
during Napoleon III's Second Empire.

25
Frank Gehry, Deconstructivist Architect

(1929 - )

Inventive and irreverent, Frank Gehry has been


surrounded by controversy for most of his career. Using
unorthodox materials like corrugated metal and chain
link, Gehry creates unexpected, twisted forms that break
conventions of building design. His work has been called
radical, playful, organic, and sensual.

Background:

Born: February 28, 1929 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada


Birth Name: Frank Owen Goldberg. Given the Hebrew name Ephraim.
Left Canada: Moved with his Polish/Russian parents to southern California in 1947. Chose U.S.
citizenship when he turned 21.

Education:
 Los Angeles City College
 University of Southern California. Architecture degree completed in 1954
 Harvard Graduate School of Design. Studied city planning for one year.

Personal Life: From 1952 to 1966, married to Anita Snyder, with whom he has two daughters. Frank
Goldberg's name change to Frank Gehry is generally attributed to his first wife's encouragement.
Gehry divorced Snyder and married Berta Isabel Aguilera in 1975. They have two sons.

Career of Frank Gehry:

Buildings: Frank Gehry established his Los Angeles practice in 1962. Early in his career, he designed
houses inspired by modern architects such as Richard Neutra and Frank Lloyd Wright. Gehry's
admiration of Louis Kahn's work influenced his 1965 box-like design of the Danziger House, a
studio/residence for designer Lou Danziger. With this work, Gehry began to be noticed as an architect.
As his career expanded, Gehry became known for massive, iconoclastic projects that attracted
attention and controversy. Many of Gehry's buildings have become tourist attractions, drawing
visitors from around the world.
Furniture: Gehry had success in the 1970s with his line of Easy Edges chairs made from bent
laminated cardboard. By 1991, Gehry was using bent laminated maple to produce the Power Play
Armchair. These designs are part of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) collection in NYC.
Memorials: The Eisenhower Memorial Commission chose Frank Gehry's design for the Washington,
D.C. memorial honoring Dwight D. Eisenhower's command of the Allied Forces in Europe in World
War II and as the 34th President of the United States.
Gehry Designs: Because architecture takes so long to become realized, Gehry often turns to the
"quick fix" of designing smaller products, including jewelry, trophies, and even liquor bottles. From
2003 to 2006 Gehry's partnership with Tiffany & Co. released the exclusive jewelry collection that
included the sterling silver Torque Ring. In 2004 the Canada-born Gehry designed a trophy for the
international World Cup of Ice Hockey tournament. Also in 2004, the Polish side of Gehry designed a
twisty vodka bottle for Wyborowa Exquisite, also of Polish descent (see PDF product marketing).
26
Famous Gehry Buildings:
 1967: Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, Maryland (first Gehry structure reviewed by The New
York Times)
 1978: Gehry House (Gehry's private home), Santa Monica CA
 1993: Weisman Art Museum, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
 1997: Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain
 1999: Maggies Centre, Dundee, Scotland
 2000: The Experience Music Project (EMP), Seattle, Washington
 2001: Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY
 2004: MIT Stata Complex, Cambridge MA
 1989-2004: Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles CA
 2004: Jay Pritzker Music Pavillion, Chicago, Illinois
 2005: 'MARTa' Museum, Herford, Germany
 2007: IAC Building, New York City
 2008: Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, Kensington Gardens, London, UK
 2011: New York By Gehry, New York City
 2014: Biomuseo, Museum of Biodiversity, Panama City, Panama
 2014 (Expected Completion): Dr. Chau Chak Wing Building, University of Technology, Sydney,
Australia
Awards:
 1977: Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize in Architecture, American Academy of Arts and Letters
 1989: Pritzker Architecture Prize
 1992: Wolf Prize in Art, the Wolf Foundation
 1992: Praemium Imperiale Award, Japan Art Association
 1994: Dorothy and Lillian Gish Award for lifetime contribution to the arts
 1998: National Medal of Arts
 1998: Friedrich Kiesler Prize
 1999: Lotos Medal of Merit, Lotos Club
 1999: Gold Medal, American Institute of Architects
 2000: Lifetime Achievement Award, Americans for the Arts
 More than 100 awards from the American Institute of Architects
 Numerous honorary doctorates and honorary titles
Deconstructivist Architecture:In 1988, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City
used Gehry's Santa Monica house as an example of a new architecture they called deconstructivism.
Deconstruction breaks down the parts of a piece so their organization appears disorganized and
chaotic. Unexpected details and building materials tend to create a visual disorientation and
disharmony.

Source: MoMA Press Release, June 1988, pages 1 and 3. PDF accessed online February 20, 2012In
His Own Words:
"I approach each building as a sculptural object, a spatial container, a space with light and air, a
response to context and appropriateness of feeling and spirit. To this container, this sculpture, the
user brings his baggage, his program, and interacts with it to accommodate his needs. If he can't do
that, I've failed."— from the 1980 edition of "Contemporary Architects"
"Building a building is like berthing the Queen Mary in a small slip at a marina. There are lots of wheels
and turbines and thousands of people involved, and the architect is the guy at the helm who has to
visualize everything going on and organize it all in his head. Architecture is anticipating, working with
and understanding all of the craftsmen, what they can do and what they can't do, and making it all
come together. I think of the final product as a dream image, and it's always elusive. You can have a
sense of what the building should look like and you can try to capture it. But you never quite do."—
Conversations With Frank Gehry by Barbara Isenberg, p. 62

27
Cass Gilbert, Architect of Skyscrapers and Capitols
(1859-1934)

Famous for his Gothic Revival skyscraper, the Woolworth Building,


Cass Gilbert helped shape some of the most important buildings in
the United States.

Born: November 24, 1859 in Zanesville, Ohio


Death: May 17, 1934 in Brockenhurst, England
Education: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, 1878-
1879
Buildings by Cass Gilbert:
 1900: Broadway Chambers Building, New York City

 1902: Essex County Courthouse, Newark, New Jersey


 1904: Festival Hall and Art Building, St. Louis, Missouri
 1905: Minnesota State Capitol, St. Paul
 1907: US Custom House, New York City
 1913: F.W. Woolworth Company Building, New York City
 1915: Completed the Arkansas State Capitol Building
 1917: Allen Memorial Art Museum at Oberlin College, Ohio
 1921: Detroit Public Library
 1926: Plans for George Washington Bridge, New York
 1928: New York Life Insurance Building
 1935: U.S. Supreme Court Building, Washington D.C.
Quotes by Cass Gilbert:
 "In conducting business (especially for the office) never forget that the greatest danger arises from
cocksure pride."
 "Beware of over-confidence; especially in matters of structure."
 "It is only the young and callow and ignorant that admire rashness. Think before you speak. Know
your subject."
-from Maxims for My Office Organization

Related People:
 William LeBaron Jenney
 William Sullivan
 William Holabird
Why Cass Gilbert is Important:
Although Cass Gilbert's name is rarely mentioned today, he exercised enormous influence on the
development of architecture in the United States. His Gothic Revival Woolworth Building was the
world's tallest building at the time. Combining modern technologies with historic ideas, Gilbert
designed many public buildings, including the state capitols of Minnesota, West Virginia, and
Arkansas. He was a consulting architect for the George Washington Bridge, which crosses the Hudson
River in upper Manhattan, New York City.

Cass Gilbert's Honors and Awards:


Cass Gilbert was highly regarded by politicians and other luminaries of the day. President Theodore
Roosevelt made him chairman of the Council of Fine Arts, and President Wilson reappointed him.
Gilbert received many gold metals in the United States and Europe. In 1931 the Society of Arts and

28
Sciences awarded Cass Gilbert for inaugurating the age of skyscrapers. Cass Gilbert served as
president of the American Institute of Architects in 1908 and 1909, and helped found the
Architectural League of New York, serving as its president for two years.

Cass Gilbert in History:


By the 1950s, Gilbert's name slipped into obscurity. Modernism, which idealized sleek, unornamented
forms, became fashionable and Gilbert's buildings were often dismissed or ridiculed. Today, however,
a new appreciation for architecture based on historic themes has reawakened interest in the work of
Cass Gilbert.

Learn More About Cass Gilbert:

The most comprehensive records of Cass Gilbert's work are housed at the New-York Historical
Society. Some 63,000 drawings, sketches, blueprints and watercolor renderings plus hundreds of
letters, specifications, ledgers and personal files document the firm's New York practice. In linear
footage, the Society's Gilbert collection is about as high as his celebrated Woolworth Building.

But, even if you cannot travel to New York, you can rediscover the genius of Cass Gilbert in a lavish
book that features highlights from the collection. Published by Columbia University Press, Inventing
the Skyline: The Architecture of Cass Gilbert is a hefty, picture-packed hardback edited by Margaret
Heilbrun, library director for the New-York Historical Society.
Criticism of Cass Gilbert:
"The fairly pedestrian designs created by Gilbert's firm did not prevent it from gaining popularity. The
majority of buildings the firm designed were gothicized skyscrapers, the most famous of which was
the Woolworth Building. Works designed by the firm during the early 1930s were competent Classical
buildings which lack the originality of such contemporary Modernists as Frank Lloyd Wright and
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe."

~ Dennis Sharp. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Architects and Architecture. New York: Quatro Publishing, 1991. ISBN 0-
8230-2539-X. NA40.I45. p65.

29
Antoni Gaudí, Spanish Modernist Architect

(1852-1926)
Leading the Spanish Modernist movement, Antoni Gaudí
has been classified with Gothicism (sometimes called
warped Gothicism), Art Nouveau, and Surrealism. He
was also influenced by Oriental styles, nature, sculpture,
and a desire to go beyond anything that had ever been
done before. Defying labels, Antoni Gaudí's work might
be simple called, Gaudí-ism.

Born:
June 25, 1852 somewhere in Catalonia, possibly Baix Camp, Tarragona, Spain

Died:
June 12, 1926

Full Name:
Antoni Plàcid Guillem Gaudí Cornet

Education:
Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura, Barcelona

Important Buildings:
 1882-Present: Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain
 1883-1885: El Capricho, Comillas, Spain
 1883-1888: Casa Vicens, Barcelona
 1886-1890: Palau Güell, Barcelona
 1888-1890: Colegio Teresiano, Barcelona
 1891-1892: Casa Botines, León, Spain
 1898-1900: Casa Calvet, Barcelona
 1900-1914: Parque Güell, Barcelona
 1901-1902: Finca Miralles, Barcelona
 1904-1906: Casa Batlló, Barcelona
 1906-1910: Casa Milà Barcelona, or La Pedrera
 1908-1909: Sagrada Familia School, Barcelona

Awards:
 1900: Casa Calvet named Building of the Year by the City of Barcelona
 1969: Casa Milà, Casa Vincens, Colegio Teresiano, Parque Güell, and Sagrada Familia, named
Historic-Artistic Monuments of National Interest
 1984: Casa Milà, Palau Güell, and Parque Güell granted World Heritage status by UNESCO
Influences:
 John Ruskin - "Ornament is the origin of architecture"
 William Morris
 Religion - the basis of Gaudí's inspiration, particularly in later years

 Catalan nationalism
 Gothicism

30
 Modernism
 Surrealism
 Oriental structures
 Art Nouveau and shapes taken from nature
 Organic architecture
 Color
 Geometry
 Eugène Viollet-le-Duc - medieval French architecture
Quotes:
 "Originality consists of returning to the origin. Thus, originality means returning, through one's
resources, to the simplicity of the early solutions."
 "Everything comes from the great book of nature."
 "Artists do not need monuments erected for them because their works are their monuments."
Life of Antoni Gaudí:
Stricken with a rheumatic problem that made walking painful, young Antoni Gaudí often missed
school and had little interaction with other children, but had ample time to study nature. While
seeking his degree in architecture in Barcelona, Gaudí also studied philosophy, history, and
economics. He believed that differences in architecture were caused by society and politics, rather
than aesthetics.

Gaudí was granted the title of Architect and presented his first major project, the Mataró Cooperative
(a housing project for factory workers), at the Paris World Fair in 1878. Far ahead of his time, only a
small portion of the project was actually built, but Gaudí's name became known and he met Eusebi
Güell, who would become a very close friend as well as a patron. This meeting was extremely
fortuitous: Güell trusted his friend's genius completely and never limited or tried to change the
architect's vision during his many projects.

In 1883, Gaudí began work on his greatest project, the Sagrada Familia church, begun in 1882 by
Francisco de Paula del Villar. For nearly 30 years, Gaudí worked on Sagrada Familia and other projects
simultaneously, until 1911, when he decided to devote himself exclusively to the church. During the
last year of his life, Gaudí lived in his studio at Sagrada Familia.

Tragically, in June, 1926, Gaudí was run over by a tram. Because he was poorly dressed, he was not
recognized and taxi drivers refused to take a "vagabond" to the hospital (they were later fined by the
police). Gaudí died five days later, and was buried in the crypt of the building to which he had devoted
44 years of his life, the as-yet unfinished Sagrada Familia.

During Gaudí's lifetime, official organizations rarely recognized his talent. The City of Barcelona often
tried (unsuccessfully) to stop or limit Gaudí's work because it exceeded city regulations, and the only
project the City ever assigned him was that of designing streetlights. He received the Building of the
Year award for his least impressive building, Casa Calvet.

31
Bruce Goff, 20th Century Architect
(1904-1982)

Bruce Goff designed expressive buildings from throw-away


materials such as cake pans, steel pipe, rope, cellophane, and
ash trays.

Born: June 8, 1904 in Alton, Kansas


Died: August 4, 1982 in Tyler, Texas
Education:
Bruce Goff did not receive a formal education in architecture.
At age 12, he apprenticed to Rush, Endacott and Rush of Tulsa,
Oklahoma. Bruce Goff became a partner in the firm in 1930,
and later became a professor of architecture at the University
of Oklahoma.

During the early 1950s, Bruce Goff chaired the University of Oklahoma School of Architecture.

Famous Buildings:
Bruce Goff designed about 500 projects in his lifetime; 140 of them were built. Many were private
homes in isolated regions of the mid-western United States.

Expressive and original, Goff's buildings were often constructed with unusual, throw-away materials.
For example, the idiosyncratic Duncan/Etzkorn-Bruce Goff Castle Dwelling that Bruce Goff designed
for sociology professor Hugh Duncan is a disorderly collection of rocks with a cave-like interiors.

Important Ideas:
 Organic Architecture
 Arts & Crafts

Inspired By:
 Frank Lloyd Wright
 Louis Sullivan
 Antoni Gaudí

About Bruce Goff:


Bruce Goff was a friend of Frank Lloyd Wright's, and, like Wright, Goff based his works on the
principles of Organic Architecture. However, Goff developed his own approach to organic design,
creating complex, idiosyncratic buildings that critics often found shocking.
Many fellow architects were suspicious and critical of the individualistic and unschooled Bruce Goff.
In 1955, Goff left the ultra-conservative University of Oklahoma and withdrew from active practice
amidst a sex scandal and charges of homosexuality.

Today, Bruce Goff is widely praised for his highly creative, original contributions to 20th century
architecture.

32
Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue, Ecclesiastical Architect

(1869 - 1924)

Bertram G. Goodhue was an innovator who combined Gothic and


Hispanic designs with modern ideas. He revolutionized church
(ecclesiastical) architecture by reawakening Medieval traditions,
with a focus on modern detailing within traditional designs. His
fanciful Spanish Churrigueresque buildings for the Panama-California
Exposition brought new energy to Spanish Colonial Revival
architecture in the United States. Later in his career, Goodhue moved
beyond Gothic ornamentation to explore classical forms, designing
landmark buildings such as the Nebraska State Capitol.

Born: April 28, 1869 in Pomfret, Connecticut


Died: April 23, 1924 in New York City
Education:
Studied for six years under James Renwick, Jr., architect of many public buildings and churches,
including Smithsonian Institute Castle in Washington, DC and Grace Church and St. Patrick's Cathedral in New
York.
Important Projects Attributed to Goodhue:
 1910: Cadet Chapel, West Point (Cram, Goodhue, and Ferguson)
 1912: First Baptist Church, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
 1915: Church of the Intercession, New York City
 1915: Panama-California Exposition Buildings, San Diego, California
 1918: St. Bartholomew's Church (St. Bart's), New York City
 1922: Nebraska State Capitol building, Lincoln, Nebraska
 1924: National Academy of Sciences Building, Washington, DC
 1924: Master Plan for the California Institute of Technology
 1926: Los Angeles Central Public Library (LAPL), California
More About Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue:
Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue never attended college. Instead, at age fifteen he went to work in the New York
office of Renwick, Aspinwall and Russell. In 1898, he formed his own partnership with Cram, Goodhue, and
Ferguson.

Although Goodhue's early works were noted for their high Gothic style, he later adopted a Romanesque style.
By the end of his career, his work tended toward simple, classical lines. The Los Angeles Central Library,
completed after his death, has elements of Art Deco design. Today Goodhue is considered an American
modernist.

Typeface Designs

Goodhue is said to have invented two font styles:


 Merrymount, designed for the Merrymount Press of Boston
 Cheltenham, designed for the Cheltenham Press in New York City; Cheltenham was adopted by The New York
Times for their headline typeface and by the L.L. Bean company for their distinctive logo
In the Words of Goodhue:
" ...the trouble in our houses today is that we want everything to seem rich and extravagant—we want money, and
then we want to show it in our surroundings."
—from The New York Times, A Renowned Architect's Home of His Own by Christopher Gray, January 22, 2006 [accessed April 8, 2014]

33
Bruce Graham, Chicago Skyscraper Architect
(1925-2010)

A leading architect for Skidmore, Owings & Merrill


(SOM), Bruce J. Graham transformed Chicago's skyline,
designing some of the City's most famous skyscrapers.

Born: December 1, 1925 in La Cumbre, Colombia, near


Cali, Columbia
Died: March 6, 2010 in Hobe Sound, Florida, near
Miami, Florida
Early Life:
Bruce John Graham's mother was from Peru and his father was an international banker from Canada. During
his childhood, Graham lived in Puerto Rico. His native language was Spanish.

Education:
 University of Dayton, Ohio
 Case School of Applied Sciences in Cleveland, Ohio
 University of Pennsylvania, architecture degree in 1948
Selected Buildings:
 1970: John Hancock Center, Chicago, Illinois
 1974: First Wisconsin Plaza, Madison, Wisconsin
 1974 to 1976: Willis Tower (Originally the Sears Tower), Chicago, Illinois
About Big John:
SOM claims that "Big John," the John Hancock Center, was the world's first mixed-use skyscraper built. It's 100
stories used no more steel than a conventional 50 story tall building of its day. How was it designed?

" Structurally, the exterior members of the steel frame represent a tube where the necessary stiffness is provided by
diagonal members and by those structural floors that coincide with the intersections of the diagonals and the
corner columns. In keeping with the functional organization, this tubular body has its largest cross-section where
the stresses caused by wind forces are greatest."
Source: John Hancock Center Project Description, SOM website accessed July 19, 2014
Quotes:
 "It would be difficult to say with words or music what I feel I can say best with building."
Bruce Graham, quoted by SOM at www.som.com/bruce-j-graham
About Bruce Graham:
Bruce Graham was considered one of America's leading designers of high-rise buildings. Although he never
studied with Mies van der Rohe, he was instrumental in applying "Miesian" ideas to Chicago's skyscrapers. Most
significantly, Graham used the tubular frame principle for several important buildings.

After the 1970s, America began to look less favorably on stark architecture in the Mies van der Rohe style.
Graham's designs became more complex with greater detail.

Like architect David M. Childs, Bruce Graham has served as a general partner at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
(SOM) for most of his career. In addition to his famous skyscrapers, Bruce Graham helped create the 1973
urban plan for Chicago.
Before joining Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Bruce Graham worked briefly for the firm of Holabird and Roche.

34
Michael Graves, Architect and Product Designer

b. 1934

Architect Michael Graves is a postmodernist who brings


innovation and playful design to sophisticated buildings and
everyday objects such as teakettles. Paralyzed late in life, he
has also become a spokesman for universal design.

Born: July 9, 1934 in Indianapolis, Indiana


Education:
 University of Cincinnati, Ohio

 Harvard University
 Fellow at the American Academy in Rome
Important Buildings and Projects:
 Michael Graves' home, New Jersey
 1982: Portland Building, Portland, Oregon

 1985: Humana Tower, Louisville, Kentucky


 1987: The Dolphin and Swan Hotels, Orlando, Florida
 1990: Denver Public Library, Denver, Colorado
 1991: Team Disney Building, Burbank, California
 1993: Celebration, Florida Post Office
 1995: Engineering Research Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
 1997: United States Federal Courthouse, Washington, DC
 1998-2000; 2013-2014: Washington Monument Illumination, Washington, DC
 2011: The Wounded Warrior Home Project at Fort Belvoir
Also Known For:
Michael Graves has designed furnishings, artifacts, jewelry, and dinnerware for companies such as
Disney, Alessi, Steuben, Phillips Electronics, and Black & Decker. Graves is most famous for designing
more than 100 products, ranging from a toilet brush to a $60,000 outdoor pavilion, for Target stores.

Michael Graves' Illness:


In 2003, a sudden illness left Michael Graves paralyzed from the waist down. Now confined to a
wheelchair, Graves combines his sophisticated and often whimsical approach to design with a deeper
understanding of the importance of accessibility.

More About Michael Graves:


Michael Graves is often credited with moving American architectural thought from abstract
modernism to post-modernism. Graves founded his practice in Princeton, New Jersey in 1964 and
taught at Princeton University in New Jersey for almost 40 years. His works range from grand projects
such as the Public Services Building in Portland Oregon to designs for furniture, teapots, and other
household items.

Borrowing heavily from the past, Graves often combines traditional details with whimsical flourishes.
He was, perhaps, at his most playful when he designed the Dolphin and Swan Hotels for the Walt
Disney World Resort in Florida. The Dolphin Hotel is a turquoise and coral pyramid. A 63-foot-dolphin
sits on top, and water cascades down the side. The Swan Hotel has a gently curved roof-line topped
with 7-foot swans. The two hotels are connected by an awning-sheltered walkway over a lagoon.
35
Eileen Gray, Furniture Designer and Architect
(1878-1976)

Born: August 9, 1878 in County Wexford, Ireland


Full Name: Kathleen Eileen Moray Gray
Died: October 31, 1976 in Paris, France
Education:
 Painting classes at the Slade School of Fine Art

 Académie Julian
 Académie Colarossi

Furniture Design by Eileen Gray:


Eileen Gray began her career as a lacquer artist. She is best known for her furniture designs.

 Bibendum chair
 Bedroom-Boudoir for the Monte-Carlo
 The Nonconformist Chair
 Adjustable Table E 1027

 Art Deco Lacquer Screens


" Aram Designs holds the worldwide head licence for Eileen Gray Designs and is the only UK source for
the authentic products."—www.eileengray.co.uk/

Houses by Eileen Gray:


In the early 1920s, Romanian architect Jean Badovici (1893-1956) encouraged Eileen Gray to begin
designing small houses.

 1927: Collaborated with Jean Badovici on Maison en bord de mer E-1027, Roquebrune Cap Martin,
on the Mediterranean Sea in southern France
 1932: Tempe à Pailla
 1954: Lou Pérou, near Saint-Tropez
 About E1027:
 The alpha-numeric code symbolically wraps Eileen Gray (the "E" and "7"th letter of the
alphabet, G) around "102"—the tenth and second letters of the alphabet, "J" and "B," which
stand for Jean Badovici. As lovers, they shared this summer retreat.
 Modernist architect Le Corbusierinfamously painted and drew murals on the interior walls of
E1027, without Gray's permission.
 The film The Price of Desire (2014) tells the story of these modernists.
 A faithful community, Eileen Gray Villa E1027 - Maison En Bord De Mer, is onFacebook.
 About Eileen Gray:
 Eileen Gray's contributions were overlooked for many years, but she is now considered one of
the most influential designers of modern times. Working with geometric forms, Eileen Gray
created plush furniture designs in steel and leather. Many Art Deco and Bauhaus architects and
designers found inspiration in Eileen Gray's unique style.
 Bloggers have written extensively about Eileen Gray's influence. Canadian designer Lindsay
Brown's blog Eileen Gray’s E-1027 house is an astute review with photographs of
Gray's maison en bord de mer. Brown suggests that "Corbusier had something to do with Gray's
obscurity."

36
Walter Burley Griffin
The Man Who 'Made' Canberra

On the way to the Australian Parliament House in Canberra, the visitor


from Sydney and other points north crosses the Commonwealth Ave
Bridge which spans a small body of water. To his left, he may catch
glimpse of a spout of water rising 140 metres into the air — operating
two hours in the morning, two hours in the afternoon, and an extra
two hours in the evening during daylight saving time — which is the
Captain Cook Memorial Water Jet.

This body of water, a most attractive feature of Canberra with parks


and well-kept cycleways around it, is Lake Burley Griffin. It was
created in 1963 when the Molonglo River was dammed.

In the Australian capital, the lake is not named after a noted Australian
but rather after an American from Illinois: the architect and planner
Walter Burley Griffin who died in 1937, 26 years before the lake
named in his honor was formed.

Prize-winning design
Griffin, born in 1876 in Maywood near Chicago, won in 1910 an international competition to design the capital
of Australia, much as another non-Australian, the Danish architect Joern Utzon, won the competition to design
that Sydney icon, the Sydney Opera House.
With a bachelor of science in architecture from the University of Illinois, Griffin worked as a draughtsman with
celebrated US architect Frank Lloyd Wright who was later to belittle him as nothing more than a draughtsman.

After this break with Wright, the two American architects were never to speak with each other again.
Largest challenge
Walter Burley Griffin's educational background evolved through an interest in landscaping. Seeking the advice
of a renowned landscape gardener, O C Simonds, Griffin was surprised to receive the exhortation that he should
study "a more lucrative career."

