Architects

http://www.architecture.yale.edu/drupal/index.php?q=lectures/sacredarchitecture

Winner 2006 Palladio Award

Architects: Zivkovic Associates Architects PC  - and -  John Simpson & Partners LTD

The success of the new Carhart Mansion condominium building, comprising a landmarked classical building originally designed by Horace Trumbauer and it’s new addition, is in many respects the result of the collaborative product of several architects working in different eras, all of whom have been interested in the fundamental importance of place-making within an evolving urban context.

Site Photo (Exist. Conditions) Photo by Zivkovic Associates

The Carhart Mansion project comprised two adjacent sites, formerly owned and used by the Lycee Francais de New York and located on East 95th Street, an architecturally distinguished block just off Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.  When the Lycee decided to sell their Upper East Side buildings in 2000, (a portfolio that included not only the Trumbauer building, but also landmarked classical townhouses by Carrere & Hastings, John Russell Pope and Flagg & Chambers), architects Don Zivkovic and Brian Connolly were consulted, each of whom had worked for the Lycee on all of these historic buildings in the past and, accordingly, knew them well.  Real estate consultant the Corcoran Group, commissioned Connolly to prepare feasibility studies to illustrate to potential purchasers how each of the historic townhouses might be reconfigured for residential use, in terms of sympathetic, traditional design concepts.  Of particular interest was the pair of adjacent sites on East 95th Street which included the Horace Trumbauer building and a nondescript 1950's addition which had been unsympathetically inserted between it and Grosvenor Atterbury’s Fabbri Mansion (now the House of the Redeemer), immediately to the east.  The Trumbauer building and its annex were sold in late 2001, to a developer whose own architect proposed and obtained Landmarks Preservation Commission approval for a new modernist design solution on the site of the former school annex.   Subsequently evaluating the saleability of a mixed-style condominium, however, the developer had cause to reconsider the modernist strategy and eventually returned to the original concept of Zivkovic and Connolly in order to develop a more marketable design based on a contextual response to the existing classical architecture of 95th Street.

James Hoban, born and raised in Ireland, spent his youth preparing for one of his most recognized architectural triumphs, earning the prestigious right to oversee the design of George Washington’s presidential home.  This world renowned building would eventually come to be known as The White House.  As a young man, he studied his craft at the Dublin Society School, where he learned an appreciation for the arts which eventually translated to his architectural works here in the United States.

George Washington had high expectations for the building and design process of The Presidential House, and a few of the original members of his planning team did not make the cut.  Hoban, however, was the only architect to participate in the entire initial phase of construction from beginning to end, as he shared the ultimate vision of our nation’s first president.  His building plans, a reflection of the Leinster House in Dublin, represented the winning entry of an architectural competition put forth by President Washington.

Although George Washington never lived in The Presidential House, he had enough foresight to ensure the building would be versatile and easily expandable.  By employing Hoban as the primary architect and engaging him as a confidante, President Washington knew his wishes would be carried out in an efficient and diplomatic manner.  There has always been a minor hint of scandal surrounding Hoban’s appointment to such a dignified and proximate position with President Washington, and it is often suggested that Hoban may have been dealt “insider information” regarding the competition itself.  He spent nearly forty years realizing the dream of a single monumental home where each successive presidency could live with their families, entertain dignitaries and govern an independent nation.

The White House in Washington, D.C.

Self-Portrait by Piranesi courtesy of Wikipedia

The artwork of Giovanni Battista Piranesi, known for his innovative engraving techniques in the Italian Neoclassical style, is displayed at some of the most prestigious art museums in the world.  His love of architecture emanated from his etchings, beginning with the fantastical and evolving into extraordinarily detailed depictions of the structures he chose to replicate.  In fact, he fancied himself an architect above all else.

Neither through deliberate intention nor by chance, Piranesi was an artist in every sense of the word.  Trained in a wide variety of trades, which included stage design, structural engineering and perspective composition he compensated for his lack of architectural commissions by channeling his skills toward more artistic endeavors.  In the early 1740’s, his mentor Giuseppe Vasi, was influential in the areas of etching and engraving that would guide Piranesi’s remarkable career and accomplishments.