Walter Burley Griffin enrolled in the Department of Architecture of the University of Illinois. His senior project
was called A Capitol Building, the plan of which was later never to be found.

The largest challenge of Griffin’s life came in 1912 when he received word from Melbourne that his design for
Australia’s national capital had been awarded first prize. It was at this point that he had his falling out with
Wright.

Love and heartbreak

The Illinois architect visited Canberra in 1913 where he was lionised. This was the start of a love affair with
Australia, but as with Utzon and the Opera House, the relationship teetered into heartbreak as he battled to
have he Griffin Plan was finally accepted in 1925 and the Canberra of his dream began to take shape. The design
of Canberra today is very much as Walter Burley Griffin planned, with streets formed in concentric circles, and
a triangle formed by the current Parliament House at its apex, Commonwealth Ave and Kings Ave at its sides
and the lake at its base.While in Australia, Griffin designed Newman College at the University of Melbourne and
the Capitol Theatre, also in Melbourne. In New South Wales, he was responsible for the planning and
development of Leeton and Griffith towns and the Sydney suburbs of Castlecrag and Castle Cove.In 1936 Griffin
migrated to India. He died in 1937.his ideas implemented and bureaucrats resisted his designs.

37
Walter Gropius, Founder of the Bauhaus
(1883 - 1969)
Walter Gropius was a German architect and art educator who
founded the Bauhaus school of design, which became a dominant
force in architecture and the applied arts in the 20th century.

Born: May 18, 1883 in Berlin, Germany


Died: July 5, 1969
Full Name: Walter Adolph Gropius
Education:
Technical Universities in Münich and Berlin

Selected Works:
 1910-1911: Fagus Works, Alfred an der Leine, Germany
 1925: The Bauhaus Building, Dessau, Germany
 1937: Gropius House, Lincoln, MA
 1950: Harvard Graduate Center, Cambridge, MA
 1963: Pan Am Building, in collaboration with Pietro Belluschi. Now MetLife, the building became
part of New York's Grand Central Terminal City.
Best Known For:
Walter Gropius believed that all design should be functional as well as aesthetically pleasing. His
Bauhaus school pioneered a functional, severely simple architectural style, featuring the elimination
of surface decoration and extensive use of glass.

The Bauhaus school attracted many artists, including painters Paul Klee andWassily Kandinsky,
graphic artist Käthe Kollwitz, and expressionist art groups such as Die Brücke and Der Blaue Reiter.
Related People:
When Gropius resigned from the Bauhaus School in 1928, architectLudwig Mies van der Rohe became
the next director. Other influential Bauhaus architects included:
 Marcel Breuer

 Richard Neutra
 Philip Johnson
More About Walter Gropius:
Although Gropius is best known for the Bauhaus style, his architectural reputation was first
established when, working with Adolph Meyer, he designed the Fagus Works (1910-1911) and the
office building for the Werkbund exhibition in Cologne (1914).

Walter Gropius opposed the Nazi regime and left Germany secretly in 1934. After several years in
England, Gropius began teaching architecture at Harvard University. As a Harvard professor, Gropius
introduced Bauhaus concepts and design principles - teamwork standardization, and prefabrication -
to a generation of American architects.

Between 1938 to 1941, Gropius worked on several houses with Marcel Breuer. They formed the
Architects Collaborative in 1945. Among their commissions were the Harvard Graduate Center
(1946), the U.S. Embassy in Athens and the University of Baghdad. One of Gropius's later designs, in
collaboration with Pietro Belluschi, was the Pam Am Building (now the Metropolitan Life Building) in
New York City.

38
Charles Gwathmey, Modern Architect
(1938 - 2009)

With Robert Siegel, Charles Gwathmey was a partner in the New


York firm Gwathmey Siegel & Associates. The partnership was
formed in 1968.
Born: June 19, 1938 in Charlotte, North Carolina
Died: August 3, 2009 in New York City
Education:
 University of Pennsylvania School of Architecture
 Masters degree in architecture from Yale University, 1962
Charles Gwathmey's Teachers:
While in college, Charles Gwathmey studied under:

 Louis I. Kahn
 Robert Venturi
 Thomas Vreeland
 Paul Rudolph
 James Stirling

Selected Buildings:
 1965: Gwathmey Residence and Studio, Amagansett, New York (for his parents)
 1992: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Renovation & Addition, New York (The New York Times)
 2001: International Center of Photography, New York City
 2004: Middlebury College Library, Vermont
 2006: Glenstone, Potomac, Maryland
 2006: Astor Place Tower, New York City
 2010: W New York Downtown Hotel, 123 Washington Street, New York

Awards Won by Charles Gwathmey:


 While a student at Yale University, won a Fulbright Grant and the William Wirt Winchester Fellowship
 1970: Brunner Prize, American Academy of Arts and Letters
 1976: Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters
 1983: Medal of Honor from the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects
 1985: The first Yale Alumni Arts Award from the Yale School of Architecture
 1988: Lifetime Achievement Medal in Visual Arts from the Guild Hall Academy of Arts
 1990: Lifetime Achievement Award from the New York State Society of Architects
Related People:
Charles Gwathmey is a member of a group of five New York architects featured in a controversial 1967 exhibit
at the Museum of Modern Art and in a later book titled Five Architects. In addition to Gwathmey, the "New York
Five" included:
 Peter Eisenman
 Michael Graves
 John Hejduk
 Richard Meier
Important Ideas:
 Modernism
 International Style

39
Zaha Hadid, First Woman to Win a Pritzker

Born in Baghdad, Iraq in 1950, Zaha Hadid was the first woman to win a
Pritzker Architecture Prize. Her work experiments with new spatial
concepts and encompasses all fields of design, ranging from urban spaces to
products and furniture.

Born:October 31, 1950 in Baghdad, Iraq

Education:
 1977: Diploma Prize, Architectural Association (AA) School of Architecture in London
 Studied mathematics at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon prior to moving to London in 1972
Selected Projects:
 1993: A fire station for the Vitra Company in  2009: MAXXI: National Museum of 21st Century
Weil am Rhein, Germany Arts, Rome, Italy
 2000: Inaugural Serpentine Gallery Pavilion,  2010: Sheikh Zayed Bridge, Abu Dhabi, UAE
London, UK  2010: Guangzhou Opera House, China
 2001: Terminus Hoenheim-Nord, a "park and  2011: Riverside Museum of Transport, Glasgow,
ride" and tramway on the outskirts of Scotland
Strasbourg, France  2011: Aquatics Centre, London, United Kingdom
 2002: Bergisel Ski Jump, Austria  2011: CMA CGM Corporate Headquarters,
 2003: The Richard and Lois Rosenthal Center for Marseille, France
Contemporary Art in Cincinnati, Ohio  2012: Pierres Vives, Montpellier, France
 2005: Phæno Science Center in Wolfsburg,  2012: Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at
Germany Michigan State University in East Lansing
 2008: Pedestrian Bridge and Exposition
Pavilions, Zaragoza, Spain
Other Works:
Zaha Hadid is also known for her exhibition designs, stage sets, furniture, paintings, and drawings.

Partnerships:
 Zaha Hadid worked at the Office for Metropolitan Architecture with her former teachers, Rem Koolhaas and
Elia Zenghelis
 In 1979, Zaha Hadid opened her own practice, Zaha Hadid Architects. Patrik Schumacher joined her in 1988.
Major Awards and Honors:
 1982: Gold Medal Architectural Design, British  2010, 2011: Stirling Prize, Royal Institute of
Architecture for 59 Eaton Place, London British Architects (RIBA)
 2000: Honourable Member of the American  2012: Order of the British Empire, Dames
Academy of Arts and Letters Commander of the Order of the British Empire
(DBE) for services to Architecture
 2002: Commander of the British Empire
 2004: Pritzker Architecture Prize
About Zaha Hadid:
 From parking garages and ski-jumps to vast urban landscapes, Zaha Hadid's works have been called
bold, unconventional, and theatrical. Zaha Hadid studied and worked under Rem Koolhaas, and like
Koolhaas, she often brings a deconstructivist approach to her designs.
 Zaha Hadid was the first woman to win a Pritzker Architecture Prize. Learn more: Citation from the
Pritzker Prize Jury.

40
Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, Modern Architects

About Herzog and de Meuron:


Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron are two important Swiss
architects known for innovative construction using new
materials and techniques. The two architects have nearly parallel
careers. Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron were born the
same year, attended the same school, and in 1978 they formed
the architectural partnership, Herzog & de Meuron. In 2001,
Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron were chosen to share the
prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize.

Herzog Born: April 19, 1950 in Basel, Switzerland


de Meuron Born: May 8, 1950, Basel
Education: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich,
Switzerland

Selected Projects:
 1999-2000: Apartment buildings, Rue des Suisses, Paris, France

 1998-2000: Roche Pharma Research Institute Building 92 / Building 41, Hoffmann-La Roche, Basel,
Switzerland
 2000: Tate Modern, London Bankside, UK
 1998-1999: Central Signal Tower, Basel, Switzerland
 1998: Ricola Marketing Building, Laufen, Switzerland
 1996-1998: Dominus Winery, Yountville, California
 1993: Ricola-Euope SA Production and Storage Building, Mulhouse-Brunstatt, France
 1989-1991: Ricola Factory Addition and Glazed Canopy, Laufen, Switzerland
 2003: Prada Boutique Aoyama, Tokyo, Japan
 2004: IKMZ der BTU Cottbus, Library at Brandenburg University of Technology (BTU), Cottbus,
Germany,
 2004: Edifici Fòrum, Barcelona, Spain
 2005: Walker Art Center expansion, Minneapolis. MN
 2008: Beijing National Stadium, Beijing, China
 2012: Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, Kensington Gardens, London, UK
 2012: Parrish Art Museum, Long Island, New York
 2015: Grand Stade de Bordeaux, France
 2016: 56 Leonard Street ("Jenga Tower"), New York City
 2017: La tour Triangle, Porte de Versailles, Paris, France
 2017: M+ Visual Art Museum in Kowloon, Hong Kong

Related People:
 Rem Koolhaas, Pritzker Prize Laureate, 2000
 I.M. Pei, 1983 Pritzker Laureate
 Robert Venturi, Pritzker Prize Laureate, 1991
41
 Thom Mayne, 2005 Pritzker Laureate
 Zaha Hadid, Pritzker Prize Laureate, 2004
About Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron:
Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron have designed projects in England, France, Germany, Italy,
Spain, Japan, the United States, and of course, in their native Switzerland. They have built residences,
several apartment buildings, libraries, schools, a sports complex, a photographic studio, museums,
hotels, railway utility buildings, and office and factory buildings.

Commentary on Herzog and de Meuron from the Pritzker Prize Committee:


Among their completed buildings, the Ricola cough lozenge factory and storage building in Mulhouse,
France stands out for its unique printed translucent walls that provide the work areas with a pleasant
filtered light. A railway utility building in Basel, Switzerland called Signal Box has an exterior cladding
of copper strips that are twisted at certain places to admit daylight. A library for the Technical
University in Eberswalde, Germany has 17 horizontal bands of iconographic images silk screen
printed on glass and on concrete. An apartment building on Schützenmattstrasse in Basel has a fully
glazed street facade that is covered by a moveable curtain of perforated latticework.

While these unusual construction solutions are certainly not the only reason for Herzog and de
Meuron being selected as the 2001 Laureates, Pritzker Prize jury chairman, J. Carter Brown,
commented, "One is hard put to think of any architects in history that have addressed the integument
of architecture with greater imagination and virtuosity."

Ada Louise Huxtable, architecture critic and member of the jury, commented further about Herzog
and de Meuron, "They refine the traditions of modernism to elemental simplicity, while transforming
materials and surfaces through the exploration of new treatments and techniques."

Another juror, Carlos Jimenez from Houston who is professor of architecture at Rice University, said,
"One of the most compelling aspects of work by Herzog and de Meuron is their capacity to astonish."

And from juror Jorge Silvetti, who chairs the Department of Architecture, Graduate School of Design at
Harvard University, "...all of their work maintains throughout, the stable qualities that have always
been associated with the best Swiss architecture: conceptual precision, formal clarity, economy of
means and pristine detailing and craftsmanship."

42
William Holabird, Skyscraper Pioneer

Along with his partner Martin Roche, William Holabird forged


America's early skyscrapers and launched an architectural style
known as the Chicago School.

Born:

September 11, 1854 in Amenia Union, New York

Died:

July 19, 1923

Education:
 Two years at U.S. Military Academy, West Point, N.Y.

 Draftsman for William Le Baron Jenney


Important Buildings:
 1888: Tacoma Building, Chicago (demolished)

 1893: Old Colony Building, Chicago


 1894: Marquette Building, Chicago
 1909: The La Salle Hotel

 1923: Palmer House

 1925: Stevens Hotel


Related People:
 Louis Sullivan
 William Le Baron Jenney
 Cass Gilbert
More William Holabird:
William Holabird began his education at the West Point Military Academy, but after two years he
moved to Chicago and worked as a draftsman for William Le Baron Jenney, who is often called "father
of the skyscraper." Holabird founded his own practice in 1880, and formed a partnership with Martin
Roche in 1881.

43
Raymond Hood, Art Deco Architect

American architect Raymond Hood straddled the centuries. He


became famous for Neo-Gothic and Art Deco buildings. By the end
of his career, however, Raymond Hood was designing buildings so
modern that they foretold the International Style.

Born:
March 29, 1881 in Pawtucket, Rhode Island

Died:
August 14, 1934

Education:
 Brown University

 Massachusetts Institute of Technology


 Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris
Important Buildings:
 1924: Tribune Tower, Chicago, IL (with John Mead Howells)
 1924: American Standard Building (American Radiator Building), New York, NY
 1929: Daily News Building, New York, NY
 1930: Masonic Temple (Scranton Cultural Center), Scranton, Pennsylvania
 1933: GE Building (originally, RCA Building), New York, NY
 1933-1937: Rockefeller Center and Radio City Music Hall, New York, NY
 1934: McGraw-Hill Building, New York, NY
Important Styles:
 Neo-Gothic

 Art Deco
 Streamlined Moderne
 International Style
About Raymond Hood:
Raymond Hood became famous in 1922 when he and John Howells won a competition to design the
Chicago Tribune Tower. The design by Raymond Hood and John Howells was selected over some 200
entries, including designs by great names like Walter Gopius, Adolf Loos, and Eliel Saarinen.

Hood's Chicago Tribune Tower may have appealed to judges of the day because although the
skyscraper was modern, its facade was Neo-Gothic. Raymond Hood moved away from the Neo-Gothic
style in later works.

Raymond Hood is perhaps best known for his work on Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan in
New York City. Covering 22 acres, Rockefeller Center encompasses 19 buildings, including the Art
Deco Radio City Music Hall. Critics have described Rockefeller center a symbol of modernist capitalist
architecture.
When Raymond Hood designed New York's McGraw-Hill Building, he was thoroughly grounded in
modernism. Clad with blue-green terra cotta, the McGraw-Hill Building has been called both Art Deco
and Streamline Moderne. But the horizontal bands of windows and lack of ornamentation suggest the
emerging International Style.

44
Richard Morris Hunt: Architect of the Gilded Age

The 19th century was a time in American history when many


businessmen became rich, amassed huge fortunes, and built
opulent mansions. Gilded Age architect Richard Morris Hunt
became known for designing palatial homes with lavish interiors.

Born:October 31, 1827 in Brattleboro, Vermont


Died:July 31, 1895 in Newport, Rhode Island
Education: Richard Morris Hunt was born into a wealthy family.
He traveled extensively through Europe and studied in Geneva,
Switzerland and at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He was made
an assistant at the École in 1854.
Mansions by Richard Morris Hunt:
 1881: Renovation of Astors' Beechwood, Newport, Rhode Island
 1888-1892: Vanderbilt Marble House, Newport, Rhode Island
 1888-1895: Biltmore Estate (George W. Vanderbuilt Mansion), Asheville, North Carolina
 1892-1895: Cornelius Vanderbuilt II Mansion (The Breakers), Newport, Rhode Island
Great Buildings by Richard Morris Hunt:
 1869-1870: Stuyvesant Apartments, New York City

 1873-1874: Roosevelt Building, New York City


 1876: New York Tribune Building
 1881-1886: Pedestal for the Statue of Liberty, New York City
 1889-1893: Gymnasium, United States Military Academy, at West Point, New York
 1889-1895: Academic Building, United States Military Academy, at West Point, New York
 1891-1893: Columbian Exposition Administration Building, Chicago, IL
 1894-1902: Entrance to the Metropolitan Museum, New York City
Other Projects by Richard Morris Hunt:
Working with artists and craftspeople, Richard Morris Hunt designed lavish interiors with paintings,
sculptures, murals, and interior architectural details modeled after those found in European castles
and palaces.

Important Styles:
 Beaux Arts
 Renaissance Revival
 Neoclassical
About Richard Morris Hunt:
Richard Morris Hunt was the first American to attend the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. When he
returned to the United States, he introduced the country to Beaux Arts and Renaissance Revival
architecture.
Hunt became famous for designing elaborate homes for the very wealthy. However, he worked on
many different types of buildings including libraries, civic buildings, apartment buildings, and art
museums.

Hunt also helped establish architecture as a profession in the U.S. He started the first American studio
for architect training and helped found the American Institute of Architects (AIA). In 1855, he served
as president of the AIA. He was a mentor to Philadelphia architect Frank Furness and New York City-
born George B. Post.Hunt's brother, William Morris Hunt, was a well-known painter.
45
Arata Isozaki, Japanese Architect
b. 1931

Japanese architect Arata Isozaki is known for using bold,


exaggerated forms and inventive detailing. He often
integrates Eastern ideas into his designs.

Born: July 23, 1931 in Oita, Kyushu, Japan


Education of Arata Isozaki:
 1954: University of Tokyo, Department of Architecture in
the Faculty of Engineering
 Apprenticed with architect Kenzo Tange
Important Buildings by Arata Isozaki:
Arata Isozaki is known for using bold, exaggerated forms and inventive detailing. His works include:

 1971-1974: Gumma Prefectural Museum of Modern Art in Takasaki City, Japan


 1981-1986: Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles, California
 1986-1990: Art Tower Mito (ATM), Ibaraki, Japan
 1989-1990: Team Disney Building in Orlando, Florida
 1992: Sports Hall, Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain
 1995: Kyoto Concert Hall, Japan
 1995: Domus Museum, Casa del Hombre (Museum of Mankind), Spain
 2003: Weill Cornell Medical College, Qatar
 2005: Shenzhen Cultural Center, China
Awards:
 1986: Royal Gold Medal, Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)
Arata Isozaki's Influences:
Many critics have identified Arata Isozaki with the imaginative, Japanese New Wave movement known
asMetabolism.
Arata Isozaki & Associates:
Address:
9-6--17 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0052 Japan
Web Sites:
arataisozaki.org/
Arata Isozaki & Associates
About Arata Isozaki:
Born and educated in Japan, Arata Isozaki often integrates Eastern ideas into his designs.

For example, Isozaki wanted to express a yin-yang theory of positive and negative space when he
designed the Team Disney Building in Orlando, Florida. Also, because the offices were to be used by
time-conscious executives, he wanted the architecture to make a statement about time.

Serving as offices for the Walt Disney Corporation, the Team Disney Building is a startling landmark
on the otherwise barren stretch of Florida's Route I-4. The oddly looped gateway suggests gigantic
Mickey Mouse ears. At the building's core, a 120-foot sphere forms the world's largest sundial. Inside
the sphere is a serene Japanese rock garden.

Isozaki's Team Disney design won a prestigious National Honor Award from the AIA in 1992.

46
Toyo Ito, 2013 Pritzker Laureate

Toyo Ito was the sixth Japanese architect to become a Pritzker


Laureate. Throughout his long career, Ito has designed residential
homes, libraries, theaters, pavilions, stadia, and commercial
buildings. Since Japan's ruinous tsunamis, Toyo Ito has become an
architect-humanitarian known for his "Home-for-All" initiative.

Born: June 1, 1941 in Seoul, Korea to Japanese parents; family


moved back to Japan in 1943
Education and Career Highlights:
 1965: University of Tokyo, Department of Architecture

 1965-1969: Kiyonori Kikutake Architects and Associates (Kikutake is associated with


the Metabolism Movement)
 1971: Founded Urban Robot (URBOT), renamed Toyo Ito & Associates, Architects in 1979, Tokyo,
Japan
Selected Works:
 1971: Aluminum House, Tokyo, Japan

 1976: White U House, Nakano-ku, Tokyo, Japan


 1984: Silver Hut House, Nakano-ku, Tokyo, Japan (1986 Architecture Institute of Japan award)
 1986: Tower of Winds, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa, Japan
 1991: Yatsushiro Municipal Museum, Yatsushiro-shi, Kumamoto, Japan
 1997: Dome in Odate, Odate-shi, Akita, Japan (Ministry of Education Award; Encouragement of Arts
Aware; Japan Art Academy Prize)
 2000: Sendai Mediatheque, Sendai-shi, Miyagi, Japan (2001 Grand Prize of Good Design Award from
Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization; 2003 Architectural Institute of Japan Prize; 2006
Public Building Award)
 2002: Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, London, UK
 2004: Matsumoto Performing Arts Centre, Matsumoto-shi, Nagano, Japan
 2004: TOD'S Omotesando, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
 2005: Mikimoto Ginza, Tokyo, Japan
 2006: Meiso no Mori Municipal Funeral Hall, Kakamigahara-shi, Gifu, Japan
 2007: Tama Art University Library, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo, Japan
 2008: Za-Koenji Public Theatre, Suginami-ku, Tokyo, Japan
 2009: Main Stadium for the World Games 2009, Kaohsiung, Republic of China (Taiwan)
 2010: Hotel Porta Fira, Barcelona, Spain
 2011: Toyo Ito Museum of Architecture, Imabari-shi, Ehime, Japan
 2012: Yaoko Kawagoe Museum, Saitama, Japan
The Taichung Metropolitan Opera House, Taichung City, Republic of China (Taiwan) was begun in
2005 and is under construction.

Significant Awards:
 2000: Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize, American Academy of Arts and Letters

 2006: Royal Gold Medal, Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)


 2013: Pritzker Architecture Prize
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In His Own Words:


"Architecture is bound by various social constraints. I have been designing architecture bearing in mind
that it would be possible to realize more comfortable spaces if we are freed from all the restrictions even
for a little bit. However, when one building is completed, I become painfully aware of my own
inadequacy, and it turns into energy to challenge the next project. Probably this process must keep
repeating itself in the future. Therefore, I will never fix my architectural style and never be satisfied with
my works."—Pritzker Prize Comment
Home-for-All:
After the earthquake and tsunami of March 2011, Ito organized a group of architects to develop
humane, communal, public spaces for survivors of natural disasters. "The Sendai Mediatheque had
been partially damaged during the 3.11 earthquake," Ito told Maria Cristina Didero
of domus magazine. "To the citizens of Sendai, this piece of architecture had been a beloved cultural
salon....Even without a specific program, people would nonetheless gather around this place to
exchange information and interact with one another....This led me to realize the importance of a small
space like the Sendai Mediatheque for people to gather and communicate within disaster areas. This is
the starting point of Home-for-All."
Every community has its own needs. For Rikuzentakata, an area devastated by the 2011 tsunami, a
design based on natural wooden poles with attached modules, similar to ancient pole or pile
dwellings, was exhibited at the Japan Pavilion of the 2012 Venice Architecture Biennale. A full-scale
prototype was built onsite in early 2013.

Ito's public service work with the Home-for-All initiative was cited by the 2013 Pritzker Jury as "a
direct expression of his sense of social responsibility."

48
Thomas Jefferson, Gentleman Architect

(1743 - 1826)

The architecture of Thomas Jefferson is sometimes


overshadowed by the great statesman's other
accomplishments. As a Founding Father and U.S. President,
Jefferson helped shape the new nation. His avocation as a
citizen architect gave the young United States some of its
most iconic buildings. Mr. Jefferson was more than a
President.

Born:April 13, 1743 at Shadwell, Virginia


Died: July 4, 1826, at his home, Monticello
Education:
 1760-1762: Studied Law at the College of William and Mary

 1784-89: Studied French and Roman architecture while serving as Minister to France
Jefferson's apprenticeship was in law and not architecture. Nevertheless, he studied design
through books, travel, and observation. Thomas Jefferson has been called not only Monticello's
"gentleman farmer," but he was also a "gentleman architect," a common practice of the well-to-do
before architecture became alicensed profession.
Jefferson Designs:
 1760: Montpelier, Orange County, Virginia (advised James Madison's father)

 1768-1809: Monticello, Albemarle County, Virginia


 1788: Virginia State Capitol, Richmond, Virginia (called one of the Ten Buildings That Changed
America)
 1793: Woodberry Forest, Virginia home of James Madison's brother
 1795: Belle Grove, Virginia home of James Madison's sister
 1803: Farmington Estate, Charlottesville, Virginia, plans for an octagonal addition
 1806-1823: Poplar Forest Retreat, near Lynchburg, Virginia, an octagonal brick house
 1816: House in Farmington, Kentucky
 1814-1823: Academical Village, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia
Influences on Jefferson's Architecture:
 Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio influenced Jefferson's Poplar Forest
 The Villa Rotunda was a model for Monticello
 Maison Carrée at Nimes, France is similar to the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond
 The Pantheon in Rome gave Jefferson the idea for the Rotunda at the University of Virginia, the
focal point of the UVA Academical Village
Inspired by Jefferson:
When 20th century architect John Russell Pope developed plans for the Jefferson Memorial in
Washington, D.C., he found inspiration from Jefferson's own designs. The domed memorial is
often compared to Jefferson's home, Monticello.
Quotation:
"Architecture is my delight, and putting up and pulling down, one of my favorite amusements."—
1824, Quotations on Architecture, ©The Thomas Jefferson Foundation, Inc. All rights reserved.
"I send by this conveiance designs for the Capitol. They are simple & sublime. More cannot be
said. They are not the brat of a whimsical conception never before brought to light, but copied
from the most precious the most perfect model of antient architecture remaining on earth; one
which has received the approbation of near 2000 years, and which is sufficiently remarkable to
have been visited by all travellers."—1786, Jefferson to James Currie, Quotations on Architecture,
©The Thomas Jefferson Foundation, Inc. All rights reserved.
49
William LeBaron Jenney, Father of the American
Skyscraper

Famous for his large commercial buildings, William


LeBaron Jenney helped launch the Chicago School of
architecture and pioneered skyscraper design.