Commencing with his initial contribution, Prima parte di Architettura e Prospettive in 1743, a vedute or etching of panoramic views, Piranesi beguiled the Venetian people and visiting tourists with his flavorful perspective of rich Roman architecture.  Upon his return to Rome in 1748, he worked in his studio to create his well received vedute of the Italian city and earned esteemed acclaim as an antiquarian.  Antichità Romane de' tempo della prima Repubblica e dei primi imperatori translated as “Roman Antiquities of the Time of the First Republic and the First Emperors”, was a result of his profound effort to bring his beloved Roman structures to life.

As an architect, Giovanni Battista Vaccarini was anything but ordinary.  His tendency to blend and borrow various design elements, implementing all of them into one structure inspired some and garnered criticism from others.  There is no doubt however, that Vaccarini took his interpretation of the Baroque style and left a lasting impression throughout Sicily and the surrounding region.

Perhaps in an effort to lift the spirits of the Sicilian people after the ill-fated 1693 earthquake that devastated cultural monuments and common residences with equal fury, Sicilian Baroque architecture was born.  Vaccarini’s influence as City Architect of Catania was instrumental in the rebuilding process and he took great liberties much to the Catholic Church’s delight; elaborate cathedrals were his most notable achievement.  What was once considered dramatic and ebullient from a Baroque standpoint became flamboyant and nearly gaudy under this new paradigm.

Vaccarini’s contribution to the Sicilian Baroque period was influenced by Alessandro Specchi, whose Spanish steps in Rome were the inspiration for incorporating illustrious staircases as a central element of cathedral design.  While the majestic nature of the exterior double staircase was necessary to access the piano nobile located on the second level, they also allowed for an almost open-air entryway that took full advantage of Sicily’s Mediterranean climate.

Spanish Steps in Rome

The piano nobile often thought of as a purely decadent fixture included in Vaccarini’s cathedrals, eventually served a more practical purpose also attributable to the climate.  In areas where rainy weather created damp interior conditions, the wealthy adopted the grand exterior staircase and piano noble to elevate upper level bedrooms, keeping them protected from humid or damp conditions.

This Chapel is located in the New Town of Blount Springs 35 miles north of Birmingham, Alabama. Blount Springs was the third town planned by Duany, Plater-Zyberk and Company after Seaside and Tanin, in the late 80’s. Due to its remote location, Blount Springs has been very slow to develop. When construction on the Chapel was begun, there were approximately 50 homes occupied in the village. The land for the Chapel was donated by the town founder, the design was completed pro-bono and the contracting was handled at cost by two builders who live in the village. Construction costs were paid by monetary as well as sweat equity contributions.  This was truly a grass roots effort. After completion, the Chapel was occupied by The Church at Blount Springs, a non-denominational Christian congregation that had begun in a building down the highway near an interstate interchange. Most of the congregation lives in the village so now they are able to walk to services.

The design of the chapel was conceived as a simple, unselfconscious interpretation of southern Greek revival church architecture. Due to the hilly, rural location of the village, the detailing tends toward the vernacular end of the Classical to vernacular transect. This can be seen in the stacked stone foundation walls and the exposed rafter tails. The white on white color scheme allows these informal details to blend into an elegant whole.

In a nod toward cost and maintenance, several “new fangled” materials were used. The siding is smooth 6” exposure Hardie plank, and the columns are Dixie Pacific fiberglass reinforced concrete. The roofing is 5 v galvalume. There’s nothing fancy about this building but it serves the needs of the community while keeping to a tight budget. The Classical language lends dignity to a relatively small public building.

Voysey & Herbert Tudor Buckland

I notice from the article on Voysey that a fellow architect Herbert Tudor Buckland is cited as a major influence on Voyseys domestic work, does anyone have any information on Herbert Tudor Buckland ?

Over a year ago I was privileged to be invited by the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society to contribute an essay to a festschrift in honour of the 80^th birthday of John Archer. On 11 January this year I attended the reception at which the new volume was presented to him.