Born:
September 25, 1832 in Fairhaven, Massachusetts

Died:
June 15, 1907

Education:
 Engineering courses at Lawrence Scientific School of Harvard University
 Ecole Centrale des Arts et Manufactures in Paris, 1853-1856
Important Buildings:
 1868: Col James H. Bowen House, Hyde Park, Illinois

 1871: Riverside Water Tower, Riverside Community, Illinois


 1885: Home Insurance Building, Chicago (Demolished in 1931)
 1891: Second Leiter Building (Sears, Roebuck Building), Chicago
 1891: Ludington Building, Chicago
 1891: Manhattan Building, Chicago
 1893: Horticultural Building, Chicago
Related People:
 William Sullivan
 William Holabird
 Cass Gilbert
 Frederick Law Olmsted
Early Years:
Born into a family of ship owners, William Le Baron Jenney grew up to become an inventor of building
technologies. During the Civil War he served as an engineering officer, but by 1868 he was a practicing
architect who had designed a Swiss Chalet style home with an innovative open floor plan - long before
Frank Lloyd Wright worked with the concept.

Urban Design:
In addition to his building designs, Jenney made a name for himself as a town planner. With Olmsted
and Vaux, he helped create the plan for Riverside, Illinois. Working in Chicago, Jenney designed West
Parks, where tree-lined boulevards connect an extensive system of connecting parks.

Most Important Contribution:


Jenney's greatest fame came from his large commercial buildings. His Home Insurance Building in
Chicago was one of the first buildings to use a metal skeleton for support. It became the standard for
American skyscraper design. Jenney's skeleton-frame Manhattan Building was the first to achieve a
height of 16 stories. His Horticultural Building was the largest botanical conservatory ever built.

Student draftsmen who learned from Jenney included Daniel H. Burnham, Louis Sullivan, and William
Holabird. For this reason, Jenney is considered the founder of the Chicago School of architecture, and
the father of the American skyscraper.
50
Philip Johnson, Glass House Architect
(1906 - 2005)

Philip Johnson was a museum director, writer, and, most notably,


an architect known for his unconventional designs. His work
embraced many influences, from the neoclassicism of Karl
Friedrich Schinkel and to the modernism of Ludwig Mies van der
Rohe.

Born:
July 8, 1906 in Cleveland, OH

Died:
January 25, 2005

Full Name:
Philip Cortelyou Johnson

Education:
 1930: Architectural History, Harvard University

 1943: Architecture, Harvard University

Selected Projects:
 1949: Glass House, New Canaan, CT
 1958: Seagram Building (with Mies van der Rohe), New York
 1962: Kline Science Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT

 1964: NY State Theater, Lincoln Center, New York


 1970: JFK Memorial, Dallas, Texas
 1972: Boston Public Library addition
 1980: Crystal Cathedral, Garden Grove, CA
 1984: AT&T Headquarters, New York City
 1984: Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, Pittsburgh, PA
 1984: Transco Tower, Houston, TX
 1986: 53rd at Third (Lipstick Building), New York City

Important Ideas:
 International Style
 Postmodernism
 Neoclassicism

Quotes:
 Create beautiful things. That's all.
 Architecture is surely not the design of space, certainly not the massing or organizing of volumes.
These are auxiliary to the main point, which is the organization of procession. Architecture exists
only in time.
 Architecture is the art of how to waste space.
 All architecture is shelter, all great architecture is the design of space that contains, cuddles, exalts,
or stimulates the person in that space.
51
 Why reinvent the spoon?
 The only test for architecture is to build a building, go inside and let it wrap itself around you.

Related People:
 Le Corbusier
 Walter Gropius
 Richard Neutra
 Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

More About Philip Johnson:


After graduation from Harvard in 1930, Philip Johnson became the first Director of the Department of
Architecture at the Museum of Modern Art, New York (1932-1934 and 1945-1954). He coined the
term International Style and introduced the work of modern European architects such as Ludwig Mies
van der Rohe and Le Corbusier to America. He would later collaborate with Mies van der Rohe on
what is considered the most superb skyscraper in North America, the Seagram Building in New York
City (1958).

Johnson returned to Harvard University in 1940 to study architecture under Marcel Breuer. For his
master degree thesis, he designed a residence for himself, the now famous Glass House (1949), which
has been called one of the world's most beautiful and yet least functional homes.

Philip Johnson's buildings were luxurious in scale and materials, featuring expansive interior space
and a classical sense of symmetry and elegance. These same traits epitomized corporate America's
dominant role in world markets in prominent skyscrapers for such leading companies as AT&T
(1984), Pennzoil (1976) and Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company (1984).

In 1979, Philip Johnson was honored with the first Pritzker Architecture Prize in recognition of "50
years of imagination and vitality embodied in a myriad of museums, theaters, libraries, houses,
gardens and corporate structures."

52
Louis I. Kahn, Modernist Architect

(1901-1974)

Louis I. Kahn is widely considered one of the great architects of


the twentieth century, yet he has few buildings to his name. Like
any great artist, Kahn's influence has never been measured by the
number of projects completed but by the value of his designs.

Born:
February 20, 1901 in Kuressaare, in Estonia, on Saaremmaa
Island

Died:
March 17, 1974 in New York, N.Y.

Name at Birth:
Born Itze-Leib (or, Leiser-Itze) Schmuilowsky (or, Schmalowski). Kahn's Jewish parents immigrated to
the United States in 1906. His name was changed to Louis Isadore Kahn in 1915.

Early Training:
 University of Pennsylvania, Bachelor of Architecture, 1924
 Worked as a senior draftsman in the office of Philadelphia City Architect John Molitor.
 Traveled through Europe visiting castles and medieval strongholds, 1928
Important Buildings:
 1953: Yale University Art Gallery and Design Center, New Haven, CT
 1955: Trenton Bath House, New Jersey
 1961: The Margaret Esherick House, Philadelphia, PA

 1961-1982: Jatiyo Sangsad Bhaban, National Assembly Building, Dhaka, Bangladesh


 1962: Richards Medical Research Laboratories, University of Pennyslvania, Philadelphia, PA
 1965: Jonas Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA
 1966-1972: Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, TX
 1974: Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, Connecticut
 2010-2012: FDR Memorial Four Freedoms Park, Roosevelt Island, New York City (Read "The Genius
of Louis Kahn's Connected, Contemplative Roosevelt Memorial — and How Builders Avoided the
Usual Perils of Posthumous Architecture" by Paul Goldberger,Vanity Fair, October 19 2012.)
Who Kahn Influenced:
 A young Moshe Safdie apprenticed with Kahn in 1963.
 Metabolist Architects
Major Awards :
 1960: Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize, American Academy of Arts and Letters

 1971: AIA Gold Medal, American Institute of Architects


 1972: RIBA Gold Medal, Royal Institute of British Architects
 1973: Architecture Gold Medal, American Academy of Arts and Letters
Private Life:
Louis I. Kahn grew up in Philadelphia, the son of poor immigrant parents. As a young man, Kahn
struggled to build his career during the height of America's Depression. He was married but often

53
became involved with his professional associates. Kahn established three families that lived only a few
miles apart in the Philadelphia area. Louis I. Kahn's troubled life is explored in My Architect, a 2003
documentary film by his son, Nathaniel Kahn. Louis Kahn was the father of three children with three
different women:
 Sue Ann Kahn, daughter with his wife, Esther Israeli Kahn
 Alexandra Tyng, daughter with Anne Griswold Tyng, associate architect at Kahn's firm
 Nathaniel Kahn, son with Harriet Pattison, landscape architect
The influential architect died of a heart attack in a men's restroom in Pennsylvania Station in New
York City. At the time, he was deep in debt and juggling a complicated personal life. His body was not
identified for three days.

Note: For more information about Kahn's children, see "Journey to Estonia" by Samuel Hughes, The Pennsylvania Gazette, Digital
Edition, Jan / Feb 2007 [accessed January 19, 2012].

Quotes by Louis I. Kahn:


 "Architecture is the reaching out for the truth."

 "Consider the momentous event in architecture when the wall parted and the column became."
 "Design is not making beauty, beauty emerges from selection, affinities, integration, love."
 "A great building must begin with the unmeasurable, must go through measurable means when it is
being designed and in the end must be unmeasurable."
Professional Life:
During his training at the Pennsylvania School of Fine Arts, Louis I. Kahn was grounded in the Beaux
Arts approach to architectural design. As a young man, Kahn became fascinated with the heavy,
massive architecture of medieval Europe and Great Britain. But, struggling to build his career during
the Depression, Kahn became known as a champion of Functionalism.
Louis Kahn built on ideas from the Bauhaus Movement and the International Style to design low-
income public housing. Using simple materials like brick and concrete, Kahn arranged building
elements to maximize daylight. His concrete designs from the 1950s were studied at Tokyo
University's Kenzo Tange Laboratory, influencing a generation of Japanese architects and stimulating
themetabolism movement in the 1960s.
The commissions that Kahn received from Yale University gave him the chance to explore ideas he'd
admired in ancient and medieval architecture. He used simple forms to create monumental shapes.
Kahn was in his 50s before he designed the works that made him famous. Many critics praise Kahn for
moving beyond the International Style to express original ideas.

54
Anna Keichline (1889 - 1943)

Anna Wagner Keichline, born in Bellefonte in 1889, was


Pennsylvania’s first registered woman architect. Her first
architectural project was the design of a schoolhouse in
Milesburg. Not only can one find her building projects in central
Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Washington D.C., she also patented
several inventions and architectural designs that contributed to
the evolution of architectural planning.

Keichline was the youngest of four children. Her talent was


apparent from an early age, and Keichline’s parents nurtured her talent by furnishing her with a home
workshop and a collection of fine carpentry tools. She began to receive architectural recognition long
before she graduated from the Bellefonte High School. When Keichline was fourteen years old,
a Philadelphia Inquirer reporter recognized the genius of the young and gifted architect. She had
designed and constructed a calling card table out of oak, which won her first prize at the Centre
County fair, and the reporter noted that the craftsmanship in making this piece was comparable to
that of a highly skilled mechanic. The reporter also noted the environment in which she had the
privilege to work: “At her home she has a workshop complete in every detail, and is in possession of
the best outfit of carpentry implements to be found in the town.”
After finishing high school in 1906, Anna Keichline attended The Pennsylvania State College with the
intent of earning a degree in mechanical engineering. A year later she transferred to Cornell
University to pursue a degree in architecture.

At college we worked, many times, three and four days and nights without stopping; most always in those
stretches I took time to make coffee and sandwiches for the fellows, then they would carry my board to
the dormitory, where I could draw all night.
Earning a degree in architecture – a female student pursuing an education in a male dominated field –
certainly was not easy, but Keichline was convinced that women had a unique talent for architectural
design, specifically kitchens, because it was a domain that a woman knew far more intimately than a
man.

Equipment of houses especially has been developed by people who seldom have experience using or
operating these materials – there should be scientifically built houses, and this can be done better by
women than men. Indeed, it will never be accomplished until women take hold.

55
Anna Keichline received her first patent the year after she graduated from Cornell for an improved
combined sink-washtub design. The goal of this design was to more readily accommodate the space
problem in the kitchen and to make the use of it more comfortable for the user. In 1924 she patented a
kitchen design that maximized comfort and convenience, efficiency, and conservation of space.
Interesting features of the design included sloped countertops to facilitate easier cleaning and glass-
doored cabinets to make the contents visible to the user. In 1929 Keichline patented a design for an
apartment bed. The bed folded into the wall to maximize the use of space in a small apartment.

Perhaps one of her most impressive inventions was the “K Brick.” The K Brick, patented by Keichline
in 1927, was a forerunner of the modern concrete block. It was a clay brick for hollow wall
construction that proved to be much more versatile than its predecessors were. Fireproof, cheap and
light, the K Brick could be filled with insulating or sound-deadening material. In her article entitled A
Tile Designed to Effect a Scientifically Built Wall, Keichline pointed out that her K Brick “requires less
clay to make than brick and because of its design takes less time to fire – the tile would reduce the
weight of the wall by one-half.” The American Ceramic Society recognized Keichline for the invention
of the K Brick in 1931.
She had seven patents during her lifetime, all reflecting her central goals of enhancing comfort and
convenience to those who would make use of her inventions.

Aside from her architectural career, Keichline owned, drove, and repaired her own automobile (a
rarity for women during that era), served as a special agent with military intelligence during World
War I, was active with President Hoover’s Better Housing Conference, and marched for a woman’s
right to vote. However, her architectural designs remain the centerpiece of her fascinating
accomplishments. In Bellefonte her designs include the Plaza Theatre, the Cadillac Garage and
Apartments, the Harvey Apartments, and several private homes.

Keichline’s great niece, Nancy Perkins, has followed in her great-aunt’s footsteps by registering
several of her own patents, and receiving a degree in industrial design from the University of Illinois.
She began her own company, Perkins Design Ltd. and is marketing a replica of the 1903 prize-winning
card table, the piece which first earned Anna Wagner Keichline recognition.

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Rem Koolhaas, Modern Dutch Architect

Born:
November 17, 1944 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Education:
Architectural Association, London, 1972

Selected Projects:
 1987: Netherlands Dance Theater, The Hague, Netherlands
 1989: ProposedSeaterminal, Zeebrugge, Belgium
 1991: Nexus Housing, Fukuoka, Japan
 1992: Kunsthal, Rotterdam
 1994: Lille Grand Palais, Lille, France
 1997: Educatorium, Utrech, Netherlands
 1998: Maison à Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
 2001: Netherlands Embassy, Berlin, Germany
 2004: Seattle Public Library, Seattle, Washington
 2006: Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, London, UK
 2008: CCTV Building, Beijing, China
 2009: Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre, Dallas, Texas
 2012: 24-Hour Museum, Paris, France
Styles and Ideas:
 Deconstructionism
 Modernism
 Structuralism
Quotes:
 "We have, in a certain sense, turned away from the Constructivists because they were being
horribly misused. Dutch architecture seemed in danger of becoming a repetition of three buildings,
which is why we decided to back off."
—Rem Koolhaas, quoted in The Critical Landscape, by Arie Graafland and Jasper de Haan

 "As more and more architecture is finally unmasked as the mere organization of flow—shopping
centers, airports—it is evident that circulation is what makes or breaks public architecture...."
—Rem Koolhaas, architect's statement for the MoMA expansion project

 "Rem's approach to architecture represents a possibility of re-connecting with reality, finding


opportunities to make architecture everywhere....So in his buildings, details address the everyday
life rituals, lifestyles, conventions rather than simply delivering manual-like tried and tested details.
The Bordeaux House, the Kunsthal, the Porto concert hall, the Dutch Embassy in Berlin are full of
these significant small-scale inventions...."
—Zaha Hadid, citation from the RIBA 2004 Royal Gold Medal

 "Architecture is a dangerous mixture of power and impotence."


—Rem Koolhaas, included in archi-quotes collected by Canadian architect Tony Kloepfer

57
About Rem Koolhaas:

Although he was born in Rotterdam, Rem Koolhaas spent four years of his youth in Indonesia,
where his father served as cultural director. Following in the footsteps of his literary father,
Koolhaas began his career as a writer. He was a journalist for the Haase Postin The Hague, and
later tried his hand at writing movie scripts.

Koolhaas's writings won him fame in the field of architecture before he completed a single building.
After after graduating from the Architecture Association School in London, he accepted a research
fellowship in the United States. During his visit, he wrote Delirious New York, which he described as a
"retroactive manifesto for Manhattan" and which critics hailed as a classic text on modern
architecture and society.
In 1975, Koolhaas founded the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) in London with Madelon
Vriesendorm and Elia and Zoe Zenghelis. Focusing on contemporary design, the company won a
competition for an addition to the Parliament in The Hague and a major commission to develop a
master plan for a housing quarter in Amsterdam.

Delirious New York was reprinted in 1994 under the title Rem Koolhaas and the Place of Modern
Architecture. The same year, Koolhaas published S,M,L,XL in collaboration with the Canadian graphic
designer Bruce Mau. Described as a novel about architecture, the book combines works produced by
Koolhaas's Office for Metropolitan Architecture with photos, plans, fiction, cartoons and random
thoughts.
Rem Koolhaas has been called in turns Modernist and Deconstructivist, yet many critics claim that he
leans toward Humanism. Koolhaas's work searches for a link between technology and humanity.
Koolhaas was awarded the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2000.

58
Daniel Libeskind, Master Planner for the New York World Trade Center

Born:
May 12, 1946 in Lodz, Poland

Early Life:
Daniel Libeskind's parents survived the Holocaust and met while in exile. As a
child growing up in Poland, Daniel became a gifted player of the accordion--an
instrument his parents had chosen because it was small enough to fit in their
apartment.

The family moved to Tel Aviv, Israel when Daniel was 11. He began playing
piano and in 1959 won an America-Israel Cultural Foundation scholarship. The
award made it possible for the family to move to the USA.

Living with his family in a small apartment in the Bronx borough of New York City, Daniel continued to study
music. He didn't want to become a performer, however, so he enrolled in Bronx High School of Science. In 1965,
Daniel Libeskind became a naturalize Education:
 1970: Architecture degree from the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art
 1972: Postgraduate degree in History and Theory of Architecture from Essex University
Important Buildings:
 1989-1999: Jewish Museum, Berlin, Germany  2008: The Ascent at Roebling's Bridge,
 2001: Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, Kensington Covington, Kentucky (near Cincinnati, Ohio)
Gardens, London
 2009: The Villa, Libeskind Signature Series,
 2002 (selected in February 2003):Ground Zero
prefabricated house available Worldwide
Master Plan
 2009: Crystals at CityCenter, Las Vegas , Nevada
 2003: Studio Weil, Mallorca, Spain
 2010: 18.36.54 House, Connecticut
 2005: The Wohl Centre, Ramat-Gan, Israel
 2010: The Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre,
 1998-2008: Contemporary Jewish Museum, San
Hong Kong, China
Francisco, CA
 2010: Bord Gáis Energy Theatre and Grand Canal
 2000-2006: Frederic C. Hamilton Building at the
Commercial Development, Dublin, Ireland
Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO
 2011: Reflections at Keppel Bay, Keppel Bay,
 2007: The Michael Lee-Chin Crystal at the Royal
Singapore
Ontario Museum (ROM), Toronto, Canada
 2011: CABINN Metro Hotel, Copenhagen,
 2008: Westside Shopping and Leisure Centre,
Denmark
Bern, Switzerland
 2013: Haeundae Udong Hyundai I'Park, Busan,
South Korea
NY World Trade Center:
After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, many architects submitted plans for reconstruction on
Ground Zero in New York City. After heated discussion, judges selected the proposal submitted by Daniel
Libeskind's firm, Studio Libeskind.
d citizen of the USA and decided to study architecture in college.

Libeskind's original plan called for a 1,776-foot (541m) spindle-shaped "Freedom Tower" with 7.5 million
square feet of office space and room for indoor gardens above the 70th floor. At the center of the World Trade
Center complex, a 70-foot pit would expose the concrete foundation walls of the former Twin Tower buildings.

During the years that followed, Daniel Libeskind's plan underwent many changes. Another architect, David
Childs, became the lead designer for Freedom Tower, which was later renamed 1 World Trade Center. Daniel
Libeskind became the master planner for the entire World Trade Center complex, coordinating the overall
design and reconstruction. See pictures:

59
 Original WTC Proposal
 Revised Plans for Freedom Tower
In 2012 the American Institute of Architects (AIA) honored Libeskind with a Gold Medallion for his
contributions as an Architect of Healing.
In the Words of Daniel Libeskind:
In his proposal for reconstruction on Ground Zero, Daniel Libeskind wrote:
"I arrived by ship to New York as a teenager, an immigrant, and like millions of others before me, my first sight
was the Statue of Liberty and the amazing skyline of Manhattan. I have never forgotten that sight or what it
stands for. This is what this project is all about.

"When I first began this project, New Yorkers were divided as to whether to keep the site of the World Trade
Center empty or to fill the site completely and build upon it. I meditated many days on this seemingly
impossible dichotomy. To acknowledge the terrible deaths which occurred on this site, while looking to the
future with hope, seemed like two moments which could not be joined. I sought to find a solution which would
bring these seemingly contradictory viewpoints into an unexpected unity. So, I went to look at the site, to stand
within it, to see people walking around it, to feel its power and to listen to its voices. And this is what I heard,
felt and saw.

"The great slurry walls are the most dramatic elements which survived the attack, an engineering wonder
constructed on bedrock foundations and designed to hold back the Hudson River. The foundations withstood
the unimaginable trauma of the destruction and stand as eloquent as the Constitution itself asserting the
durability of Democracy and the value of individual life.

"We have to be able to enter this hallowed, sacred ground while creating a quiet, meditative and spiritual space.
We need to journey down, some 70 feet into Ground Zero, onto the bedrock foundation, a procession with
deliberation into the deep indelible footprints of Tower One and Tower Two.

"The foundation, however, is not only the story of tragedy but also reveals the dimensions of life. The PATH
trains continue to traverse this ground now, as before, linking the past to the future. Of course, we need a
Museum at the epicenter of Ground Zero, a museum of the event, of memory and hope. The Museum becomes
the entrance into Ground Zero, always accessible, leading us down into a space of reflection, of meditation, a
space for the Memorial itself. This Memorial will be the result of an international competition.

"Those who were lost have become heroes. To commemorate those lost lives, I created two large public places,
the Park of Heroes and the Wedge of Light. Each year on September 11th between the hours of 8:46 a.m., when
the first airplane hit and 10:28 a.m., when the second tower collapsed, the sun will shine without shadow, in
perpetual tribute to altruism and courage.

"We all came to see the site, more than 4 million of us, walking around it, peering through the construction wall,
trying to understand that tragic vastness. So I designed an elevated walkway, a space for a Memorial
promenade encircling the memorial site. Now everyone can see not only Ground Zero but the resurgence of life.

"The exciting architecture of the new Lower Manhattan rail station with a concourse linking the PATH trains,
the subways connected, hotels, a performing arts center, office towers, underground malls, street level shops,
restaurants, cafes; create a dense and exhilarating affirmation of New York.

"The sky will be home again to a towering spire of 1776 feet high, the "Gardens of the World". Why gardens?
Because gardens are a constant affirmation of life. A skyscraper rises above its predecessors, reasserting the
pre-eminence of freedom and beauty, restoring the spiritual peak to the city, creating an icon that speaks of our
vitality in the face of danger and our optimism in the aftermath of tragedy.

"Life victorious."

60
Maya Lin, Architect and Sculptor
b. 1959, Designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial

For a class project at Yale University, Maya Lin designed a memorial


for Vietnam Veterans. At the last minute, she submitted her design
poster to the national competition in Washington, DC. Much to her
surprise, she won the competition. Maya Lin is forever associated
with her most famous design, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial,
known as The Wall.
Born: October 5, 1959 in Athens, Ohio
Childhood:
Maya Lin grew up in Ohio surrounded by art and literature. Her
educated, artistic parents came to America from Beijing and
Shanghai and taught at Ohio University.

Education:
Graduated from Yale University, School of Architecture: B.A. in 1981, M.A. in 1986

Selected Projects:
 1982: Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.
 1989: Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, Alabama
 1993: The Women's Table, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
 1995: Wave Field, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
 1999: Langston Hughes Library on the Alex Haley Farm, Clinton, Tennessee
 2004: Input, an earth installation at Bicentennial Park, Ohio University
 2009: Wavefield, Storm King Art Center, Mountainville, New York
 2013: A Fold in the Field, Gibbs Farm, New Zealand
 Ongoing: The Confluence Project, Columbia River, American Northwest
Awards:
 Architecture prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters

 Presidential Design Award


 American Institute of Architects Honor Award
 Henry Bacon Memorial Award
 National Women's Hall of Fame
 Honorary Doctorates in Fine Arts from Harvard, Yale, Brown, Smith, and Williams College
Current Activities:
Maya Lin has maintained a design studio in New York City since 1986. In 2012 she completed what
she calls her final memorial—What is missing?. Visit her website, Maya Lin Studio.
About Maya Lin:
Trained as an artist and an architect, Maya Lin is best known for her large, minimalist sculptures and
monuments. When she was only 21 and still a student, Lin created the winning design for the Vietnam
Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. Many people criticized the stark, black monument, but today
the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is one of the most famous monuments in the United States.
Throughout her career, Maya Lin has continued to create powerful designs using simple shapes,
natural materials, and Asian themes.

61
Theodore C. Link, Missouri Architect

(1850-1923)

T. C. Link is thought to be the first architect to use electric


lights decoratively. He designed more than 100 buildings,
mainly in Midwestern United States. His Union Station
building in St. Louis, Missouri was ranked 40 out of 150
buildings voted as "America's Favorite Architecture"
Born:
March 17, 1850 in Germany

Died:
November 12, 1923 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana while working on the Louisiana State University
Education:
 Engineering at the University of Heidelberg

 Ecole Centrale in Paris


Important Buildings:
 1894-1896: St. Louis Union Station. This massive, Romanesque-style building was once the largest
and busiest railroad terminal in the world. It's Grand Hall, naturally lit by stained glass, is now a
hotel lobby.
 1901-03: The Beaux Arts Style Mississippi State Capitol
 1904: Power plant (Tibbe Power Company) in Washington, Missouri
 1908: The Wednesday Club headquarters, a suffrage meeting house at the southwest corner of
Westminster and Taylor avenues, St. Louis, Missouri
 1903-1922: Roberts, Johnson & Rand International Shoe Company in downtown St. Louis. The
building was a restrained, art nouveau reinterpretation of Louis Sullivan's Wainwright Building,
with a heavy base, slender multi-story pier columns and naturalistic ornament. After years of
abandonment, the building has been restored, and is now owned by ProtoSpace Corporation.
 1919-1923: Master plan and nine buildings for Louisiana State University. The buildings are noted
for their Renaissance Basilican details.

62
Adolf Loos: Pioneered Modernist Architecture in Euorpe

Author of Ornament and Crime

Adolf Loos was an architect who became more famous for his ideas than for
his buildings. He believed that reason should determine the way we build,
and he opposed the decorative Art Nouveau movement.

Born:December 10, 1870 in Brno (Brünn), now in the Czech Republic


Died:August 23, 1933 in Kalksburg near Vienna, Austria
Early Life:Adolf Loos was nine when his father, a stonemason, died. To his
mother's grief, Adolf Loos refused to continue the family business. His
mother disowned him when he was 23.
Education:
 Began studies at the Royal and Imperial State Technical College in
Rechenberg, Bohemia
 Spent a year in the army
 Attended the College of Technology in Dresden for three years
 Traveled to the United States and worked as a mason, a floor-layer, and a dishwasher
Influences:
 Adolf Loos was impressed by the efficiency of American architecture, and he admired the work of Louis
Sullivan
 In 1896, returned to Vienna and worked for architect Carl Mayreder
 In 1898, Loos opened his own practice in Vienna and became friends with philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein,
expressionist composer Arnold Schönberg, satirist Karl Kraus, and other free-thinkers.
Representative Building Projects:
 1910: Steiner House, Vienna, Austria
 1910: Goldman & Salatsch Building, Vienna
 1918: Haus Strasser, Vienna
 1921: Horner House, Vienna
 1922: Rufer House, Vienna
 1928: Villa Müller, Prague
 1929: Khuner Villa, Kreuzberg, Austria
Architectural Theory:
Adolf Loos argued that the buildings we design reflect our morality as a society. In Ornament & Crime () and
other essays, Loos described the suppression of decoration as necessary for regulating passion.

Stylistic Features:
 Straight lines
 Clear planar walls and windows
 Clean curves
 Raumplan ("plan of volumes") system of contiguous, merging spaces
 Each room on a different level, with floors and ceilings set at different heights
Teaching:
Adolf Loos started his own school of architecture. His students included Richard Neutra and R. M. Schindler,
who later became famous in the United States.

63
Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Glasgow Modernist
(1868-1928)

Scottish architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh was praised for his


elegant detailing and skillful use of light and space. A contemporary
of America's Frank Lloyd Wright, Mackintosh took organic forms and
naturalist Japanese influences to design buildings, interiors, and
furnishings.

Born:
June 7, 1868 in the Townhead area of Glasgow, Scotland

Died:
December 10, 1928 in London, England

Education:
 Glasgow School of Art

 Toured Italy under a traveling scholarship


Early Training:
 Apprenticeship with John Hutchinson

 Draughtsman for Honeyman & Keppie


Creative Collaborations:
During his time at the Glasgow School of Art, Mackintosh was part of "The Four," a group of designers
that included the sisters Margaret and Frances MacDonald and fellow artist Herbert McNair.

"The Four" exhibited posters, graphic designs, and furniture in Great Britain and Europe. Along with
other artists and designers, they developed the Glasgow Style, known for strong lines and graceful,
symbolic shapes.
Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret MacDonald married, forming a creative partnership that
lasted their lifetimes.

Selected Buildings:
 1897-1909: Mackintosh Building at the Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, Scotland
 1902-1903: Hill House, Helensburgh, Scotland
 1902-1904: The Willow Tea Rooms, Glasgow, Scotland
 House for an Art Lover, Glasgow, Scotland (designed in 1901, built in 1994)
Other Works:
Charles Rennie Mackintosh is famous for unique furniture designs, such as the The Hill House Chair, as
well as designs for stained glass, textiles, clocks, and metalwork. Later in his career, Mackintosh
painted water colors.
Important Styles:
 Art Nouveau
 Arts & Crafts
The National Trust for Scotland calls Mackintosh's finest residential building, Hill House, "a visually
arresting mix of Arts and Crafts, Art Nouveau, Scottish Baronial and Japonisme architecture and

64
design."
Source: NTS website, accessed June 4, 2014
About Mackintosh:
Charles Rennie Mackintosh was one of eleven children, and he suffered from a limp and other health
problems. Encouraged to spend time in the country, he developed a love of nature that later found
expression in his Art Nouveau designs.

With his wife, Margaret MacDonald, Mackintosh pioneered modern design in Scotland, and their Art
Nouveau works helped transform the Arts & Crafts movement in Britain. Frustrated by a lack of local
recognition, the couple left Scotland for London at the start of World War I. By 1923 they had moved
on to southern France, where their days were taken up more with the art of painting than
architecture. Today his watercolors of flowers are often the subject of wall calendars and art prints.

What Others Say:


Buildings designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh are praised for their elegant detailing and skillful
use of light and space. In 1936 architecture historian Sir Nicolaus Pevsner called Mackintosh "...the
European counterpart of Frank Lloyd Wright, and one of the few true forerunners of that most
ingenious juggler with space: Le Corbusier. Le Corbusier once confessed that his desire in building is
to create poetry. Mackintosh's attitude is very similar. Building in his hands becomes an abstract art,
both musical and mathematical."

65
Bernard Maybeck: Eclectic California Architect

Born:
February 7, 1862 in New York City

Died:
October 3, 1957 in Berkeley, California

Full Name:
Bernard Ralph Maybeck

Education and Teaching:


 1882-6: Studied at the École des Beaux-Arts, Paris

 1894: Became an instructor of engineering drawing for the


University of California, Berkeley
 1898-1903: Served as the first professor of architecture at the
University of California, Berkeley
Important Buildings:
 1899: Hearst Hall, University of California, Berkeley (destroyed by fire)

 1902: Faculty Club, University of California, Berkeley


 1910: First Church of Christian Scientists, Berkeley
 1912: Rose Walk, Berkeley
 1913-15: Palace of Fine Arts, Panama Pacific Exposition, San Francisco
 1930: Principia College Campus, Elsah, IL
Architectural Styles:
 California Mission
 Gothic Revival
 Beaux-Arts
 Classical
 Shingle Style
Partnership:
Bernard Maybeck opened a small practice in San Francisco in 1902, where he worked mainly in
partnership with his brother-in-law, Mark White.

Career Highlights:
 1913: Citation from the American Institute of Architecture

 1951: Gold Metal from American Institute of Architecture


About Bernard Maybeck:
Bernard Maybeck was known for his remarkable diversity. Combining European, Japanese, Nordic,
Celtic, and Classical ideas, he inspired the work of Julia Morgan and other leading architects.
After the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, there was a great need for new homes. Bernard Maybeck
designed many wood framed houses with high-pitched roofs. However, his fame was secured when he
designed the Palace of Fine Arts for the 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition. For this project, Bernard
Maybeck borrowed ideas from ancient Rome and Greece to create a grand structure with a colonnade
and rotunda.

66
Thom Mayne, 2005 Pritzker Laureate
b. 1944, Connecticut, USA

Thom Mayne has been called many things, from an uncompromising


rebel to just plain difficult. He's also been an academic, mentor, and
prize-winning architect for many decades. Most importantly, Mayne's
legacy includes solving urban problems through connections and
viewing architecture as a "continuous process" rather than a "static
form."

Born:
January 19, 1944, Waterbury, Connecticut

Education and Professional Training:


 1968: Bachelor of Architecture, University of Southern California
 1978: Master of Architecture, Harvard University Graduate School of
Design
Professional:
 1968-1970: Planner for Victor Gruen
 1972: Founder Morphosis, Culver City, California
 1972: Co-founder Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), Santa Monica, California
Selected Buildings:
 1978: 2-4-6-8 House, Venice, California
 1983: 72 Market Street Restaurant, Venice, CA (1986 AIA Merit Award)
 1986: Kate Mantilini Restaurant, Beverly Hills, CA
 1988: Cedar Sinai Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, CA
 1990: The Crawford Residence, Montecito, CA
 1991: Salick Health Care Office Building, Los Angeles, CA (1992 AIA Honor Award)
 1990: MTV Studios, Los Angeles, CA
 1995: The Blades Residence, Santa Barbara, CA
 1997: Sun Tower, South Korea
 1997: ASE Design Center, Taiwan
 1999: Diamond Ranch High School, Pomona, California
 2002: Hypo Alpe-Adria Center, Austria
 2005: Caltrans District 7 Headquarters, Los Angeles, CA
 2006: Wayne L. Morse United States Courthouse, Oregon
 2007: U.S. Federal Building, San Francisco, CA
 2009: Float House, Make it Right Foundation
 2009: Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, 41 Cooper Square, NYC
 2013: Perot Museum of Nature and Science, Dallas, Texas
 2014: Emerson Los Angeles (ELA), Emerson College on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, CA
 2017: Phare Tower, France
Other Designs:
 1981: Vietnam War Memorial Competition
 1990: Osaka Expo '90 Folly, Japan
 2000: New York Times Magazine Time Capsule competition
 2003: Silent Collisions, Belgium
Awards:
 1987: Rome Prize, American Academy of Design in Rome
 1992: Brunner Prize Award in Architecture, American Academy of Arts and Letters
 2004: Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA)
 2005: Pritzker Prize
 2009: President Obama's Commission on Arts and Humanities
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 2013: AIA Gold Medal
 Thom Mayne In His Own Words:
 "I have absolutely no interest in producing a building that just accommodates X, Y and Z function."—
2005, TED

 "But basically, what we do is, we try to give coherence to the world. We make physical things, buildings
that become a part in an accretional process; they make cities. And those things are the reflection of the
processes, and the time that they are made. And what I'm doing is attempting to synthesize the way one
sees the world and the territories which are useful as generative material."—2005, TED

 "...the idea that architecture is defined as single buildings—of whatever size—that can be plugged into a
comprehensible, planned urban matrix is no longer adequate to address the needs of people adapting to
a highly mobile and ever-changing urban society."—2011, Combinatory Urbanism, p. 9
 "I have no interest at all in conceiving something in my brain and saying, 'This is what it looks
like'....Architecture is the beginning of something, because it's—if you're not involved in first principles,
if you're not involved in the absolute, the beginning of that generative process, it's cake decoration....it's
not what I'm interested in doing. And so, in the formation of things, in giving it form, in concretizing
these things, it starts with some notion of how one organizes."—2005, TED

 "The practice of architecture, which has traditionally been aligned with permanence and stability, must
change to accommodate and take advantage of the rapid changes and increased complexities of
contemporary reality....combinatory urbanism engages the premise of continuous process over static
form...."—2011, Combinatory Urbanism, p. 29
 "No matter what I've done, what I've tried to do, everybody says it can't be done. And it's continuous
across the complete spectrum of the various kind of realities that you confront with your ideas. And to
be an architect, somehow you have to negotiate between left and right, and you have to negotiate
between this very private place where ideas take place and the outside world, and then make it
understood."—2005, TED

 "Change or Perish"—2005, AIA National Convention


 What Others Say About Mayne:
 "Thom Mayne has been, throughout his career, regarded as a rebel. Even today, after his recognized
success as an architect of major building projects, requiring the management of a large office—
Morphosis—and a world-wide practice, terms like 'maverick' and 'bad boy' and 'difficult to work with'
still cling to his reputation. Part of this is the attraction of the popular press, where he appears
frequently, to anything racy and even slightly scandalous. Part of it is a sign of respect—we want our
American heroes to be tough and independent, having their own ideals, charting their own paths. Part
of it is, in Mayne's case, simply true."—Lebbeus Woods (1940-2012), visionary architect

 "Mayne's approach toward architecture and his philosophy is not derived from European modernism,
Asian influences, or even from American precedents of the last century. He has sought throughout his
career to create an original architecture, one that is truly representative of the unique, somewhat
rootless, culture of Southern California, especially the architecturally rich city of Los Angeles. Like the
Eameses, Neutra, Schindler, and Gehry before him, Thom Mayne is an authentic addition to the tradition
of innovative, exciting architectural talent that flourishes on the West Coast."—Pritzker Architecture
Prize Jury Citation

 "Mayne's architecture does not rebel against conventions so much as it absorbs and transforms them
and moves on in a direction that demonstrates how buildings and the spaces they provide, both within
and without, can engage the unpredictable yet highly tangible dynamics of the present. He accepts the
conventional typologies—bank, high school, courthouse, office building—of the programs his clients
hand to him, with a generosity that speaks of his respect for the needs of others, even those with whom
he shares little in the way of outlook and sensibility."—Lebbeus Woods

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Charles Follen McKim, 19th Century American Architect

With his partners Stanford White and William R. Mead, architect


Charles Follen McKim designed grand Beaux Arts buildings,
important mansions, and also relaxed Shingle Style homes.
Born:
August 24, 1847 in Chester County, Pennsylvania

Died:
September 14, 1909 at his summer home in St. James, Long Island,
New York

Education:
 One year at the Lawrence Scientific School at Harvard University

 1867-1870: Studied architecture at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris


Related People:
 1867: Worked briefly in the New York office of Russel Sturgis

 1870: Joined the office of Henry Hobson Richardson


 1877: Partnered with William R. Mead
 1879: Stanford White joined the partnership and the firm of McKim, Mead & White was established
Important Projects:
The architectural firm McKim, Mead, & White designed both relaxed summer homes and grand public
buildings. Landmark examples include:

 1881-1883: Isaac Bell House in Newport, Rhode Island


 1887-1895: Boston Public Library
 1894: New York Herald Building
 1895-1903: Rhode Island State Capitol
 1897: Low Memorial Library, Columbia University, New York City
 1910: Pennsylvania Station, New York City
Important Styles:
 Beaux Arts
 Shingle Style
About Charles Follen McKim:
Charles Follen McKim studied at Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris and, with his partners Stanford
White and William R. Mead, he applied Beaux Arts ideas to grand American buildings like the Boston
Public Library and Pennsylvania Station in New York City.
However, McKim was drawn to the clean lines of American Colonial architecture, and he admired the
simple architecture of Japan and rural France. The architectural firm McKim, Mead, & White became
known for informal, open plan Shingle Style houses designed shortly after the partnership was
formed.

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Richard Meier, Architect of the Getty Center
b. 1934

Born: October 12, 1934 in Newark, New Jersey


Education: Bachelor of Architecture degree, Cornell
University, 1957
Architectural Practice:
Richard Meier & Partners Architects LLP
Offices in New York City and Los Angeles
Important Buildings:
A common theme runs through Richard Meier's striking,
white designs. The sleek porcelain-enameled cladding and
stark glass forms have been described as "purist," "sculptural," and "Neo-Corbusian." Listed here are a
few of his most significant works.

 1975-1979: The Atheneum, New Harmony, Indiana


 1980-1983: High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia
 1986-1995: City Hall and Central Library, The Hague, Netherlands
 1987-1995: Museum of Contemporary Art (Museu Art Contemporani de Barcelona, MACBA),
Barcelona, Spain
 1989-1992: Daimler-Benz Research Center, Ulm, Germany
 1984-1997: Getty Center, Los Angeles, California
 1986-1993: Stadthaus Exhibition and Assembly Building, Ulm, Germany
 1989-1993: Hypolux Bank Building, Luxembourg
 1991-1995: North American Headquarters building for Swissair, Melville, New York
 1994-1996: Museum of Television & Radio, Beverly Hills, CA
 1994-2000: United States Courthouse, Phoenix, Arizona
 1993-2000: United States Courthouse, Islip, Long Island
 1996-2003: Jubilee Church, Tor Tre Teste, Rome, Italy
 1999-2002: 173-176 Perry Street Condominium, New York, New York
 2006: Ara Pacis Museum, Rome, Italy
 2008-2012: Tianjin Hotel, Tianjin, China
 2014: Rothschild Tower, Tel Aviv, Israel
Meier's Modernist Museum Shocks Rome:
In 2005 architect Richard Meier admitted that his mission to design a museum for the ancient
Roman Ara Pacis (Alter of Peace) was "intimidating." The glass and marble building certainly stirred
controversy. Protestors said that the modernist structure was not in keeping with the alter, which was
erected by the Emperor Augustus in the first century B.C. But Walter Veltroni, the mayor of Rome,
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avowed that "Rome is a city that's growing and doesn't fear what is new." Listen to the entire story on
National Public Radio (NPR), Roman 'Altar of Peace' Survives Aesthetic War.
Quotes:
 "We are all affected by Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright, Alvar Aalto, and Mies van der Rohe. But no
less than Bramante, Borromini, and Bernini. Architecture is a tradition, a long continuum. Whether
we break with tradition or enhance it, we are still connected to that past. We evolve."
 "... I think white is the most wonderful color of all, because within it one can find every color of the
rainbow."
Related People:
 Le Corbusier
 Mies van der Rohe
 Alvar Aalto
 The New York Five (with architects Peter Eisenman, Michael Graves, Charles Gwathmey, and John
Hejduk)
Important Styles:
 Bauhaus
 International Style
Selected Awards:
 1984: Pritzker Architecture Prize

 1989: Royal Gold Medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects
 1997: American Institute of Architects Gold Medal
 Numerous national AIA Honor Awards and New York AIA Design Awards

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Paulo Mendes da Rocha - Pritzker Prize Laureate

Brazilian architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha is known for socially


responsible architecture that uses simple shapes and minimal
resources. Paulo Mendes da Rocha often called a "Brazilian
Brutalist" because his buildings are constructed of prefabricated
and mass-produced concrete components.

Born:
October 25, 1928 in Vitoria, Brazil

Childhood:
Paulo Mendes da Rocha spent his childhood in Vitoria, the harbor capital of the state of Espírito Santo
in Brazil and on the Island Paquetá, in the middle of Guanabara Bay in Rio de Janeiro. His mother was
the daughter of Italian immigrants. His father was a engineer who became Chair of the Naval and
Harbor Resources of the Polytechnic School of São Paulo University.

Education:
 Mackenzie Architecture School, 1954
Important Works:
 1957: Paulistano Office Chair
 1958: The Paulistano Athletic Club, São Paulo
 1960: Paulo Mendes da Rocha Residence, São Paulo
 1964: Guaimbê Residential Building, São Paulo
 1987: The Forma Store, São Paulo
 1987: Chapel of Saint Peter, Campos de Jordão
 1988: Brazilian Museum of Sculpture, São Paulo
 1992: Patriarch Plaza and Viaduct do Cha, São Paulo
 1993: State Museum of São Paulo
 1995: Residence for Mario Masetti, Cava Estate, Cabreuva
 2000: Studies for the 2008 Olympic Games in Paris, France
 2004: Master plan for the Technological City, University of Vigo, Spain
Related People:
 Oscar Niemeyer
 Le Corbusier
 Walter Gropius
Quote:
In his statement to the Pritzker Prize Committee, Paulo Mendes da Rocha says that architecture is
“…the transformation of nature, a total fusion of science, art and technology in a sublime statement of
human dignity and intelligence through the settlements we build for ourselves…”

Family Life:
Mendes da Rocha married his first wife in 1954. They have two daughters, Renata and Joana, and
three sons, Paulo, Guilherme, and Pedro. Guilherme and Pedro are both architects; son Paulo is a
photographer.
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From his second marriage Mendes da Rocha has another daughter, Nadezhda, who is a designer.

More About Paulo Mendes da Rocha:


During the 1950s, Paulo Mendes da Rocha joined an avant-garde movement in São Paulo, Brazil. His
work, known as Paulist brutalist architecture, used simple shapes and materials. Importance was
placed on people and society rather than ornamentation.
Over the next six decades, Paulo Mendes da Rocha became known for "socially responsible" designs
that used minimum resources. He taught for many years at the University of São Paulo but was forced
to leave his teaching post in 1969 when Brazil was under military dictatorship. Mendes da Rocha
returned to teaching in 1980 and continued until his retirement in 1999. Mendes da Rocha has also
lectured throughout South America and Europe and served as president of the Brazilian Institute for
Architects.

Besides his architectural projects, Mendes da Rocha has designed furniture. He is best known for
the Paulistano chair and chaise lounge which used industrial materials to create comfortable,
functional seating.
In 2000 the Mies van der Rohe Prize for Latin American Architecture brought Paulo Mendes da Rocha
international recognition. He won the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2006.

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The Radical Michelangelo

The Rebel of the Renaissance Influences Architecture


In 1980, amidst great public outcry, preservationists began cleaning the
ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, wiping away the dirt and soot that had
darkened Michelangelo's frescoes for centuries. When the restoration
was completed in 1994, many people were astonished to see what
brilliant colors Michelangelo had used. Some critics questioned whether
the "restoration" was historically accurate. Were the radical colors really
from the palette of Michelangelo? Did the artist have an agenda?

Painted Tricks on the Ceiling:

The public first saw Michelangelo's frescoes on the vaulted ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome on
November 1, 1512—but some of those vaults you see are not real. The Renaissance artist spent four
years painting the detailed Biblical scenes remembered by most people. Few realize, however, that the
ceiling fresco also includes tricks of the eye, also known as trompe l'oeil. The realistic depiction of the
"beams" that frame the figures is architectural detail that is painted on.
The 16th century Vatican parishioners looked up to the chapel ceiling, and they were tricked. The
genius of Michelangelo was that he created the appearance of multi-dimensional sculptures with
paint. Powerfully strong images mixed with an elegance and softness of form, reminiscent of what
Michelangelo had accomplished with his most famous marble sculptures, David (1504) and the Pietà
(1499). The artist had moved sculpture into the painting world.

Architectural Tricks in the Library:

Born on March 6, 1475, Michelangelo Buonarroti is well-known for these elaborate paintings and
sculptures commissioned throughout Italy, but it's his design for the Laurentian Library in Florence
that intrigues Dr. Cammy Brothers. A Renaissance scholar at the University of Virginia, Brothers
suggests that Michelangelo's "irreverent attitude" toward the prevailing architecture of his day is
what moves aspiring architects to study his work even today.

Writing in The Wall Street Journal, Dr. Brothers argues that Michelangelo's buildings, such as
the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, trick our expectations just as the Sistine Chapel ceiling did. In the
library's vestibule, are those indentations between the columns windows or decorative niches? They
could be either, but, because you cannot see through them they can't be windows, and because they
display no decorations, they can't be architectural "tabernacles." Michelangelo's design questions "the
founding assumptions of classical architecture," and he brings us along, too, catechizing all the way.
The staircase, too, is not what it appears. It seems like a grand entrance to the Reading Room until you
see two other stairways, one on either side. The vestibule is filled with architectural elements that are
both traditional and out of place at the same time—brackets that don't function as brackets and
columns that seem to only decorate the wall, but do they? Michelangelo "emphasizes the arbitrary
nature of forms, and their lack of structural logic," says Brothers.
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To Brothers, this approach was radical for the times:

" By challenging our expectations and defying the accepted sense of what architecture can do,
Michelangelo started a debate about architecture's proper role that is still going on today. For example,
should a museum's architecture be in the foreground, like Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, or
in the background, like the many designs of Renzo Piano? Should it frame the art or be the art? In his
Laurentian Library, Michelangelo demonstrated that he could be both Gehry and Piano, attention-
grabbing in the vestibule and self-effacing in the reading room."

The Architect's Challenge:

The Laurentian Library was built between 1524 and 1559 on top of an existing convent, a design that
both connected with the past and moved architecture toward the future. We may think architects only
design new buildings, like your new home. But the puzzle of designing a space within an existing
space—remodeling or putting on an addition—is part of the architect's job, too. Sometimes the design
works, like Odile Decq's L'Opéra Restaurant built within the historical and structural constraints of
the existing Paris Opera House. The jury is still out on other additions, like the 2006 Hearst
Tower built atop the 1928 Hearst Building in New York City.
Can or should an architect respect the past while at the same time reject the prevailing designs of the
day? Architecture is built on the shoulders of ideas, and it's been the radical architect who carries the
weight. Innovation by definition breaks old rules and is often the brainchild of the Rebel Architect. It's
the architect's challenge to be both reverent and irreverent at the same time.

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Mies van der Rohe, Modern Architect

(1886-1969)
Believing that less is more, Mies van der Rohe designed rational,
minimalist skyscrapers that set the standard for modernist
design.

Born:
March 27, 1886 in Aachen, Germany

Died:
August 17, 1969

Full Name:
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Adopted his mother's maiden name, van der Rohe, when he opened his
practice in 1912.
Education:
 Worked in the office of Bruno Paul in Berlin

 Spent four years in the studio of Peter Behrens


Buildings by Mies van der Rohe:
 1928-29: Barcelona Pavilion
 1950: Farnsworth House, Plano, Illinois
 1951: Lake Shore Drive Apartments, Chicago

 1956: Crown Hall, Chicago


 1958: Seagram Building, New York (with Philip Johnson)
 1959-74: Federal Center, Chicago
Furniture Designs by Mies van der Rohe:
 1927-30: Arm Chair
 1929: The Barcelona Chair
 1931: Side Chair (MR 10) (With Lilly Reich)
Related People:
 Walter Gropius
 Le Corbusier
 Philip Johnson
 Richard Neutra
Associated Styles and Movements:
 Bauhaus
 International Style
 Minimalism
Quotes:
 Quotations by Mies van der Rohe
About Mies van der Rohe:

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The United States has a love-hate relationship with Mies van der Rohe. Some say that he stripped
architecture of all humanity, creating cold, sterile and unlivable environments. Others praise his work,
saying he created architecture in its most pure form.