            John Archer is a well respected Architectural Historian who has taught at Edinburgh and Manchester Metropolitan University. In Manchester, his native city, he undertook pioneering studies of Victorian architecture, especially the Town Hall, and helped secure the preservation of numerous buildings.

            It was only after the presentation that the contributors had a chance to examine the new volume as a whole. The book is titled Making Manchester and contains eleven essays on the architecture of the city and its surroundings; there are 59 black and white illustrations. I was pleased to find my essay on Bradshaw Gass & Hope placed after Julian Holder’s work on Emanuel Vincent Harris. Both BG&H and Harris were significant twentieth century Classicists whose work has been ignored by critics; possibly because most of their buildings were public rather than private commissions. Harris designed Manchester’s Central Library and Town Hall Extension. Bradshaw Gass & Hope designed Bolton Central Library and a number of Town Halls - one of their apprentices was John Parkinson, architect of Los Angeles City Hall.

Hilborough House was built in 1996-9 to designs made in 1989-90 by the late Francis Johnson. The design was modified in some aspects by Digby Harris. It is the home of the van Cutsem family and the dedication stone was unveiled in 2000 by the Prince of Wales.

The photographs were taken last summer - no interior shots are included to protect the clients' privacy. Digby Harris (architect) and Roger Goldthorpe (assistant - back to camera) can be seen standing in the portico in the last photograph.

Francis Johnson CBE (1911-1995) has recently been made the subject of a monograph by John Martin Robinson and David Neave. Francis Johnson was one of the few architects to continue practising traditional architecture through the period of high modernist hegemony in the late twentieth century. Unlike his contemporary, and rival traditionalist, George Pace, Johnson had little sympathy for Modernist or Gothic Revival thinking and all his work stems from the Classical tradition. During the 1980s his work was compared favourably with that of the new generation of classical architects.

Francis Johnson trained at the Leeds School of Architecture. He toured Europe in 1931 on a travelling scholarship before going to work for Allderidge & Clark in Hull. He began his own practice in 1937 in his home town of Bridlington, East Yorkshire. His career was interrupted by the Second World War and he server in the Royal Engineers from 1943 to 1946.

Francis Johnson’s favoured field of work was domestic architecture and he is particularly known for his country houses in the Georgian style. He also designed a number of churches in the post war period for clients including the Church of England Commissioners. Francis Johnson restored and remodelled a large number of historic buildings including Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire, and Belton House, Lincolnshire. In his approach to restoration, involving detailed research into the original colour schemes of buildings, he was ahead of his time in the 1960s.

Frank Lloyd Wright

On June 8, 1867 in Richland Center, Wisconsin Frank Lloyd Wright was born. His parents Anna Lloyd-Jones and William Wright originally named their son Frank Lincoln Wright, which he later changed after his parents divorce to what we now know as Frank Lloyd Wright. At the age of twelve, Wright’s family settled in Madison, Wisconsin where he attended high school at Madison High School. During his summer breaks Wright would frequently spend weeks at his Uncle James Lloyd Jones’ farm in Spring Green, Wisconsin, which Wright attributes to being the beginnings of his dream of becoming an architect. In 1885, he left Madison without finishing high school to work for Allan Conover, the Dean of the University of Wisconsin’s engineering department. While at the University, Wright spent two semesters studying civil engineering before moving to Chicago in 1887.

While in Chicago, he worked for architect Joseph Lyman Silsbee, with whom Wright drafted the construction of his very first building, the Lloyd-Jones family chapel. A year later, he went to work for the Architectural firm of Adler and Sullivan, under Louis Sullivan. Wright adapted Sullivan's maxim "Form Follows Function" to his own revised treatise of "Form and Function Are One." It was Sullivan's belief that American Architecture should be based on American function, not European traditions, a theory which Wright later believed in and developed further. Throughout his life, Wright acknowledged only a few of his influences, but credits Sullivan as one of the primary influences on his career. In 1893, Sullivan and Wright ended their business relationship, which led to Wright opening his own firm in Chicago, which he operated there for five years before transferring the practice to his home in Oak Park, Illinois.