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe began his career in his family stone-carving business in Germany. He never
received any formal architectural training, but when he was a teenager he worked as a draftsman for
several architects. Moving to Berlin, he found work in the offices of architect and furniture designer
Bruno Paul and industrial architect Peter Behrens.

Early in his life, Mies van der Rohe began experimenting with steel frames and glass walls. He was
director of the Bauhaus School of Design from 1930 until it disbanded in 1933. He moved to the
United States in 1937 and for twenty years (1938-1958) he was Director of Architecture at the Illinois
Institute of Technology.

Mies van der Rohe taught his taught students at IIT to build first with wood, then stone, and then brick
before progressing to concrete and steel. He believed that architects must completely understand
their materials before they can design.

Mies van der Rohe was not the first architect to practice simplicity in design, but he carried the ideals
of rationalism and minimalism to new levels. His glass-walled Farnsworth House near Chicago stirred
controversy and legal battles. His bronze and glass Seagram Building in New York City (designed in
collaboration with Philip Johnson) is considered America's first glass skyscraper. And, his philosophy
that "less is more" became a guiding principle for architects in the mid-twentieth century.

Skyscrapers around the world are modeled after designs by Mies van der Rohe.

77
Addison Mizner, Resort Architect

Born:
1872 in Benicia, California

Died:
1933

Education:
No formal training in architecture

Important Buildings:
 1922: William Gray Warden Residence, 112 Seminole Ave., Palm
Beach, Florida
 1923: Via Mizner, 337-339 Worth Ave., Palm Beach, Florida
 1925: Administration Buildings, 2 Camino Real, Boca Raton.
 1925: Boynton Woman's Club, 1010 S. Federal Highway, Boynton Beach
 1926: Fred C. Aiken House, 801 Hibiscus St., Boca Raton
 About Addison Mizner:
 Addison Mizner did not have formal training. He could not draw blueprints. Yet his fanciful
Mediterranean style architecture launched a "Florida Renaissance" and inspired architects
throughout North America.

 As a child, Mizner traveled around the world with his father, who was the U.S. minister to
Guatemala. Mizner began his architectural career in San Francisco, and later worked in New
York. When he was 46, Mizner moved to Palm Beach for his health, and his Spanish Revival
architecture won the attention of wealthy clients.

 Addison Mizner wanted to capture the diversity of Spanish architecture. Criticizing modern
architects for "producing a characterless copybook effect," Mizner said that his ambition was to
"make a building look traditional and as though it had fought its way from a small unimportant
structure to a great rambling house."

 When Mizner moved to Florida, Boca Raton was a tiny, unincorporated town. Mizner aspired to
transform it into a luxurious restort community. In 1925, he started Mizner Development
Corporation and purchased more than 1,500 acres, including two miles of beach. He mailed out
out promotional material that boasted a 1,000-room hotel, golf courses, parks and a street
wide enough to fit 20 lanes of traffic. Stockholders included such high-rollers as Paris Singer,
Irving Berlin, Elizabeth Arden, W.K. Vanderbilt II and T. Coleman du Pont. Film star Marie
Dressler sold real estate for Mizner.

 Other developers followed Mizner's example, and eventually Boca Raton became all that he
envisioned. However, within two years, he was bankrupt. In 1933, he died at 61 of a heart
attack.

78
Julia Morgan, Designer of Hearst Castle

(1872-1957)

Best known for the lavish Hearst Castle, Julia Morgan also
designed public venues for the YWCA as well as hundreds of
homes in California. Morgan helped rebuild San Francisco after
the earthquake and fires of 1906—although the bell tower that
she had designed for Mills College survived the damage.

Born:
January 20, 1872 in San Francisco, California

Died:
February 2, 1957, at age 85. Buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, California

Education:
 Graduated from Oakland High School in California, 1890

 Earned a degree in civil engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, 1894
 While at Berkeley, mentored by architect Bernard Maybeck
 Twice rejected by the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris
 Entered and won several important architecture competitions in Europe
 Accepted by the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and became the first woman to graduate from that
school with a degree in architecture
Career Highlights and Challenges:
 1902-1903: Worked for John Galen Howard, University Architect in Berkeley

 1904: Established her own practice in San Francisco


 1906: Office destroyed in a fire caused by the 1906 earthquake; Morgan established a new office
 1919: Newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst hired Morgan to design his San Simeon estate,
Hearst Castle
 1920s: Problems with her inner ear required surgery that distorted Morgan's face and affected her
balance
 1923: Fires in Berkeley destroyed many homes designed by Morgan
 1951: Morgan closed her office; she died in 1957
 2014: Posthumously awarded the AIA Gold Medal. The first woman to be given AIA's highest honor,
Morgan was elevated to the College of Fellows (FAIA).
Selected Buildings by Julia Morgan:
 1904: Campanile (bell tower), Mills College, Oakland, California
 1913: Asilomar, Pacific Grove, CA
 1917: Livermore House, San Francisco, CA

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 1922: The Hacienda, William Randolph Hearst's home at Valley of the Oaks, CA
 1922-1939: San Simeon (Hearst Castle), San Simeon, CA
 1924-1943: Wyntoon, Mount Shasta, CA
 1927: Laniakea YWCA, Honolulu, HI
 1929: The Berkeley City Club, Berkeley, CA
About Julia Morgan:
Julia Morgan was one of America's most important and prolific architects. Morgan was the first
woman to study architecture at the prestigious Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and the first woman to
work as a professional architect in California. During her 45-year career, she designed more than 700
homes, churches, office buildings, hospitals, stores, and educational buildings.

Like her mentor, Bernard Maybeck, Julia Morgan was an eclectic architect who worked in a variety of
styles. She was known for her painstaking craftsmanship and for designing interiors that incorporated
the owners' collections of art and antiques. Many of Julia Morgan's buildings featured Arts and
Crafts elements such as:
 exposed support beams

 horizontal lines that blend into the landscape


 extensive use of wooden shingles
 earth colorings
 California redwood and other natural materials
After the California earthquake and fires of 1906, Julia Morgan obtained commissions to rebuild
Fairmont Hotel, St. John's Presbyterian Church, and many other important buildings in and around
San Francisco.

Of the hundreds of homes that Julia Morgan designed, she is perhaps most famous for Hearst Castle in
San Simeon, California. For nearly 28 years, craftsmen labored to create William Randolph Hearst's
magnificent estate. The estate has 165 rooms, 127 acres of gardens, beautiful terraces, indoor and
outdoor pools, and an exclusive private zoo. Hearst Castle is one of the largest and most elaborate
homes in the United States.

80
William Morris, Pioneer of the Arts & Crafts Movement

Although not trained as an architect, William Morris had a profound


influence on building design. Leading the Arts & Crafts Movement,
Morris became famous for his wall coverings, stained glass, carpets,
and tapestries. William Morris was also a painter, poet, political
publisher, typeface designer, and furniture-maker.

Born:
March 24, 1834 in Walthamstow, England

Died:
October 3, 1896 in Hammersmith, England

Education of William Morris:


William Morris attended Marlborough and Exeter College, Oxford University. While in college, Morris
met Edward Burne-Jones and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. The young men formed a group known as the
Brotherhood, or the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. They shared a love of poetry, the middle ages, and
Gothic architecture.
Members of the Brotherhood read the writings of John Ruskin and developed an interest in the Gothic
Revival style. The three friends painted frescoes together at the Oxford Union in 1857.
Partnerships:
In 1861, William Morris established "the Firm," which would later become Morris, Marshall, Faulkner
& Co. Although Morris, Burne-Jones, and Rossetti were the most important designers and decorators,
most of the Pre-Raphaelites were involved in designing for the company. The talents of the firm were
rounded out with the skills of architect Philip Webb and painter Ford Madox Brown who designed
furniture and stained glass. The partnership came to an end in 1875 and Morris formed a new
business called Morris & Company.
Patterns by William Morris:
William Morris and his partners specialized in stained glass, carving, furniture, wallpaper, carpets, and
tapestries. One of the most exquisite tapestries produced by Morris's company wasThe Woodpecker,
designed entirely by William Morris. The tapestry was woven by William Knight and William Sleath
and shown at the Arts & Crafts Society Exhibition in 1888.
See more famous patterns by William Morris:

 Tulip and Willow Pattern, 1873


 Acanthus Pattern, 1879-81
 The Original Morris & Company website
Projects by William Morris:
Architectural commissions by William Morris and his Company included:

 1859: Red House (Designed with Philip Webb)


 1866: Armoury & Tapestry Room, St. James' Palace
 1867: Dining Room, Victoria & Albert Museum

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Important Styles:
 Gothic Revival
 Arts & Crafts
Writings by William Morris:
William Morris was also a poet. To learn more about his creative writing, seeWilliam Morris, an essay
in the 1918 text, A History of English Literature by Robert Huntington Fletcher.
Famous Quotes:
 If I were asked to say what is at once the most important production of Art and the thing most to be
longed for, I should answer, A beautiful House; and if I were further asked to name the production
next in importance and the thing next to be longed for, I should answer, a beautiful Book.
From Some Thoughts on the Ornamented Mss. of the Middle Ages
 Have nothing in your houses which you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.
From Hopes and Fears for Art
 Remember that a pattern is either right or wrong. It cannot be forgiven for blundering, as a picture
may be which has otherwise great qualities in it. It is with a pattern as with a fortress, it is no
stronger than its weakest point. A failure for ever recurring torments the eye too much to allow the
mind to take any pleasure in suggestion and intention.
From Hopes and Fears for Art
 No pattern should be without some sort of meaning.
From "Making the Best of It," Hopes and Fears for Art (available online from Project Gutenberg)

Political Life of William Morris:

Later in his life, William Morris poured his energies into political writing. Initially, Morris was against
the aggressive foreign policy of Conservative Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli and he supported
Liberal Party leader William Gladstone. However, Morris became disillusioned after the 1880 election.
He began writing for the Socialist Party and participated in socialist demonstrations.

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Glenn Murcutt, Architect and Environmentalist
b. 1936
Australian architect Glenn Murcutt is said to work alone,
yet he opens his farm to professionals and students of
architecture every year, giving master classes and
promoting his vision: Architects thinking locally acting
globally.
Born: July 25, 1936 in London, England
Primary Residence: Sydney, Australia

Education: Studied architecture at the University of New


South Wales from 1956 to 1961
Honors and Awards:
 1992: Alvar Aalto Medal

 1992: Australian Institute of Architects Gold Medal


 2002: Pritzker Prize
 2009: American Institute of Architects Gold Medal
Important Buildings:
 The Ball-Eastaway House
 The Marie Short House
 The Magney House
 The Marika-Alderton House
 Artists Centre on the South Coast

 South Coast Visitors Centre at Kakaadu


 National Park Visitors Centre at Kempsey
Early Influences:
Glenn Murcutt was born in London but grew up in the Morobe district of New Guinea, where he
learned to value simple, primitive architecture. From his father, Murcutt learned the philosophies of
Henry David Thoreau, who believed that we should live simply and in harmony with nature's laws.
Murcutt's father also introduced him to the streamlined modernist architecture of Ludwig Mies van
der Rohe. Murcutt's early work strongly reflected Mies van der Rohe's ideals.
Quotes:
One of Murcutt's favorite quotations is a phrase he often heard his father say. The words, he believes,
are from Thoreau: “Since most of us spend our lives doing ordinary tasks, the most important thing is
to carry them out extraordinarily well.”

Murcutt is also fond of quoting the Aboriginal proverb: “Touch the earth lightly.”

Upon learning of his Pritzker award, Murcutt told reporters, "Life is not about maximising everything,
it's about giving something back - like light, space, form, serenity, joy. You have to give something
back."

In the words of the Pritzker Jury:

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"In an age obsessed with celebrity, the glitz of our starchitects, backed by large staffs and copious
public relations support, dominate the headlines. As a total contrast, [Murcutt] works in a one-person
office on the other side of the world ... yet has a waiting list of clients, so intent is he to give each
project his personal best. He is an innovative architectural technician who is capable of turning his
sensitivity to the environment and to locality into forthright, totally honest, non-showy works of art."
More Modernist Architects:
 Mies van der Rohe
 Alvar Aalto
 Richard Neutra
About Glenn Murcutt:
The Pritzker Prize-winning architect Glenn Murcutt is not a builder of skyscrapers. He doesn't design
grand, showy structures or use flashy, luxurious materials. Instead, Australian architect Glenn Murcutt
pours his creativity into smaller projects that let him work alone and design economical buildings that
will conserve energy and blend with the environment. All of his buildings (mostly rural houses) are in
Australia.

Glenn Murcutt was inspired by the Californian architecture of Richard Neutraand Craig Ellwood, and
the crisp, uncomplicated work of Scandinavian architectAlvar Aalto. However, Murcutt's designs
quickly took on a distinctively Australian flavor.
Murcutt chooses materials that can be produced easily and economically: Glass, stone, brick, concrete,
and corrugated metal. He pays close attention to the movement of the sun, moon, and seasons, and
designs his buildings to harmonize with the movement of light and wind.

Many of Murcutt's buildings are not air conditioned. Resembling open verandas, Murchutt's houses
suggest the simplicity of Farnsworth House of Mies van der Rohe, yet have the pragmatism of a
sheepherder's hut.
Oz.e.tecture, Offical Website of Architecture Foundation Australia and the Glenn Murcutt Master
Class

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Richard Neutra, Pioneer of the International Style
(1892 - 1970)

Born and educated in Europe, Richard Neutra introduced the


International Style to America, and also introduced Los Angeles
design to Europe. His firm designed many office buildings,
churches, and cultural centers, but Richard Neutra is best known
for his residential architecture.

Born: April 8, 1892 in Vienna, Austria


Died: April 16, 1970
Education:
 Technical Academy, Vienna

 University of Zürich
Selected Works:
 1927-1929: Lovell House, Los Angeles, CA
 1934: Anna Stern House, CA

 1937: Miller House, Palm Springs, CA


 1946-1947: Kaufmann Desert House, Palm Springs, CA
 1947-1948: Tremaine House, Santa Barbara, CA
Related People:
 Le Corbusier
 Walter Gropius
 Philip Johnson
 Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
More About Richard Neutra:
Homes designed by Richard Neutra combined Bauhaus modernism with Southern California building
traditions, creating a unique adaptation that became known as Desert Modernism. Neutra's houses
were were dramatic, flat-surfaced industrialized-looking buildings placed into a carefully arranged
landscape. Constructed with steel, glass, and reinforced concrete, they were typically finished in
stucco.
The Lovell House (1927-1929) created a sensation in architectural circles in both Europe and
America. Stylistically, this important early work was similar to the work of Le Corbusier and Mies van
der Rohe in Europe.
Later in his career, Richard Neutra designed a series of elegant pavilion-style homes composed of
layered horizontal planes. With extensive porches and patios, the homes appeared to merge with the
surrounding landscape. The Kaufmann Desert House (1946-1947) and the Tremaine House (1947-48)
are important examples of Neutra's pavilion houses.

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Oscar Niemeyer - Brazilian Modernist

(1907 - 2012)

During a career that spanned seventy-five years, architect Oscar


Niemeyer defined modern architecture in Brazil.

Full Name:
Oscar Niemeyer Ribeiro de Almeida Soares

Born: December 15, 1907 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil


Died: December 5, 2012, in Rio de Janeiro (read obituary in The
Economist)
Education: Escola Nacional de Belas Artes, 1934
Early Works:
 1938-1939: With Lucio Costa, the Brazilian Pavilion for the New York World’s Fair

 1945: With Le Corbusier and others, the Ministry of Education and Health, Rio de Janeiro
 1941: National Stadium, Rio de Janeiro
 1943: Church of St Francis, Pampulha
 1947-1953: With Le Corbusier and others, the United Nations Headquarters, New York City
 1953: Manoel da Nóbrega Pavilion, São Paulo
Later Works:
 1957-1964: Brazilian National Congress
 1960–1970: Cathedral of Brasília, Brasília
 1967-1972: Communist Party Headquarters, Paris, France

 1983: Samba Stadium, Rio de Janeiro


 1967-2002: Museo Oscar Niemeyer, Curitiba, Brazil
 1986: The Nation's Pantheon, Panteão da Pátria Tancredo Neves, Brasília
 1996: Niterói Contemporary Art Museum, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro
 2003: Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, London, UK
Life Events:
 1935: Joined the office of architect Lucio Costa

 1936: Collaborated with Le Corbusier, Lucio Costa, Jorge Machado Moreira, and Afonso Eduardo
Reidy to design the Ministry of Education and Health (now the Palace of Culture) in Rio de Janeiro
 1945: Joined the Brazilian Communist Party
 1956: Began implementing Lucio Costa's plans for Brazil's new capital city
 1957-1964: Served as chief architect for the new capital
 1966: Moved to France after a military coup in Brazil
 1984: Returned to Brazil, practiced architecture, and taught at the University of Rio de Janeiro
 1992-1996: President of the Brazilian Communist Party
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Related People:
 Le Corbusier
 Mies van der Rohe
 Paulo Mendes da Rocha
Quotes:
"I have always accepted and respected all other schools of architecture, from the chill and elemental
structures of Mies van der Rohe to the imagination and delirium of Gaudi. I must design what pleases
me in a way that is naturally linked to my roots and the country of my origin."
—Pritzker Prize biography
"My work is not about form follows function, but form follows beauty or, even better, form follows
feminine."
—Architectural Record, December 1997, p. 35
"Let me tell you frankly: I believe that life is more important than architecture. What really counts is to
build a better world. I think that architecture is only a profession."
—2009 United Nations interview
"It is not the right angle that attracts me,
Nor the hard, inflexible straight line, man-made.
What attracts me are free and sensual curves.
The curves in my country's mountains,
In the sinuous flow of its rivers,
In the beloved woman's body.
~Quoted by Angel Gurria-Quintana in Architect of Optimism, the Financial Times
More About Oscar Niemeyer:
From his early work with Le Corbusier to his beautifully sculptural buildings for Brazil's new capital
city, Oscar Niemeyer shaped the Brazil we see today. He became a leader in the Brazilian communist
party and spoke out in defense of liberal governments. Although Niemeyer often said that architecture
cannot change the world, many critics say that his idealism and socialist ideology defined his
buildings.

Oscar Niemeyer was awarded the AIA Gold Medal in 1970. In 1988, when Niemeyer was 80 years old,
he won the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prizealong with American architect Gordon Bunshaft.
Niemeyer's first wife, Annita Baldo, died in 2004. In 2006, when Oscar Niemeyer was 98 years old, he
married his long-time aid, Vera Lúcia Cabreira. Niemeyer continued his architectural practice well into
his hundreds.

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Ryue Nishizawa, SANAA

b. 1966

Japanese architect Ryue Nishizawa is best known for his collaborative


works with architect Kazuyo Sejima. Their firm, Sejima + Nishizawa and
Associates (SANAA), is praised for designing powerful, minimalist
buildings using common, everyday materials. Ryue Nishizawa and
Kazuyo Sejima share the 2010 Pritzker Architecture Prize. Sejima and
Nishizawa also maintain separate practices, which usually focus on
smaller commissions.
Born: 1966 in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Education:
 1990: Master’s in Architecture, Yokohama National University
Selected Works:
Projects by Sejima + Nishizawa and Associates (SANAA) include:

 1999: Ogasawara Museum (O-Museum), Nagano, Japan


 2003: Christian Dior Building, Tokyo, Japan
 2004: 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan
 2006: Zollverein School of Management and Design, Essen, Germany
 2006: Glass Pavilion at the Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio, USA
 2006: Naoshima Ferry Terminal, Naoshima, Kagawa, Japan
 2007: New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York City, USA
 2007: De Kunstlinie Theater and Cultural Center, Almere, Netherlands
 2009: Serpentine Pavilion, London, England
 2009: Rolex Learning Center, Lausanne, Switzerland
Selected Awards:
The firm Sejima + Nishizawa and Associates (SANAA) has won numerous awards, including:

 1998: The Prize of the Architectural Institute of Japan, Tokyo, Japan


 2000: Erich Schelling Architecture Prize, Karlsruhe, Germany
 2002: Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize in Architecture, American Academy of Arts and Letters New York,
New York
 2002: Architecture Award of Salzburg, Austria
 2006: The Prize of the Architectural Institute of Japan, Tokyo, Japan
 2010: Pritzker Architecture Prize. Aged 44 at the time, Ryue Nishizawa is the youngest person to receive a
Pritzker Prize.
Career Highlights:
 1987: Ryue Nishizawa joined the firm Kazuyo Sejima & Associates
 1995: Ryue Nishizawa partnered with Kazuyo Sejima to form Sejima + Nishizawa and Associates (SANAA)
 1997: Ryue Nishizawa formed a separate practice, the Office of Ryue Nishizawa, which usually focuses on
smaller commissions.
Teaching:
 Associate Professor at Yokoham National University, 2001-
 Jean Labatut Professorship at the School of Architecture at Princeton University, USA (shared with Kazuyo
Sejima), 2005-2008

88
Jean Nouvel, Architect of Light and Shadow
b. 1945

French architect Jean Nouvel designs flamboyant and


colorful buildings that defy classification.

Born: August 12, 1945 in Fumel, Lot-et-Garonne, France


Education:
École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France

Selected Buildings:
 1987: Arab World Institute, Paris, France
 1994: Renovation of the Nouvel Opéra, Lyon, France
 1994: Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art, Paris,
France
 2005: Agbar Tower, Barcelona, Spain
 2006: Musée du quai Branly, Paris, France
 2006: Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis, Minnesota
 2007: 40 Mercer Street Residences, SoHo, New York City
 2010: 100-11th Residences, 100 Eleventh Avenue, Chelsea, NYC
 2010: Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, Kensington Gardens, London, UK
 In Progress: Tour de Verre, New York City

Selected Awards:
 1993: Honorary fellow of the American Institute of Architects

 1995: Honorary fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects


 1997: Named Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
 2008: Pritzker Architecture Prize

Quotes:
 "I am a hedonist, and I want to give pleasure to other people."
New York Times, April 6, 2008

About Jean Nouvel:


As a teenager, Jean Nouvel wanted to be an artist, and his unconventional buildings suggest the
flamboyance of a painter. Taking cues from the environment, Nouvel places an emphasis on light and
shadow. Color and transparency are important parts of the design. Upon awarding Jean Nouvel the
Pritzker Architecture Prize for 2008, the judges noted that his works demonstrate "persistence,
imagination, exuberance, and, above all, an insatiable urge for creative experimentation."

Is Jean Nouvel a modernist? A postmodernist? For most critics, the inventive architect defies
classification.

Nouvel is the president and CEO of Ateliers Jean Nouvel (AJN) since December 2012.

89
Frederick Law Olmsted, Father of American Landscape Design
(1822 - 1903)

Frederick Law Olmsted was a landscape architect before the


profession was founded. He was a visionary who foresaw the need
for national parks, devised one of America's first regional plans,
and designed America's first large suburban community.

Born : April 26, 1822 in Hartford, Connecticut


Died: August 28, 1903
Famous Works by Frederick Law Olmsted:
 United States Capitol Grounds
 Many College Campuses
 Biltmore Estate Gardens and Grounds
 Central Park in New York City
 Riverside community in Illinois
Frederick Law Olmsted's Partnerships:
Olmsted joined with English-born architect Calvert Vaux to enter the Central Park design competition.
Their plan won, and the pair worked as partners from 1865 to 1872. Together they designed many
parks and planned communities, including Riverside, Illinois, which is known as America's first
modern suburb.

After Olmsted's death, his stepson, John Charles Olmsted (1852-1920), his son, Frederick Law
Olmsted Jr. (1870-1957), and their successors continued the landscape architecture firm Olmsted
founded. Records show that the firm participated in 5,500 projects between 1857 and 1950.
See Olmsted Escapes for a gallery of projects.
Other Professions of Frederick Law Olmsted:
Although Olmsted is famous today for his landscape architecture, he did not discover this career until
he was 35. During his youth, Frederick Law Olmsted pursued several professions. Olmsted became a
respected journalist and social commentator. Traveling through the southern United States, Olmsted
wrote treatises against slavery. Olmsted's book A Journey in the Seaboard States was not a great
commercial success, but was highly regarded by readers in the Northern United States and England.

90
Andrea Palladio (Andrea di Pietro della Gondola)
Renaissance Architect (1508 - 1580)

Born in Renaissance Italy, Andrea Palladio transformed


architecture in the Western world.

Born: November 30, 1508 in Padua, Italy


Died: August 19, 1580 in Vicenza, Italy
Full Name:
Born Andrea Di Pietro della Gondola. Later
named Palladio after the Greek goddess of wisdom. The
new name was given to Palladio by an employer, the
scholar Trissino.
Palladio's Early Training:
 Apprenticed to a stonecutter when he was 13 years old

 Became an assistant in a masonry workshop in Vicenza


 Learned the principles of classical architecture when he worked on new additions for a villa owned
by Gian Giorgio Trissino, a leading scholar of the time
Important Buildings by Palladio:
By the 1540s, Palladio was using classical principles to design a series of country villas and urban
palaces for the nobility of Vicenza. One of his most famous isVilla Capra, also known as the Rotunda,
which was modeled after the Roman Pantheon. Palladio also designed the Basilica in Vicenza and Villa
Foscari (or La Malcontenta) near Venice. In the 1560s he began work on religious buildings in Venice.
The great basilica San Giorgio Maggiore is one of Palladio's most elaborate works.
Writings by Palladio:
Using the new technology of movable type, Palladio published a guide to the classical ruins of Rome. In
1570, he published his masterwork: I Quattro Libri dell' Architettura, or The Four Books of
Architecture ( ). This important book outlined Palladio's architectural principles and
provided practical advice for builders. Detailed woodcut images of Palladio's drawings illustrate the
work.
Recommended Reading:
 The Power of Palladio, How Palladio Shaped America's Houses
 Books About Palladian Architecture
About Andrea Palladio:
Andrea Palladio is often described as the most influential and most copied architect in the Western
world. Drawing inspiration from classical architecture, Palladio created carefully proportioned,
pedimented buildings that became models for stately homes and government buildings in Europe and
America. One of many architectural features inspired by Palladio is the popular Palladian window.
Palladio's Four Books of Architecture was widely translated, and Palladio's ideas spread across Europe
and into the New World. American statesman Thomas Jefferson borrowed Palladian ideas when he
designed Monticello, his home in Virginia.

91
Juhani Pallasmaa, Finnish Architect

Born:
September 14, 1936 in Hämeenlinna, Finland

Education:
1966: Helsinki University of Technology, Diploma in
Architecture

Important Projects:
 2003-2006: Kamppi Centre, Helsinki.

 2004: Snow Show (with Rachel Whiteread), Lapland

 2002-2003: Bank of Finland Museum, Helsinki

 2002: Pedestrian and cycle bridge, Viikki Eco-village, Helsinki

 1989-91 Major extensions to Itäkeskus Shopping Centre, Helsinki

 1990-91: Outdoor spaces for Ruoholahti Residential Area, Helsinki

 1986-1991: Institut Finlandais (with Roland Schweitzer), Paris

 1987: Phone Booth Design for Helsinki Telephone Association

 1986: Renovation of Helsinki Old Market Hall, Helsinki

 1984-1986: Renovation of the Art Museum in Rovaniemi

 1970: Summer atelier of artist Tor Arne, Vänö Island


Major Awards:
 2009: American Academy of Arts and Letters, Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize in Architecture

 1999: Jean Tschumi Prize for Architectural Criticism, International Union of Architects

 1997: Fritz Schumacher Prize (Germany)

 1996: Russian Federation Architecture Award

 1993: Helsinki City Culture Award

 1992: Finnish State Architecture Award


Teaching :

92
 1991-1997: Professor of Architecture at the Helsinki University of Technology, served as Dean
1993-1996

 1978-1983: Director of the Museum of Finnish Architecture

 Ruth & Norman Moore Visiting Professor at Washington University, St. Louis, USA

 Has taught at universities in Europe, South America, and Africa


Writing:
Juhani Pallasmaa writes prolifically about architectural theory. His works are read in many
architecture classrooms.

 Questions of Perception: Phenomenology of Architecture by Steven Holl, Juhani Pallasmaa, and


Alberto Perez-Gomez ()
 The Embodied Image: Imagination and Imagery in Architecture ()
 The Thinking Hand ()
 The Eyes of the Skin - Architecture and the Senses ()
 Encounters - Architectural Essays. Peter MacKeith, editor ()
 Archipelago - Essays on Architecture. Peter MacKeith, editor ()
 Free e-books and downloads at goBookee
Juhani Pallasmaa on the Web:
 Juhani Pallasmaa Architects
 Interview with an Architectural Icon: Juhani Pallasmaa by Andrew Caruso, National Building
Museum

About Juhani Pallasmaa:


Juhani Pallasmaa is an enormously prolific architect involved in architectural, product, and graphic
design. He is also a writer and lecturer on topics related to cultural philosophy, environmental
psychology, and architectural theory.

In Finland, Juhani Pallasmaa is known as a Constructivist. His work has been inspired by the
simplicity of Japanese architecture and the abstraction of modern Deconstructivism.

93
Ieoh Ming Pei, Pritzker Prize Laureate

b. 1917

I.M. Pei is known for using large, abstract forms


and sharp, geometric designs. His glass-clad
structures seem to spring from the high tech
modernist movement. However, Pei is more
concerned with function than theory. His works
often incorporate traditional Chinese symbols and
building traditions.

Born:
April 26, 1917 in Canton, China

Education:
 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
B. Arch. 1940
 Harvard Graduate School of Design
M. Arch. 1946
Professional Experience:
 National Defense Research Committee, 1943–1945

 Harvard Graduate School of Design, Assistant Professor, 1945–1948


 Webb & Knapp, Inc., Director of Architecture, 1948–1955
 I. M. Pei & Associates, 1955–1966
 I. M. Pei & Partners, 1966–1989
 Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, 1989–1990
 Pei Partnership Architects, 1992-
Important Buildings:
 Mile High Center, Denver, Colorado (1956)

 National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado (1967)


 Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, New York (1968)
 Terminal 6, JFK International Airport, New York City (1970; demolished in 2011)
 The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York (1973)
 Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Centre, Singapore (1976)
 Dallas City Hall, Texas (1977)
 John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library, Boston, Massachusetts (1979, extension in 1991)
 Museum of Fine Arts, West Wing and Renovation, Boston, Massachusetts (1981)
 Fragrant Hill Hotel, Beijing (1982)
 Bank of China Tower, Hong Kong (1989)
 Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas, Texas (1989)
 Louvre Pyramid (Phase I in 1989; Phase II in 1993)
 Four Seasons Hotel, New York City (1993)

94
 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Cleveland, Ohio (1995)
 Musée d'Art Moderne, Kirchberg, Luxembourg (2006)
 Suzhou Museum (2006)
Related People :
 Arata Isozaki
 Walter Gropius
 Rem Koolhaas
Quote:
"I believe that architecture is a pragmatic art. To become art it must be built on a foundation of
necessity." — I.M. Pei, from his acceptance speech for the 1983 Pritzker Architecture Award.

More About I. M. Pei:


In Chinese, Ieoh Ming means "to inscribe brightly." The name Pei's parents gave him proved prophetic.
Over the past fifty years, Ieoh Ming Pei has designed more than fifty buildings around the world,
ranging from industrial skyscrapers and important museums to low income housing.

Pei grew up in Shanghai, but in 1935 he moved to the United States to study architecture and
engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and later at Harvard University. Pei is a
naturalized citizen of the United States.

Awards and Honors:

 Pritzker Architecture Prize (1983). With the Pritzker prize money, Pei established a scholarship
for Chinese students to study architecture in the United States providing they return to China to
practice architecture.
 Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA)
 Corporate Member of the Royal Institute of British Architects
 American Academy of Arts and Sciences
 National Academy of Design
 American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters

95
Cesar Pelli, Creator of the Petronas Towers

Cesar Pelli is often praised for using a wide variety of materials


and designs, seeking new solutions for each location. Believing
that buildings should be "responsible citizens," Cesar Pelli
strives to design buildings that work within the surrounding
city.

Born:
October 12, 1926 in Tucuman, Argentina. Cesar Pelli
immigrated to the United States in 1952 and later became a
U.S. citizen.

Education:
 Diploma in Architecture, University of Tucuman, Argentina
 Master in Architecture, University of Illinois, USA
Cesar Pelli taught for many years and served as Dean of the Yale University School of Architecture
from 1977 to 1984.

Famous Skyscrapers and Towers:


 1977-1984: MOMA Residential Tower, New York City

 1981-1987: World Financial Center (renamed Brookfield Place), New York City
 1986: Canary Wharf Tower, London, England
 1990: NTT Headquarters, Tokyo, Japan
 1998: Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
 2003: Two International Finance Centre (IFC), Hong Kong (design architect)
 2004: Bloomberg Tower, New York City
 2011: Iberdrola's Tower (Torre Iberdrola ), Bilbao, Spain
Museums and Theaters:
 1984: Mattatuck Museum, at Waterbury, Connecticut

 1987: Charlotte Performing Arts Center, at Charlotte, North Carolina


 1987-1990: Carnegie Hall Tower, at New York, New York
 1991: Ohio Center for Performing Arts, at Cincinnati, Ohio
 1996: Cinema in Celebration, Florida
 2006: Carnival Center, now called theAdrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, Miami, Florida
 2006: Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall and Samueli Theater, Segerstrom Center for the
Arts, Costa Mesa, Orange County, California
 2008: BOK Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma
 2009: Connecticut Science Center in Hartford, Connecticut
Other Important Works:
 1966: Worldway Postal Center, at Los Angeles, California

 1967: COMSAT Laboratories, at Clarksburg, Maryland


 1967: Kukai Gardens Housing, at Honolulu, Hawaii
 1969: San Bernardino City Hall, at San Bernardino, California
 1975: Pacific Design Center, at Los Angeles, California
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 1976: US Embassy, Tokyo, Japan
 1982-1984: Herring Hall, at Rice University, Houston, Texas
 2005: Malone Engineering Center at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
 2006: Minneapolis Central Library
 2009: ARIA Resort and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada
 2017: Transbay Transit Center, San Francisco, California
Awards:
Cesar Pelli has received more than 100 architecture awards. Some highlights:

 1995: AIA (American Institute of Architects) Gold Medal, which recognizes a lifetime of
distinguished achievement and outstanding contributions.
 2004: The Aga Khan Award for the design of the Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Writings:
Observations for Young Architects, Monacelli Press

Quotation:
"... a building must be both background and foreground. As foreground, it must have some exceptional
qualities. But it must also try very hard to knit into the fabric..."
Web Site:
Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects (requires Flash)
About Cesar Pelli:
Cesar Pelli has become known as a master designer of public spaces such as the Commons of
Columbus (1970-1973) in Columbus, Indiana, the Winter Garden at the World Financial Center (1980-
1989) in New York, and Founders Hall (1987-1992) in Charlotte, North Carolina. Some critics say that
Pelli's public rooms contribute to modern-day life in the same way the Italian piazza shaped life in the
16th century.

After completing his Master's degree in architecture, Pelli spent ten years working in the offices of
Eero Saarinen. He served as Project Designer for the TWA Terminal Building at JFK Airport in New
York and Morse and Stiles Colleges at Yale University. He later became Director of Design at Daniel,
Mann, Johnson & Mendenhall in Los Angeles, and from 1968 to 1976 he was Partner for Design at
Gruen Associates in Los Angeles. While at Gruen, Pelli is known to have collaborated with Norma
Merrick Sklarek on a number of works, including the US Embassy in Tokyo. Cesar Pelli & Associates
was founded in 1977.
In 1997, Pelli's design for the Petronas Towers was erected in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Petronas
Towers are among the tallest buildings in the world.

97
Renzo Piano, Pritzker Prize-Winning Architect
b. 1937

Italian architect Renzo Piano first gained success


collaborating with British architect Richard Rogers. The
pair spent the better part of the 1970s designing and
building a cultural center in Paris, France—the Centre
Georges Pompidou. It was career-launching architecture.
Born: September 14, 1937 in Genoa, Italy
Childhood:
Renzo Piano was born into a family of builders. His
grandfather, father, four uncles, and brother were
contractors. Piano honored this tradition when he named
his architecture firm Renzo Piano Building Workshop, as if it
were forever to be a small family business.
" I was born into a family of builders, and this has given me a special relationship with the art of "doing."
I always loved going to building sites with my father and seeing things grow from nothing, created by the
hand of man. For a child, a building site is magic: today you see a heap of sand and bricks, tomorrow a
wall that stands on its own; at the end it has all become a tall, solid building where people can live. I have
been a lucky man: I have spent my life doing what I dreamt as a child.—Piano, 1998

Training and Professional Life:


 1959-1964: Studied at the Milan Politecnico, where he taught until 1968

 1964: Worked in his father's company


 1965-1970: Worked in offices of Louis I. Kahn in Philadelphia and Zygmunt Stanisław Makowski in
London
 1971-1978: Partnership with British architect Richard Rogers
 1980-present: Renzo Piano Building Workshop

Architectural Style:

Renzo Piano's work has been called high-tech and bold postmodernism. His 2006 renovation and
expansion of theMorgan Library and Museum shows that he is much more than one style. The interior
is open, light, modern, natural, old and new at the same time. "Unlike most other architectural stars,"
writes architecture critic Paul Goldberger, "Piano has no signature style. Instead, his work is
characterized by a genius for balance and context...."
Famous Buildings by Renzo Piano:
 1977: Centre Pompidou, Paris, France (with Richard Rogers)
 1990: San Nicola Stadium, Bari, Italy
 1990: IRCAM Extension, Institute for Acoustic Research, Paris, France
 1991: Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Genoa, Italy
 1992: Columbus International Exposition, Genoa, Italy
 1994: Lingotto Factory Conversion, Turin, Italy
 1994: Kansai Airport Terminal, Osaka, Japan
 1995: Menil Collection Museum, Houston, Texas
 1996: Congress Center and Offices, Lyon, France
 1997: Reconstruction of the Atelier Brancusi, Paris
 1998: Tjibaou Cultural Centre, Nouméa, New Caledonia
 2002: Parco della Musica Auditorium, Rome, Italy

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 2005: Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern, Switzerland
 2007: New York Times Building, New York City
 2008: California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California
 2010: Central St. Giles Court, London, United Kingdom
 2012: The Shard (London Bridge Tower), London, UK

Selected Awards:

 2013: Named a Senator for Life by Italian President Giorgio Napolitano


 2008: Gold Medal, American Institute of Architect (AIA)
 2000: Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, Venice, Italy
 1998: The Pritzker Architecture Prize
 1994: Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize
 1989: Royal Gold Medal for Architecture, Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), London, U.K.
 1984: Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres Award, Paris, France
 1981: Compasso d'Oro Award, Milan, Italy

About Renzo Piano:

Renzo Piano is often called a "High-Tech" architect because his designs showcase technological shapes
and materials. However, human needs and comfort are at the center of Piano's designs.

Critics note that Piano's work is rooted in the classical traditions of his Italian homeland. Judges for
the Pritzker Architecture Prize credited Piano with redefining modern and postmodern architecture.

Piano is also celebrated for his landmark examples of energy-efficient green design. With a living roof
and a four-story rainforest, the California Academy of Sciences claims to be the "world's greenest
museum," thanks to the design of Renzo Piano.

Piano Quotations:

" There is one theme that is very important for me: lightness....In my architecture, I try to use immaterial
elements like transparency, lightness, the vibration of the light. I believe that they are as much a part of
the composition as the shapes and volumes."—Piano, 1998

" To be truly creative, the architect has to accept all the contradictions of his profession: discipline and
freedom, memory and invention, nature and technology. There is no escape. If life is complicated, then art
is even more so. Architecture is all of this: society, science and art."—Piano, 1998

99
Henry Hobson Richardson, First American Architect

Famous for designing massive stone buildings with


semicircular "Roman" arches, Henry Hobson Richardson
developed a late Victorian style that became known
as RichardsonianRomanesque.
Born:
September 29, 1838 in Louisiana

Died:
1886

Education:
 Public and private schools in New Orleans
 Harvard College
 Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris

Famous Buildings:
 1883-1888: Allegheny County Courthouse, Pittsburgh, PA
 1872-1877: Trinity Church, Boston, MA
 1885-1887: Glessner House, Chicago, IL

Related People:
 Frank Furness
 Stanford White
 Charles Follen McKim
 John Ruskin
 Frederick Law Olmsted

About Henry Hobson Richardson:


During his short life, Henry Hobson Richardson designed churches, courthouses, train stations,
libraries, and other important civic buildings. Featuring semicircular "Roman" arches set in massive
stone walls, Richardson's unique style became known as Richardsonian Romanesque.
Henry Hobson Richardson is known as the "First American Architect" because he broke away from
European traditions and designed buildings that stood out as truly original. Also Henry Hobson
Richardson was only the second American to receive formal training in architecture. (The first was
Richard Morris Hunt.)

The architects Charles F. McKim and Stanford White worked under Richardson for awhile, and their
free-form Shingle Style grew out of Richardson's use of rugged natural materials and grand interior
spaces.
Other important architects influenced by Henry Hobson Richardson includeLouis Sullivan, John
Wellborn Root, and Frank Lloyd Wright.

100
Richard Rogers, Modern Architect
b. 1933

British architect Richard Rogers has designed some of


the most important buildings of the modern era.

Born: July 23, 1933 in Florence, Italy


Education of Richard Rogers:
 Architecture Association School in London

 Pursued a masters degree in architecture at Yale


University on a Fulbright Scholarship
Childhood:
Richard Rogers' father studied medicine and hoped
that Richard would pursue a career in dentistry.
Richard's mother was interested in modern design
and encouraged her son's interest in the visual arts. A cousin, Ernesto Rogers, was one of Italy's
prominent architects.

As war broke out in Europe, the Rogers family moved back to England where Richard Rogers attended
public schools. He was dyslexic and did not do well. Rogers had a run-in with the law, entered the
National Service, became inspired by the work of his relative, Ernesto Rogers, and ultimately decided
to enter London's Architectural Association school.

Richard Rogers' Partnerships:


 Worked for Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) in the USA

 Returned to England and formed Team 4 architectural practice with Norman Foster, Wendy
Cheeseman, and Rogers' wife Su Brumwell.
 Partnership with Renzo Piano, established 1971, dissolved in 1978
 Richard Rogers Partnership, established 1978
 United Kingdom practice renamed Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners in 2007
Awards and Honers:
Richard Rogers has won numerous awards and honors, including

 2007: Pritzker Architecture Prize


 2006: Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement
 1996: Life Baron of the United Kingdom
 1991: Knighted Lord Rogers of Riverside
 1989: Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize, American Academy & Institute of Arts & Letters
 1985: The Royal Gold Medal for Architecture, Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)
Important Buildings by Richard Rogers:
 1971-1977: Centre Pompidou (with Renzo Piano)
 1978-1986: Lloyd's of London
 1995-2003: Minami Yamashiro School
 1996-1999: Millennium dome
 1997-2005: Madrid Barajas Airport Terminal 4
 1998-2005: National Assembly for Wales
 2002-2006: Leadenhall Building
 Proposed: 3 World Trade Center (175 Greenwich Street)

101
Quote from Richard Rogers:
"Other societies have faced extinction — some, like the Easter Islanders of the Pacific, the Harappa
civilization of the Indus Valley, the Teotihuacan in pre-Columbian America, due to ecological disasters
of their own making. Historically, societies unable to solve their environmental crises have either
migrated or become extinct. The vital difference today is that the scale of our crisis is no longer
regional but global: it involves all of humanity and the entire planet."
- From Cities for a Small Planet, BBC Reith Lectures

Family Life:
 First wife: Susan (Su) Brumwell, daughter of Marcus Brumwell who headed the Design Research
Unit (DRU), which was a moving force in the Festival of Britain.
 Second wife: the former Ruth Elias of Woodstock, New York and Providence, Rhode Island.
 Children: Three sons, Ben, Zad, and Ab, from his first marriage. Two sons, Roo and Bo, from his
marriage to Ruth.
Related People :
 Sir Norman Foster
 Mies van der Rohe
 Frank Lloyd Wright
More About Richard Rogers:
"Rogers combines his love of architecture with a profound knowledge of building materials and
techniques. His fascination with technology is not merely for artistic effect, but more importantly, it is
a clear echo of a building's program and a means to make architecture more productive for those it
serves. His championing of energy efficiency and sustainability has had a lasting effect on the
profession."
- Citation from the Pritzker Jury
"Born in Florence, Italy, and trained as an architect in London, at the Architectural Association, and
later, in the United States at Yale University, Rogers has an outlook as urbane and expansive as his
upbringing. In his writings, through his role as advisor to policy making groups, as well as his large-
scale planning work, Rogers is a champion of urban life and believes in the potential of the city to be a
catalyst for social change."
- Thomas J. Pritzker, president of The Hyatt Foundation
"Throughout his distinguished career of more than forty years, Richard Rogers has consistently
pursued the highest goals for architecture. Key Rogers projects already represent defining moments
in the history of contemporary architecture.

"The Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris (1971-1977), designed in partnership with Renzo Piano,
revolutionized museums, transforming what had once been elite monuments into popular places of
social and cultural exchange, woven into the heart of the city.
"Lloyd's of London in the City of London (1978-1986), another landmark of late 20th century design,
established Richard Rogers' reputation as a master not only of the large urban building, but also of his
own brand of architectural expressionism.
As these buildings and other subsequent projects, such as the recently completed and
acclaimed Terminal 4, Barajas Airport in Madrid (1997- 2005) demonstrate, a unique interpretation
of the Modern Movement's fascination with the building as machine, an interest in architectural
clarity and transparency, the integration of public and private spaces, and a commitment to flexible
floor plans that respond to the ever-changing demands of users, are recurring themes in his work."
- Lord Palumbo, chair of the Pritzker Prize jury

102
John Ruskin: Writer, Critic, Artist & Philosopher

(1819-1900)

He's been called a "weirdo" and "manic-depressive" by Hilary


French, and a "strange and unbalanced genius" by Professor
Talbot Hamlin. Rebelling against classical styles, John Ruskin
reawakened British interest in heavy, elaborate Gothic
architecture. He also disdained anything machine-made, and
paved the way for the Arts & Crafts movement.
Born: February 8, 1819 in London, England
Died: January 20, 1900
Education:
Christ Church College at Oxford, MA degree, 1843

Important Writings:
John Ruskin traveled to France and Italy, where he sketched the romantic beauty of medieval
architecture and sculpture. Through his essays, including The Poetry of Architecture (free from
Gutenberg) and his 1849 book The Seven Lamps of Architecture (), Ruskin awakened interest in
medieval Gothic architecture.
In 1849, Ruskin traveled to Venice, Italy and observed Venetian Gothic architecture influenced
by Byzantine influences as Christianity spread throughout Europe. The rise and fall of spiritual forces
reflected through Venice's changing architectural styles impressed the enthusiastic and passionate
writer. In 1851 Ruskin's observations were published in the three-volume series, The Stones of
Venice ().
The 19th century Gothic Revival period of architectural design in England, better known as Victorian
Gothic, was in large part due to the writings of John Ruskin.

Influence on Drawing and Art:


John Ruskin was a writer, critic, scientist, poet, artist, environmentalist, and philosopher. His
workbook The Elements of Drawing () remains a popular course of study. As one of the most important
art critics of the Victorian era, Ruskin gained respectability for the Pre-Raphaelites, who rejected the
classical approach to art and believed that paintings must be done from direct observation of nature.
Through his writings, Ruskin rescued the Romantic painter J. M. W. Turnerfrom obscurity.
Influence on Architecture:

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John Ruskin rebelled against formal, classical art and architecture. Ruskin championed the
asymmetrical, rough architecture of medieval Europe. His passionate writings heralded the Gothic
Revival movement in Britain and paved the way for the Arts & Crafts movement in Britain and the
United States. LikeWilliam Morris and other Arts & Crafts philosophers, John Ruskin opposed
industrialization and rejected the use of machine-made materials.
Important Building:
One of Ruskin's chief interests was the construction of the Oxford Museum of Natural History. Ruskin
worked with the support of his old friend, Sir Henry Acland, then Regius Professor of Medicine, to
bring his vision of Gothic beauty to this building. The Oxford Museum of Natural History remains one
of the finest example of Victorian Gothic Revival (or Neo-Gothic) style in Britain.
Important Styles:
 Gothic Revival
 Arts and Crafts
In the Words of John Ruskin:
We have thus, altogether, three great branches of architectural virtue, and we require of any building,—
1. That it act well, and do the things it was intended to do in the best way.
2. That it speak well, and say the things it was intended to say in the best words.
3. That it look well, and please us by its presence, whatever it has to do or say.
—"The Virtues of Architecture," Stones of Venice, Volume I
Architecture is to be regarded by us with the most serious thought. We may live without her, and worship
without her, but we cannot remember without her.—"The Lamp of Memory," The Seven Lamps of
Architecture

104
Eero Saarinen, Finnish-American Architect
(1910-1961)

Whether designing furniture, airports, or grand monuments, Eero


Saarinen was famous for innovative, sculptural forms.

Born:August 20, 1910 in Kirkkonummi, Finland


Died:During surgery on September 1, 1961 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Eero Saarinen was 51.
Childhood:Eero Saarinen's father, Eliel Saarinen, was a prominent
architect. In 1923, when Eero was 13, the family moved to the
United States. Eliel Saarinen became the first president of the
Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan, where he also taught. Eero
Saarinen studied under his father and befriended fellow
students Charles and Ray Eames.
Education:
 Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan

 Académie de la Grande Chaumiére in Paris, studied sculpture, 1929-1930


 Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Architecture degree completed in 1934
 Traveled in Europe on scholarship, 1934-1935
Early Career:
Eero Saarinen began his career designing furniture in collaboration with Charles Eames. Their work
was featured in the 1940 exhibition "Organic Design in Home Furnishings" at the Museum of Modern
Art in New York.

Famous Buildings by Eero Saarinen:

 1946-1956: General Motors Technical Center, Warren, Michigan


 1955-1957: Milwaukee County War Memorial Center
 1957: Miller House, Columbus, Indiana
 1958: IBM Manufacturing and Training Facility
 1958: David S. Ingalls Rink, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
 1958-1962: Washington Dulles International Airport, Chantilly, Virginia
—Named one of the Ten Buildings That Changed America
 1961-1966: Gateway Arch, St. Louis, Missouri
 1956-1962: TWA Flight Center at JFK Airport, New York, NY
 1961: Morse and Stiles Colleges, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
 1963: Deer and Company Administrative Center
Other Works by Saarinen:
Eero Saarinen was also a product designer. He designed furniture with curving, organic shapes.
Examples include the Tulip chair and a collection of Pedestal tables (see pictures and compare prices).
Saarinen said the objective of these furniture designs was to rid interiors of clutter and clear the "slum
of legs" from the home.
More About Eero Saarinen:
Although Eero Saarinen's early education was grounded in Art Nouveau, he was drawn to the
streamlined International Style. However, Saarinen's most famous works, like the TWA Terminal at
Kennedy Airport, are sweeping and expressive. Eero Saarinen is often cited as a master of Neo-
expressionism.
The world's largest and most comprehensive collection of Eero Saarinen's papers may be found in
theYale University Sterling Memorial Library Manuscripts and Archives. Saarinen's colleague
105
Rudolph (M[ichael]) Schindler
Rudolf (Michael) Schindler

Born September 10, 1887


Vienna, Austria

Died August 22, 1953 (aged 65)


Los Angeles, California

Nationality Austrian
American

Buildings Kings Road House, Lovell Beach House

Although he worked and trained with some of its foremost practitioners, he often is associated with
the fringes of the modern movement in architecture. His inventive use of complex three-dimensional
forms, warm materials, and striking colors, as well as his ability to work successfully within tight
budgets, however, have placed him as one of the true mavericks of early twentieth
centuryarchitecture.

Recognition
Schindler's early work, such as the Kings Road House and Lovell Beach House, largely went unnoticed
in the wider architectural world. As early and radical as they were for modernism, they may have
been too different for recognition and Los Angeles was not a significant location on the architectural
map. Schindler was not included in the highly influential International Style exhibit of 1932, while
Richard Neutra was and, to add insult to injury, Neutra, incorrectly, was credited as the Austrian who
worked on the Imperial Hotel with Wright.
His first major exposure came in Esther McCoy's 'Five California Architects' of 1960. His work is un-
dergoing somewhat of a contemporary revaluation for its inventiveness, character, and formal quali-
ties, which are making his designs familiar to a new generation of architects.
The Mackey Apartments and the Schindler Residence are maintained by the Friends of the Schindler
House and the MAK Center (Austrian Museum of Applied Arts / Contemporary Art, Vienna).[1] The
MAK Center offers a variety of exhibitions and events and is open to the public Wednesday through
Sunday. The center also sponsors six-month residencies for emerging architects and artists who are
housed in the Mackey Apartments. Penthouse apartments can be rented there for overnight accom-
modations or events.
Selected projects (existing)
 1922 – Schindler House, 835 North Kings Road, West Hollywood, California[2]
 1922-1926 – Lovell Beach House, Newport Beach, Balboa Island, California[3][4]
 1923 – El Pueblo Ribera Court, La Jolla, California[5]
 1925 – How House for James Eads How, Silverlake, Los Angeles, California
 1926 – Manola Court apartment building for Herman Sachs, Edgecliff Drive, Los Angeles, California
 1928 – Wolfe House, Avalon, Catalina Island, California (demolished in 2002)
 1928-1952 – Samuel Freeman House (two guest apartments and furniture), Hollywood Heights,
Los Angeles, California
 1930 – R. E. Elliot House, Newdale Drive, Los Angeles

106
 1933 – W. E. Oliver House, Micheltorena Street, Los Angeles, California
 1933 – The Rainbow Ballroom, Denver (see also Verne Byers)
 1934 – J. J. Buck House, Genesee Street, Los Angeles, California
 1934 – Bennati A-Frame house, Lake Arrowhead, California
 1935 – DeKeyser Duplex, Hollywood Heights, Los Angeles, California[6]
 1937 – H. Rodakiewicz House, Los Angeles, California
 1938 – Bubeshko Apartments, Los Angeles, California
 1938 – Wilson House, Los Angeles, California
 1939 – Mackey Apartments, South Cochran Avenue, Los Angeles, California
 1940 – Ellis Avenue, Inglewood, California[7][8]
 1940 – S. Goodwin House, Studio City, California
 1944 – Bethlehem Baptist Church, 4900 S. Compton Ave., Los Angeles
 1948 – Laurelwood Apartments, Studio City, California[9]
 1952 – Schlesinger House, Los Angeles
Quotes
»Can't you give me two lines, just two lines of recommendations without any hints at 'what a great
man the boss is' and what poor fishes they are in comparison« – Schindler to Wright, while attempting
to apply for his license to practice architecture
»My dear Rodolph Schindler: … I am in receipt of a letter from the Board asking if you had made de-
signs for me. The answer to that is, – No you didn’t. Nobody makes designs for me. Sometimes if they
are in luck, or rather if I am in luck, they make them with me. … Nevertheless, I believe that you now
are competent to design exceedingly good buildings. I believe that anything you would design would
take rank in the new work being done in the country as worthy of respect.« – Wright to Schindler, July
1929
»You further called it an exhibition of ‘California Architects’. Now it has become one of ‘Neutra and
others’. I am quite willing to give Neutra the crown for his ability as a publicity man, but I am not will-
ing to sail under his flag as an architect.« – Schindler to Mrs. Frantl at MOMA in response to an upcom-
ing exhibition, September 1935
»I consider myself the first and still one of the few architects who consciously abandoned stylistic
sculptural architecture in order to develop space as a medium of art. … I believe that outside of Frank
Lloyd Wright I am the only architect in U.S. who has attained a distinct local and personal form lan-
guage.« – Schindler to Elisabeth Mock at MOMA, August 1943
»He has built quite a number of buildings in and around Los Angeles that seem to be admirable from
the standpoint of design, and I have not heard of any of them falling down«. – Wright
»He has a good mind, is affectionate in disposition, and is fairly honorable I believe. Personally, though
strongly individual, he is not unduly eccentric and I, in common with many others, like him very
much« – Wright
»Personally, I appreciate Rudolph. He is an incorrigible Bohemian and refuses to allow the Los Ange-
les barber to apply the razor to the scruff of his neck. He also has peculiarly simple and effective ideas
regarding his own personal conduct. I believe, however, that he is capable as an artist. I have found
him a too complacent and therefore a rotten superintendent. The buildings that he has recently built
in Los Angeles are well designed, but badly executed. I suspect him of trying to give his clients too
much for their money. I should say that was his extreme fault in these circumstances of endeavoring
to build buildings« – Wright
»Rudolph was a patient assistant who seemed well aware of the significance of what I was then doing.
His sympathetic appreciation never failed. His talents were adequate to any demands made upon
them by me« – Wright at Schindler's Memorial Exhibition of 1954

107
Kazuyo Sejima, SANAA
b. 1956
Japanese architect Kazuyo Sejima is best known for her
collaborative projects with architect Ryue Nishizawa.
Their firm, Sejima + Nishizawa and Associates (SANAA), is
praised for designing powerful, minimalist buildings using
common, everyday materials. Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue
Nishizawa share the 2010 Pritzker Architecture Prize.
Sejima and Nishizawa also maintain separate practices,
which usually focus on smaller commissions
Born: 1956 in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan
Education: 1981: Master's in Architecture, Japan Women's University
Selected Works:
Projects by Sejima + Nishizawa and Associates (SANAA) include:

 1999: Ogasawara Museum (O-Museum), Nagano, Japan


 2003: Christian Dior Building, Tokyo, Japan
 2004: 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan
 2006: Zollverein School of Management and Design, Essen, Germany
 2006: Glass Pavilion at the Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio, USA
 2006: Naoshima Ferry Terminal, Naoshima, Kagawa, Japan
 2007: New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York City, USA
 2007: De Kunstlinie Theater and Cultural Center, Almere, Netherlands
 2009: Serpentine Pavilion, London, England
 2009: Rolex Learning Center, Lausanne, Switzerland
 2012: Louvre-Lens Museum, Lens, France
Selected Awards:
Sejima + Nishizawa and Associates (SANAA) has won numerous awards, including:
 1998: The Prize of the Architectural Institute of Japan, Tokyo, Japan
 2000: Erich Schelling Architecture Prize, Karlsruhe, Germany
 2002: Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize in Architecture, American Academy of Arts and Letters
New York, New York
 2002: Architecture Award of Salzburg, Austria
 2006: The Prize of the Architectural Institute of Japan, Tokyo, Japan
 2010: Pritzker Architecture Prize. Kazuyo Sejima is the second woman to receive a Pritzker Prize.
(Zaha Hadid of Iraq won the prize in 2004.)
Career Highlights:
 1981: Kazuyo Sejima joined the firm Toyo Ito & Associates
 1987: Kazuyo Sejima formed Kazuyo Sejima & Associates. Ryue Nishizawa joined the firm

 1995: Kazuyo Sejima and her employee, Ryue Nishizawa, formed Sejima + Nishizawa and Associates
(SANAA)
 2010: Sejima directed the Architecture Sector for the Venice Biennale
Teaching:
 Tama Art University

 Keio University in Tokyo, 2007-


 Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, 2005-2006
 Jean Labatut Professorship at the School of Architecture at Princeton University, USA (shared with
Ryue Nishizawa), 2005-2008

108
Robert Siegel, Modern Architect
b. 1939

Robert Siegel partnered withCharles Gwathmey, forming the


New York firm Gwathmey Siegel & Associates. The
partnership was formed in 1968.
Born: 1939, New York
Education:
 1962: Pratt Institute, Bachelor of Architecture degree

 1963: Master of Architecture degree, Harvard University


Buildings with Gwathmey:
 1965: Gwathmey Residence and Studio, Amagansett, NY
 1992: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Renovation & Addition,
New York
 2001: International Center of Photography, New York City
 2004: Middlebury College Library, Vermont
 2006: Glenstone Residence, Potomac, Maryland
 2006: Astor Place Tower, New York City
 2009: U.S. Land Port of Entry, Calais, Maine
 2010: W New York Downtown Hotel, 123 Washington Street, New York
Awards Won by Robert Siegel:
 1983: Medal of Honor, New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects

 1988: Pratt Institute Centennial Alumni Award in Architecture


 1990: Lifetime Achievement Award from the New York State Society of Architects
 1991: Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA)
Important Ideas:
 Modernism
 International Style

In Siegel's Own Words:

" In order to innovate we must study the past through scholarly and cross-disciplinary research into
materials, climate, culture, and use. My research and design process is specific and highly iterative. I
work to satisfy both explicit and implicit requirements of each project by synthesizing constant research
with the creation of building form, structure, space, movement and sustainable technology."—
Philosophy, Robert Siegel Architects website, accessed April 30, 2014

109
Norma Merrick Sklarek, Breaking Barriers for Black American
Women

Born in 1926, Norma Merrick Sklarek was the first Black woman to
register as an architect in New York and California, and also the first
Black woman to be elected to the prestigious Fellow of the American
Institute of Architects (FAIA). In addition to many important works, she
became a role model for younger African-American woman.

Born:
April 15, 1926 in Harlem, New York

Name at Birth:
Norma Merrick

Other Names:
Also known as Norma Merrick Fairweather. "Sklarek" was the name of Norma Merrick's second
husband, Rolf Sklarek, who died in 1984. Married Dr. Cornelius Welch in 1985.

Died:
February 6, 2012 in Pacific Palisades, California

Education:
 Hunter High School, an all-girls magnate school
 Barnard College
 Columbia University School of Architecture, B.Arch. 1950
Work History:
 1950-1954: After receiving her degree, was unable to find work at an architecture firm. Took a job
at the New York Department of Public Works while working toward becoming a licensed architect
in 1954.
 1955-1960: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (New York)
 1960-1980: Gruen and Associates (Los Angeles, California). Became the firm's first female director
in 1966
 1980-1985: Vice President at Welton Becket Associates (Santa Monica, CA)
 1985: Joined with Margot Siegel and Katherine Diamond to establish Siegel, Sklarek, Diamond
(Venice, CA)
 1989-1992: Principal at the Jerde Partnership (Venice, CA)
Major Project Collaborations:
Sklarek's race and gender often were marketing detriments at the time of her employment with major
architectural firms. When a director at Gruen Associates, Sklarek collaborated with César Pelli on a
number of projects. Only the U.S. Embassy in Japan has acknowledged Sklarek's contributions ("The
building was designed by César Pelli and Norma Merrick Sklarek of Gruen Associates of Los Angeles
and constructed by Obayashi Corporation.").
 City Hall in San Bernardino, California

 Fox Plaza in San Francisco, CA

110
 Terminal One at the Los Angeles International Airport, CA
 Commons - Courthouse Center in Columbus, Indiana (1973)
 Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles, CA (1975)
 US Embassy in Tokyo, Japan (1976)
 Leo Baeck Temple in Los Angeles, CA
 Mall of America in Minneapolis
More About Norma Merrick Sklarek:
Norma Merrick Sklarek was born to West Indian parents who had moved to Harlem, New York.
Sklarek's father, a doctor, encouraged her to excel in school and to seek a career in a field not normally
open to females or to African Americans.

Norma Sklarek's life has been filled with many firsts:

 First African-American woman to be licensed as an architect in New York (1954) and in California
(1962)
 In 1959, the first African-American woman to become a member of the American Institute of
Architects (AIA)
 In 1980, the first woman to be elected a Fellow of the AIA
 In 1985, helped establish and managed the California firm Siegel, Sklarek, Diamond
Mentor:
Because of the disparities she faced in her life and career, Norma Merrick Sklarek could be
sympathetic to the struggles of others. She led with her charm, grace, wisdom, and hard work. She
never excused racism and sexism but gave others the strength to deal with adversities. Read "In
Memoriam" by Roberta Washington for an account of the personal impact Sklarek has had on the lives
of many.
Quote:
"In architecture, I had absolutely no role model. I'm happy today to be a role model for others that
follow."

111
Snøhetta, Norwegian Partners
Exploring Differing Perspectives

What is "Snøhetta"?:
Snøhetta is an international group of architects, landscape architects, and interior designers with
offices in Oslo, Norway and New york City. The firm was founded in 1989 by architects from Norway
and Los Angeles. They named the firm Snøhetta after a large mountain in Norway. Since its
beginnings,Snøhetta Arkitektur-Landskap has envisioned building and design as an interconnected,
holistic venture. The firm is best-known in the U.S. for the only above-ground structure at Ground
Zero in NYC.
Principals:
 Craig Dykers

 Kjetil T. Thorsen
In 2012, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) honored Dykers, Thorsen, and Liz Burow
as Architects of Healing.
Partners:
 Ole Gustavsen, architect and managing director

 Tarald Lundevall, architect


 Jenny Osuldsen, and landscape architect
Important Projects:
 1998: Karmøy Fishing Museum
 1999: Norwegian Embassy, Berlin
 2001: Library of Alexandria (Bibliotheca Alexandrina), Egypt
 2007: Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, Oslo, Norway
 2007: With Olafur Eliasson, Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, London, UK
 2011: Tverrfjellhytta, Norwegian Wild Reindeer Pavilion, Dovrefjell National Park, Norway
 2013: James B. Hunt Jr. Library, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC

 2014: Pavilion / Atrium for the National 9/11 Memorial Museum, New York City
 2015 (expected): Times Square Reconstruction, New York City
 Ongoing: Lascaux IV Caves Museum, Montignac, France
 Snøhetta Philosophy and Process:
 As much as Snøhetta wants their clients to think like architects, the partnership also is
committed to thinking like their clients. Sustainability is both social and environmental.
"Trends are routinely ignored and essence is actively pursued," they say on their website. The
Snøhetta approach of transpositioning is a way of doing things that crosses disciplines, "from
architects to visual artists, philosophers to sociologists," encourages interconnections, and
dismisses narrow thinking.
 Snøhetta has won many high-profile competitions (e.g., the 9/11 Memorial Museum Atrium
Pavilion), which exemplify their philosophy and approach to design and building. Integrating
architecture and landscape is also seen in smaller projects, like the 2012 hunting lodge
at Åkrafjorden built for Osvald M. Bjelland in Norway.

112
Robert A.M. Stern, Postmodern Architect
b. 1939

Postmodernist architect Robert A.M. Stern designs buildings


that express affection for the past.

Born: May 23, 1939


Full Name: Robert Arthur Morton Stern
Education:
 1960: Columbia, Bachelor's degree

 1965: Yale, Master's degree in architecture


Selected Buildings:
 1990: Disney Beach Club Resort, Florida
 1990: Disney Yacht Club Resort, Florida
 1993: Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, Massachusetts

 1996: Disney Boardwalk Resort, Florida


 1998: Celebration Health, a healthcare facility near Celebration, Florida
 2003: The Museum Center, The Mark Twain House
 2004: Miami Beach Library, Miami Beach, Florida
 2005: Jacksonville Public Library, Florida
 2006: Federal Courthouse for Richmond, Virginia
 2008: Fifteen Central Park West, residential, NYC
 2008: International Quilt Study Center and Museum, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
 2010: One Museum Mile at 1280 Fifth Avenue atop the Museum for African Art, New York City
 2013: George W. Bush Presidential Center and Library, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas
 2016: 30 Park Place (formerly known as 99 Church Street, the skyscraper will be 82 stories, 926
feet), Lower Manhattan, New York City
 Product Design:
 The firm of Robert A.M. Stern Architects employs hundreds of architects, interior designers,
and support staff. Product designs include furniture, lighting, fabrics, and other decorative
household items. Visit Robert A.M. Stern Architects, LLP for information on product furnishings
as well as an extensive display of architectural projects.
 Urban Planning:
 Although well-known for his house designs, Robert A.M. Stern has been involved in vast urban
planning projects such as the 1992 renovation of 42nd Street theater block in New York City.
Along with architect Jaquelin Robertson, Robert A.M. Stern was the master planner
for Celebration, Florida.
 Other Works:
 Robert A.M. Stern has served as dean for the Yale School of Architecture since 1998. Stern has
written or edited dozens of books about design, including the PBS television series and
companion book Pride of Place: Building the American Dream.
About Robert A. M. Stern:

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 New York architect Robert A. M. Stern takes history to heart. A postmodernist, he creates
buildings that express affection for the past. Stern served on The Walt Disney Company Board
of Directors from 1992 to 2003 and has designed many buildings for The Walt Disney
Company.

 Robert A.M. Stern's Boardwalk at Disney World suggests an American seaside village from the
early 20th century. The buildings illustrate the evolution of architectural styles from the
Victorian to the Vienna Secessionist movement. The mini-village is not intended to be
historically exact -- rather, it presents a dream-like walk past artifacts from several eras. There
is an ice cream parlor, a piano bar, a 1930s dance hall, a vintage roller-coaster, and an
authentic 1920s carousel.

 Across Crescent Lake from Boardwalk, the Yacht and Beach Club hotels were also designed by
Robert A.M. Stern. The Yacht Club is modeled after Victorian Shingle architecture, a rustic yet
elegant fashion on America's Atlantic coast at the turn of the century. The Beach Club is an
informal, sprawling wood structure which also reflects 19th century American resort
architecture.

 When Stern envisioned the Casting Center, an employee training area on Route I-4 near
Orlando, Florida, he wanted to express the spirit of Disney, and also to reflect the Florida locale.
The result is a building that resembles a Venetian Palazzo, yet contains whimsical Disneyesque
details. Hence, classical columns are topped with gold leaf Disney characters.

114
Louis Sullivan, America's First Modern Architect
(1856-1924)

Born: September 3, 1856 in Boston, Massachusetts


Died: April 14, 1924 in Chicago, Illinois
Early Training:
 One year of architecture studies at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology
 Worked for architect Frank Furness in Philadelphia
 Worked for architect William LeBaron Jenney in Chicago
 One year at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris
Important Buildings:
Louis Sullivan partnered with engineer Dankmar Adler from
approximately 1880 to 1895. Their young draftsman was Frank Lloyd Wright.

 1889: Auditorium Building, Chicago


 1891: Wainwright Building, St. Louis, Missouri
 1894: Chicago Stock Exchange
 1896: Guaranty Building, Buffalo, New York
 1908: National Farmers'Bank (Sullivan's "Arch"), Owatonna, Minnesota
 1910: The Bradley House, Wisconsin
 1914: Merchants' National Bank, Grinnell, Iowa
 1918: People's Federal Savings & Loan, Sidney, Ohio
Famous Quote:
"It is the pervading law of all things organic, and inorganic, of all things physical and metaphysical, of all
things human and all things super-human, of all true manifestations of the head, of the heart, of the soul,
that the life is recognizable in its expression, thatform ever follows function. This is the law."—1896
essay "The Tall Office Building Artistically Considered"
Related People:
 Frank Lloyd Wright
 Frank Furness
 William LeBaron Jenney
About Louis Sullivan:
Louis Sullivan is widely considered America's first truly modern architect. Instead of imitating historic
styles, he created original forms and details. Older architectural styles were designed for buildings
that were wide, but Sullivan was able to create aesthetic unity in buildings that were tall.

Sullivan's designs often used masonry walls with terra cotta designs. Intertwining vines and leaves
combined with crisp geometric shapes. This Sullivanesque style was imitated by other architects, and
his later work formed the foundation for the ideas of his student, Frank Lloyd Wright.

Louis Sullivan believed that the exterior of an office building should reflect its interior structure and
its interior functions. Ornament, where it was used, must be derived from Nature, instead of from
classical architecture of the past. The work of Louis Sullivan is often associated with the Art
Nouveau movement in architecture.

115
Susana Torre, Feminist Architect and Planner

Buildings, remodelings, and urban design by architect Susana


Torre reflect her feminist worldview.

Born:
November 2, 1944 in Puan, Argentina. Has lived in the United
States since 1968.

Education:
 1967: Architectural diploma from the University of Buenos
Aires
 Post graduate studies at the University of Buenos Aires and at
Columbia University in New York
Important Projects:
Susana Torre is best known for her urban design and her many renovations and remodelings. Susana Torre's
works include:

 1979: The Editor's and Graphic Designer's lounges in the Old Pension Building in Washington, DC
 1980: The interior of the Consulate for the Ivory Coast in New York City
 1981: A master plan for the restoration of Ellis Island in New York Harbor
 1982: A turn-of-the-century carriage house in Southampton, New York (This received an Award of
Excellence of Design from Architectural Record)
 1985: Schermerhorn Hall at Columbia University
 1987: Firehouse #5 in Columbus, Indiana
Partnerships & Firms:
 1978-1984: Principal at The Architectural Studio of New York
 1984-1989: Partner at Wank Adams Slavin Associates and then Torre Beeler Associates
 1989-1994: Principal of Susana Torre and Associates of New York
Teaching:
 Director of the Barnard College Architecture Program
 Associate professor of architecture at Columbia University
 Director of the graduate art program at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan in 1994-
1995
 Headed the architecture and environmental design department at the Parsons School of Design in New York
Important Publications:
 Editor and author of several chapters: Women in American Architecture: A Historic and Contemporary
Perspective
 Special issue: Making Room: Women in Architecture, Heresies journal of art and politics
About Susana Torre:
Susana Torre describes herself as a feminist. Through her teaching, writing, and architectural practice, she
works to improve the status of women in architecture. Her feminist ideals also influence her building designs.
For example, Firehouse #5 in Columbus, Indiana is configured to provide for both men and women. The fire
station has separate sleeping quarters and places and emphasis on the kitchen rather than the locker room.

Susana Torre's architectural practice focuses on ethical civic design, with aPostmodernist approach to building
design. She has been deeply involved with historic restorations, seeking to balance the form of older buildings
with modern needs.
Susana Torre was a founding member of the International Archive of Women in Architecture at Virginia Tech
and served on its board from 1985–1995.

116
Jørn Utzon
Life and Works of the Pritzker Prize-Winning Architect of the Sydney
Opera House
Born:

April 9, 1918 in Copenhagen, Denmark

Died: November 29, 2008 in Copenhagen, Denmark


From the Pritzker Prize Committee
Jørn Utzon was perhaps destined to design buildings that evoke the sea.
Utzon's father was director of a shipyard in Alborg, Denmark, and was a
brilliant naval architect. Several family members were excellent
yachtsmen, and the young Jørn became a good sailor himself.

Until about the age of 18, Jørn Utzon considered a career as a naval officer. It was about this time, while still in
secondary school, that he began helping his father at the shipyard, studying new designs, drawing up plans and
making models. This activity opened another possibility — that of training to be a naval architect like his father.

However, during summer holidays with his grandparents Jørn Utzon met two artists, Paul Schrøder and
Carl Kyberg, who introduced him to art. One of his father’s cousins, Einar Utzon-Frank, who happened
to be a sculptor and was a professor at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, provided additional inspiration.
Jørn Utzon took an interest in sculpting. At one point, he indicated he might want to be an artist, but was
ultimately convinced that architectural school would be the best career path.
Even though his final marks in secondary school, particularly mathematics, were poor, his excellent freehand
drawing talents were strong enough to win his admission to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. He
was soon recognized as having extraordinary architectural gifts.When Jørn Utzon graduated from the Academy
of Fine Arts in 1942, War War II had started. Utzon, like many architects of that time, fled to neutral Sweden. He
worked in the Stockholm office of Hakon Ahlberg for the duration of World War II. Following that he went to
Finland to work with Alvar Aalto . Jørn Utzon had begun to admire the ideas of Gunnar Asplund, as well asFrank
Lloyd Wright while still in school. Jørn Utzon acknowledged that Aalto, Asplund, and Wright were all major
influences. Over the next decade, JørnUtzon traveled extensively, visiting Morocco, Mexico, the United States,
China, Japan, India, and Australia, the latter destined to become a major factor in his life.

All of the trips had significance, and Utzon himself described ideas he learned from Mexico:

 "As an architectonic element, the platform is fascinating. I lost my heart to it on a trip to Mexico in 1949,
where I found a rich variety of both size and idea, and where many platforms stand alone, surrounded by
nothing but untouched nature.
"All the platforms in Mexico are placed very sensitively in the landscape, always the creations of a brilliant
idea. They radiate a huge force. You feel the firm ground beneath you, as when standing on a great cliff. Let
me give you an example of the power in this idea. Yucatan is a flat lowland area covered by an impenetrable
jungle which everywhere attains a certain height.

"The Maya people used to live in this jungle in villages surrounded by small cultivated clearings. On all sides,
and also above, there was the hot, humid, green jungle. No great views, no vertical movements. But by
building up the platform on a level with the roof of the jungle, these people had suddenly conquered a new
dimension that was a worthy place for the worship of their gods. They built their temples on these high
platforms, which can be as much as a hundred metres long. From here, they had the sky, the clouds and the
breeze, and suddenly the roof of the jungle was transformed into a great, open plain.

"By means of this architectonic device they had completely transformed the landscape and presented their
eyes with a grandeur that corresponded to the grandeur of their gods. The wonderful experience of going
from the denseness of the jungle to the vast openness above the platform is still there today.

"It is like the liberation you feel up here in the Nordic lands when, after weeks of rain, cloud and darkness,
you suddenly emerge into the sunlight again."
117
Robert Venturi, Postmodern Architect
b. 1925

Husband and wife team Robert Venturi andDenise Scott Brown are
known for architecture steeped in popular symbolism. Kitsch becomes
art in designs which exaggerate or stylize cultural icons.
Born:
June 25, 1925 in Philadelphia, PA

Education:
 Princeton University, M.F.A., 1950
 American Academy in Rome, Rome Prize Fellow, 1954-1956
Partnerships:
 Early in his career, worked for Eero Saarinen, and then in the
Philadelphia offices of Louis I. Kahn and Oscar Stonorov.
 Partnered with John Rauch 1964-1989
 Since 1960 has collaborated with his wife, the architect, planner, author, and educator Denise Scott Brown.
Their firm is Venturi, Scott Brown & Associates (VSBA).
Important Buildings:
 1962: The Vanna Venturi House, Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
—Named one of the Ten Buildings That Changed America
 1972: Trubek House, Nantucket Island, Massachusetts
 1973: Brant House, Greenwich, Connecticut
 1973 to 1976: Allen Art Museum Addition, Oberlin, Ohio
 1975: House in Tuckers Town, Bermuda
 1975: Tucker House, Mount Kisco, New York
 1983: Gordon Wu Hall, Princeton, New Jersey
 1994: Bank building in Celebration, Florida
Awards:
 1985: AIA Firm Award
 1990: AIA Medal of Distinction, The Pennsylvania Society of Architects
 1991: Pritzker Architecture Prize
 1992: National Medal of Arts, U.S. Presidential award
Famous Venturi Quote:
Rejecting the simplicity of modernism and responding to the Mies van der Rohe dictum, "Less is more," Robert
Venturi quipped: "Less is a bore."

Important Ideas:
 Postmodernism
Related People:
 Denise Scott Brown
 Michael Graves
 Philip Johnson
About Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates:
Robert Venturi is known for incorporating stylized cultural icons into his buildings. For example, there's a
playful retro look to the Celebration, Florida bank building designed by Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates.
Molded to fit the shape of the street corner it occupies, the bank resembles a 1950s-era gas station or
hamburger restaurant.

118
Giacomo da Vignola, Renaissance Architect
(1507-1573)

Italian Renaissance Architect Giacomo da Vignola set down


Classical laws of proportion followed by architects
throughout Europe.

Born: October 1, 1507


Died: July 7, 1573
Also Known As:
Giacomo Barozzi, Jacopo Barozzi, or Barocchio

Most Famous For:


Published in 1563, Vignola's treatise,The Five Orders of
Architecture(compare prices), was translated into many
languages and became the definitive guide for architects in the Western World. The Five Orders of
Architecture describes the ideas of the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius and outlines detailed rules
for proportioning buildings.
What Is an Order of Architecture? What Is a Classical Order of Architecture?
Important Buildings:
 1559-1573: Villa Caprarola near Viterbo, for Cardinal Alessandro Farnese
 From 1564: Continued Michelangelo's work at St Peter's Basilica, and built two smaller domes
according to Michelangelo's plans
Related People:
 Vitruvius
 Antonio Palladio
 Michelangelo
Historic Periods:
 Renaissance
 Baroque
About Giacomo da Vignola:
Giacomo da Vignola was a practical architect who was chosen by Pope Julius III to build important
buildings in Rome. After the Renaissance artist and architect Michelangelo died, Vignola continued his
work on St. Peter's Basilica and built two smaller domes according to Michelangelo's plans. Combining
Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque ideas, Vignola's church designs influenced ecclesiastical
architecture for many centuries.

119
Philip Webb: Arts & Crafts Architect and Designer

Philip Webb is often called the father of the Arts & Crafts
movement. Famous for his comfortable, unpretentious country
homes, Philip Webb also designed furniture, wallpaper, tapestries,
and stained glass.

Born:
January 12, 1831 in Oxford, England

Died:
April 17, 1915 in Worth, Sussex, England

Full Name:
Philip Speakman Webb

Education:
 Studied at Aynho in Northamptonshire

 Trained under John Billing, an architect in Reading, Berkshire


 Became a junior assistant for the office of G.E. Street in London
Important Buildings:
 1859: Red House, Bexleyheath, Kent
 1868: No. 1 Palace Green, London

 1868: No. 19 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London


 1873: Joldwyns, Surrey
 1878: Smeaton Manor, Yorkshire
 1878: St. Martin's Church, Brampton
 1885: Coneyhurst on the Hill, Surrey
Also Known For:
 Stained glass

 Hand-painted glass (See: Window from the Red House)


 Tile
 Carvings
 Furniture, including the famous Morris chair
 Wallpaper
 Carpets
 Tapestries
The Arts & Crafts movement in the United Kingdom had a great influence on American Craftsman
architecture as well as furniture makers such as Gustav Stickley in the United States.
Important Styles:
 Arts and Crafts
 Gothic Revival
120
 Pre-Raphaelite
Related People:
 William Morris
 John Ruskin
About Philip Webb:
As an architect, Philip Webb is best known for his unconventional country houses that were
unpretentious and informal. He was a pioneering figure in the English domestic revival movement and
is often called the father of the Arts & Crafts movement. Although influenced by medieval styles and
the Gothic revival movement championed by John Ruskin, his highly original, yet practical designs
incorporated the use of contrasting materials such as white interior walls and bare brickwork.

Philip Webb was a close friend of Pre-Raphaelite designer William Morris. They were among the
founders of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Company in 1851, which specialized in stained glass, carving,
furniture, wallpaper, carpets, and tapestries. Webb and Morris also founded the Society for the
Protection of Ancient Buildings in 1877. Webb's first commission was the Red House(1859), William
Morris's eclectic country house that became a gathering place for the Pre-Raphaelites.
For the company, Webb designed household furnishings and decorative accessories in metal, glass,
wood and embroidery. He is particularly famous for his table glassware, stained glass, jewelry and his
rustic adaptations of Stuart period furniture.

Webb was the only Pre-Raphaelite to design a church, St. Martin's Church in Brampton (1878). The
church includes a set of stained glass windows designed by Edward Burne-Jones and executed in the
company's studios.

121
Donald Wexler, Palm Springs Modernist

Architect Donald Wexler helped define Palm Springs, California as a


center for mid-century modernism. He also set a new tone for prefab
construction when he designed sophisticated steel houses for the
Alexander Construction Company.

Born:
January 23, 1926 in South Dakota. Childhood spent in Minnesota.

Education:
University of Minnesota, 1950

Selected Projects:
 1955: Wexler House, Palm Springs, California
 1958: Spa Hotel Bath House, Palm Springs, California
 1960s: Royal Hawaiian Estates, Palm Springs, California
 1961: Alexander Steel Houses, Palm Springs, California
 1962: Union 76 Gas Station, Palm Springs, California
 1963: Palm Springs Medical Clinic, Palm Springs, California
 1964: Dinah Shore Residence, Palm Springs, California
 1965: Palm Springs International Airport
 1971: Merrill Lynch Building, Palm Canyon, California
 1985: Hope Square Professional Centre, Palm Springs, California
Related People:
Donald Wexler worked for Richard Neutra in Los Angeles and for William Cody in Palm Springs. Between 1952
and 1961, Donald Wexler partnered with architect Richard Harrison. Donald A. Wexler Associates was
launched in 1963.
Other prominent architects of the period included:

 Albert Frey
 John Lautner
 E. Stewart Williams
Styles and Ideas:
 Desert Modernism
 Tiki
 International Style
 Alexander Houses
More About Donald Wexler:
Donald Wexler arrived in California when mid-century modernism was flourishing. Wexler helped transform
Palm Springs with a wide range of modernist designs, but he became best known for his steel houses.

Working with Richard Harrison, Donald Wexler had designed many school buildings using new approaches to
steel construction. Wexler believed that the same methods could be used to build stylish and affordable homes.
The Alexander Construction company contracted Wexler to design prefab steel houses for a tract neighborhood
in Palm Springs, California. After seven houses were built, rising prices made the project impractical. However,
Wexler's steel houses set a new tone for prefabricated home construction and inspired similar projects across
the country.

122
Stanford White: Gilded Age Architect

Working with Henry Hobson Richardson and the firm McKim,


Mead & White, Stanford White became one of the most
prominent architects of America's "Gilded Age".

Born:
November 9, 1853 in New York City. Stanford White's father
was the noted Shakespearean scholar and essayist, Richard
Grant White.

Died:
June 25, 1906, shot and killed at the supper club theater on the
roof of Madison Square Garden, which he had designed. The
killer, Harry Kendall Thaw, was the millionaire husband of
Evelyn Nesbit, a popular actress who had fallen prey to Stanford White's charms.

Career Highlights:
 1870: Joined the office of Henry Hobson Richardson
 1879: Became a partner with Charles Follen McKim and William Rutherford Mead in New York City,
forming the architectural design firm of McKim, Mead & White
Important Projects:
The architectural firm McKim, Mead, & White designed both relaxed summer homes and grand public
buildings. Landmark examples include:

 1890: The second Madison Square Garden (demolished in 1925)


 1894: New York Herald Building(Demolished 1921)
 1895-1903: Rhode Island State Capitol
 1889: Washington Square Arch
 1898-1902: Rosecliff
 1902-1904: Astor Courts
 1910: Pennsylvania Station in New York City
Important Styles:
 Renaissance Revival
 Shingle Style
 Beaux Arts
About Stanford White:
Working with Henry Hobson Richardson and the firm McKim, Mead & White, Stanford White became
one of the most prominent architects of the Gilded Age.
Like his buildings, Stanford White's personal life was lavish. A red velvet swing hung from the gold
leaf ceiling in his Madison Square Garden apartment where he entertained many beautiful young
women, including the famous Evelyn Nesbit.

Stanford White's scandalous life and shocking murder captured news headlines and often eclipsed the
brilliance of his work. Nevertheless, he left America some of its most remarkable buildings, including
lavish summer homes for the Astors and the Vanderbilts and grand structures like the Washington
Square Arch.

123
Sir Clough Williams-Ellis, Designer of Portmeirion

Architect and environmentalist Clough Williams-Ellis created


the village of Portmeirion, Wales, helped establish the British
National Parks system, and became knighted for his "services
to architecture and the environment."

Born:
May 28, 1883 in Gayton, Northamptonshire, England

Died:
April 9, 1978

Full Name:
Bertram Clough Williams-Ellis

Childhood:
Moved to Wales with his family when he was four.

Training:
 Studied mathematics at Trinity College, Cambridge. Never graduated.
 Trained for several months at the Architectural Association in London, 1902 and 1903.
Career Highlights:
 Designed numerous buildings at cottages in England and Northern Ireland

 1925-1975: Portmeirion, Wales


 1930s: Designed the former summit building on Snowdon
 1945: Helped establish the British National Parks
 1971: Knighted for "services to architecture and the environment"
 About Sir Clough Williams-Ellis:
 The flamboyant and largely self-taught Bertram Clough Williams-Ellis devoted his life to the
cause of environmental preservation. His work on the resort village of Portmeirion,
Walesrepresented his efforts to prove that it was possible to build beautiful -- and colorful --
housing without defiling the natural landscape.
 Located on Sir Clough's private peninsula on the coast of Snowdonia in Wales, Portmeirion first
opened in 1926. That year, Sir Clough also founded the CPRE (Council for the Protection of
Rural England). He established the CPRW (now Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales) in
1928. In 1947, he wrote On Trust for the Nationfor the National Trust.
 Sir Clough added new structures to Portmeirion every year until 1939, and construction
continued until 1972. He was 90 years old when the village was completed.

 Biographers report that American architect Frank Lloyd Wright thought highly of Sir Clough's
work in Portmeirion. Wright, who also boasted a Welsh heritage and a concern for
conservation, visited the village in 1956 and praised the innovative combinations of
architectural styles.
 The name Portmeirion also describes a line of pottery that Clough's eldest daughter, Susan
Williams-Ellis, created with her husband.

124
Paul Revere Williams, Hollywood Architect
(1894 - 1980)

During an age when racial prejudice ran strong, Paul R.


Williams overcame barriers and became a favored architect
in southern California.

Born: February 18, 1894


Died: January 23, 1980
Important Buildings:
Paul Williams became famous for his role in designing
the Theme Building at Los Angeles International Airport.
Although the iconic, futuristic public structure is high profile
architecture, Williams designed over 2000 private homes in
Southern California—many of the most beautiful houses in
Hollywood. Architect A. Quincy Jones worked with Williams
from 1939 to 1940.
Early Training:
Paul Williams was orphaned when he was four, but his artistic talents were supported and
encouraged by his new foster family. His non-Black public school teachers, however, gave little
encouragement to Williams, citing the perceived difficulties of a "Negro" pursuing an architecture
career within a largely white community. Nevertheless, he enrolled in engineering school at the
University of Southern California and won an important architecture competition when he was only
25. When he was 28, he opened his own practice.

Distinctive Style:
While there is no one distinctive "look" to his buildings, Paul Williams became known for designs that
were stylized and elegant. The architect borrowed ideas from the past without using excessive
ornamentation. According to one critic, Paul Williams was "the last word in elegant traditionalism."

Career Challenge:
As an African-American, Paul Williams faced many social and economic barriers. Williams' clients
were mostly white. "In the moment that they met me and discovered they were dealing with a Negro, I
could see many of them freeze," he wrote in American Magazine. "My success during those first few
years was founded largely upon my willingness — anxiety would be a better word — to accept
commissions which were rejected as too small by other, more favored, architects."

Career Highlights:
Being Black forced Paul Williams to develop salesmanship and become politically active. He joined the
Los Angeles Planning Commission and he became the first African-American member of the American
Institute of Architects (AIA). In 1957, he was the first Black elected to the prestigious AIA College of
Fellows (FAIA).

Books by Paul Williams:

 The Small Home of Tomorrow by Paul R. Williams, 2006 reissue of a 1940s book
and
 New Homes for Today by Paul R. Williams, 2006 reissue of a 1940s book
Quote:
"If I allow the fact that I am a Negro to checkmate my will to do, now, I will inevitably form the habit of
being defeated."
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Sir Christopher Wren: The Architect Who Rebuilt London

After the Great Fire of London, Sir Christopher Wren designed new
churches and supervised the reconstruction of some of London's most
important buildings.

Born:
October 20, 1632 at East Knoyle in Wiltshire, England

Died:
February 25, 1723 in London, at age 91.
Tombstone Epitaph (translated from Latin):
"Underneath lies buried Christopher Wren, the builder of this church and
city; who lived beyond the age of ninety years, not for himself, but for the
public good. If you seek his memorial, look about you."

Early Training of Christopher Wren:


Sickly as a child, Christopher Wren began his education at home with his father and a tutor. Schools attended:

 Westminster School: Wren may have done some studies here between 1641 and 1646
 Oxford: Began astronomy studies in 1649. Received B.A. in 1651, M.A. in 1653
After graduation, Christopher Wren worked on astronomy research and became a Professor of Astronomy at
Gresham College in London and later at Oxford.

As an astronomer, Christopher Wren developed exceptional skills working with models and diagrams,
experimenting with creative ideas, and engaging in scientific reasoning.

First Buildings by Sir Christopher Wren:


In the seventeenth century, architecture was considered a pursuit that could be practiced by any gentleman
educated in the field of mathematics. Christopher Wren began designing buildings when his uncle, the Bishop of
Ely, asked him to plan a new chapel for Pembroke College, Cambridge.

 1663-1665: New chapel for Pembroke College, Cambridge


 1664-1668: Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford
King Charles II commissioned Christopher Wren to repair St. Paul's Cathedral. In May 1666, Wren submitted
plans for a classical design with a high dome. Before this work could proceed, fire destroyed the Catheral and
much of London.

Sir Christopher Wren and the Great Fire of London:


In September 1666, the "Great Fire of London" destroyed 13,200 houses, 87 churches, St. Paul's Cathedral, and
most of London's official buildings.
Christopher Wren proposed an ambitious plan that would rebuild London with wide streets radiating from a
central hub. Wren's plan failed, probably because property owners wanted to keep the same land they owned
before the fire. However, Wren did design 51 new city churches and the new St Paul's Cathedral.

In 1669, King Charles II hired Christopher Wren to oversee reconstruction of all the royal works (government
buildings).

Great Buildings by Sir Christopher Wren:


 1670-1683: St. Mary Le Bow, at Cheapside, London
 1671-1677: Monument to the Great Fire of London (with Robert Hooke)
 1671-1681: St. Nicholas Cole Abbey, London
 1672-1687: St. Stephen's Walbrook, London
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 1674-1687: St. James, at Picadilly, London
 1675-1710: Saint Paul's Cathedral, London
 1680: St. Clement Danes, at Strand, London
 1682: Christ Church College Bell Tower
 1696-1715: Greenwich Hospital, Greenwich
Architectural Style and Sir Christopher Wren:
 Classical: Christopher Wren was familiar with the 1st Century Roman architect Vitruvius and the
Renaissance thinker Giacomo da Vignola, who outlined Vitruvius's ideas in The Five Orders of
Architecture (compare prices). Wren's first buildings were inspired by the classical works of English
architect Inigo Jones.
 Baroque: Early in his career, Christopher Wren traveled to Paris, studied French baroque architecture, and
met the Italian Baroque architect Gianlorenzo Bernini.
Christopher Wren used baroque ideas with classical restraint. His style influencedGeorgian architecture in
England and the American colonies.

Scientific Achievements of Sir Christopher Wren:


Christopher Wren was trained as a mathematician and scientist. His research, experiments, and inventions won
the praise of the great scientists Sir Isaac Newton and Blaise Pascal. In addition to many important
mathematical theories, Christopher Wren:

 built a transparent beehive to help study bees


 invented a weather clock similar to a barometer
 invented an instrument for writing in the dark
 developed improvements in the telescope and the microscope
 experimented with injecting fluids into the veins of animals, laying the groundwork for successful blood
transfusion
 constructed a detailed model of the moon
Other Achievements of Sir Christopher Wren:
 Knighted in 1673
 Founded the Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge in 1680. Served as president from
1680 to 1682.
 Served as a Member of Parliament for Old Windsor in 1680, 1689 and 1690.
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Quotes by Sir Christopher Wren:


 "A time will come when men will stretch out their eyes. They should see planets like our Earth."
 "Architecture has its political Use; publick Buildings being the Ornament of a Country; it establishes a Nation,
draws People and Commerce; makes the People love their native Country, which Passion is the Original of all
great Actions in a Commonwealth…. Architecture aims at Eternity."
 "In things to be seen at once, much variety makes confusion, another vice of beauty. In things that are not
seen at once, and have no respect one to another, great variety is commendable, provided this variety
transgress not the rules of optics and geometry."

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Frank Lloyd Wright, America's Most Famous Architect
(1867-1959)

Frank Lloyd Wright has been called America's most


famous architect. During his 70-year career, Wright
designed 1,141 buildings, including homes, offices,
churches, schools, libraries, bridges, and museums. Five
hundred and thirty-two of these designs were completed,
and 409 still stand.

Born:
June 8, 1867 in Richland Center, Wisconsin

Died:
April 9, 1959 in Arizona, at age 91

Education:
When he was 15, Frank Lloyd Wright entered the University of Wisconsin as a special student. The
school had no course in architecture; Wright studied engineering.

Apprenticeship:
Leaving school after a few semesters, Frank Lloyd Wright apprenticed with J.L. Silsbee and eventually
with Louis Sullivan.
After working with Adler and Sullivan for several years, Sullivan discovered that Wright was
designing houses outside the office's work. Frank Lloyd Wright split from Sullivan and opened his own
practice in 1893.

Designed by Wright:
See our Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings Index for a more complete list of Wright designs, including
hundreds of private homes throughout the United States. Here are some of his most famous buildings
that are still standing:
 Pre-1900 Queen Anne Style Houses
 Pre-1900 Prairie Style Houses
 Robie House, Chicago, Illinois
 Unity Temple, Oak Park, Illinois
 Taliesin, Wisconsin
 Taliesin West, Arizona
 Florida Southern College
 Fallingwater, Pennsylvania
 Guggenheim Museum, New York City
 Beth Sholom Synagogue, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania
 Interior Decor
Important Ideas of the Architect:
 Usonian
 Prairie Style
 Organic Architecture

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 Hemicycle Designs
 Corner windows of mitered glass
 Frank Lloyd Wright's Plan for a Fireproof House
Quotes by Frank Lloyd Wright:
"The physician can bury his mistakes, but the architect can only advise his clients to plant vines."
New York Times Magazine (4 Oct. 1953)
"The land is the simplest form of architecture."
"Some Aspects of the Past and Present in Architecture," ©1937, The Future of Architecture, 1953
"Form and function are one."
"Some Aspects of the Future of Architecture," ©1937, The Future of Architecture, 1953
"So I began to study the nature of materials, learning to see them. I now learned to see brick as brick,
to see wood as wood, and to see concrete or glass or metal. See each for itself and all as themselves.
Strange to say, this required greater concentration of imagination. Each material demanded different
handling and had possibilities of use peculiar to its own nature. Appropriate designs for one material
would not be appropriate at all for another material."
More About FLW:
Frank Lloyd Wright never attended architecture school, but working with blocks while in the Froebel
Kindergarten must have whetted his appetite for building. Now called Anchor Blocks, these
German Toys for the Budding Builder are still available.
As a child, Wright worked on his uncle's farm in Wisconsin, and he later described himself as an
American primitive - an innocent but clever country boy whose education on the farm made him more
perceptive and more down-to-earth.

Frank Lloyd Wright pioneered a long, low style known as the Prairie house. He experimented with
obtuse angles and circles, creating unusually shaped structures such as the spiral Guggenheim
Museum (1943-49). He developed a series of low-cost homes that he called Usonian. And most
importantly, Frank Lloyd Wright changed the way we think of interior space. See Frank Lloyd Wright
Interiors — The Architecture of Space for examples.
Frank Lloyd Wright was married three times and had seven children. His work was controversial and
his private life was often the subject of gossip. Although his work was praised in Europe as early as
1910, it was not until 1949 that he received an award from American Institute of Architects.

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Peter Zumthor, Swiss Architect
Born:April 26, 1943 in Basel, Switzerland
Education:
 1958-1962: Trained as a cabinet maker
 1963-1967: Kunstgewerbeschule in Basel, Switzerland and the Pratt
Institute in New York City, USA.
Selected Buildings:
 1986: Protective Housing for Roman Archeological Excavations, Chur,
Switzerland
 1988: Saint Benedict Chapel, Graubünden, Switzerland
 1990: Art Museum, Chur, Switzerland
 1993: Homes for Senior Citizens, Chur, Switzerland
 1996: Thermal Baths Vals, Vals, Switzerland
 1997: Kunsthaus (Art Museum), Bregenz, Austria
 2000: Swiss Pavilion, Expo 2000, Hannover, Germany
 2001-2004: Harjunkulma Apartment Building, Jyväskylä, Finland
 2002: Luzi House, Jenaz, Graubünden Switzerland
 2007:Saint Bruder Klaus Field Chapel, Mechernich, Germany
 2007: Art Museum Kolumba, Cologne, Germany
 2011: Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, Kensington Gardens, London, UK
 2011: Steilneset Memorial, Memorial Site to the Burning of Witches, Finnmark, Vardø, Norway
Selected Awards:
 1995: International Prize for Stone Architecture, Fiera di Verona, Italy
 1995: Internationaler Architekturpreis für Neues Bauen in den Alpen, Graubünden, Switzerland
 1996: Erich-Schelling-Preis für Architektur, Erich-Schelling-Stiftung, Germany
 1999: Mies van der Rohe Award for European Architecture, for the Kunsthaus Bregenz in Barcelona, Spain
 2006: Spirit of Nature Wood Architecture Award
 2008: Praemium Imperiale, Japan Arts Association
 2009: Pritzker Architecture Prize
 2013: Royal Gold Medal, Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)
Quotes:
 "I believe that the language of architecture is not a question of a specific style. Every building is built for a
specific use in a specific place and for a specific society."
Thinking Architecture by Peter Zumthor
 "If architecture education does not focus on constructing, it becomes irrelevant for the building industry.....Select
your school carefully. Select your professors carefully. Try and go to a place where architecture is taught as a
whole thing – not only as a theory, but also as a way of living."
Interview with Royal Gold Medallist Peter Zumthor by James Pallister,Architects Journal, EMAP Publishing
Limited, February 5, 2013 [accessed March 30, 2014]
 "There is something bigger in the world than you are."
Merin, Gili. "Peter Zumthor: Seven Personal Observations on Presence In Architecture" 03 Dec
2013. ArchDaily. Accessed 30 Mar 2014.
About Peter Zumthor:
 The son of a cabinet maker, Peter Zumthor is often praised for the detailed craftsmanship of his designs.
Peter Zumthor works with a range of materials, from cedar shingles to sandblasted glass, to create
inviting textures. "I work a little bit like a sculptor,” Zumthor told the New York Times. "When I start, my
first idea for a building is with the material. I believe architecture is about that. It's not about paper, it's
not about forms. It's about space and material." (Full story)
Peter Zumthor lives quietly in the remote village of Haldenstein in the Swiss mountains. His buildings
are found mainly in Europe.

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