Fred Wesley Wentworth, FAIA

Wentworth Building 1-Post-Office-and-Court-House

By Bruce D. Turner, AIA | Also posted in AIA-NJ News | Tagged Architecture Week, Architecture Week 2013, Fred Wesley Wentworth, Iconic Architects | Comments (11)

Childs: The Garden State’s Most Iconic Architects

April 12, 2013 – 7:54 am

David Childs, FAIA

David Childs, FAIA, who was born in Princeton, N.J., has designed some of New York City’s most iconic buildings, including the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle, One Worldwide Plaza and the New York Mercantile Exchange, although he is perhaps best known for his controversial redesign of the new 1,776-foot One World Trade Center, also know as the Freedom Tower, which was designed to memorialize the original World Trade Center complex destroyed on September 11, 2001.

Now chairman emeritus and consulting design partner at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, Childs did not always want to be an architect. Growing up in a family of scientists, Childs had a passion for the sciences and majored in zoology at Yale University before realizing his dream and switching to architecture.

In addition to his work in New York, Mr. Childs is known for his work in Washington, DC. With a reputation as a political animal, Mr. Childs was able to harness his political skills to an architectural agenda. He was once hired by Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan to work on the redevelopment of Pennsylvania Avenue, and he is particularly proud of the Constitution Gardens, adjacent to the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool at the National Mall.

Childs has also served in presidential positions including chairman of the National Capital Planning Commission, a federal agency that oversees development projects in Washington, D.C., and as the chairman of the Commission of Fine Arts in Washington.

Always with self-effacing charm, he once said, “I know a lot of what I’ve designed is not ‘A’ work. “But my role was different. I wanted to raise the level of everyday development as much as I could.” But, he has since left his mark on a wide range of important projects.

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David Childs Building 3 hudson-yards-nyc-e-tower

By Bruce D. Turner, AIA | Also posted in AIA-NJ News | Tagged Architecture Week, Architecture Week 2013, David Childs, Iconic Architects | Comments (11)

Short: The Garden State’s Most Iconic Architects

April 11, 2013 – 3:13 pm

William H. Short, FAIA

Considered to be a pioneer in historic preservation architecture, William H. Short, FAIA, received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Princeton University in Princeton, N.J., a town where he practiced for many years and completed many projects. Fueled by an appreciation for the beauty of historic buildings, Short dedicated much of his career to restoring and preserving older properties for modern use. And, while Bill was interested in and became a leader in historic preservation, he really thought of himself as a maker of new buildings.

His many Princeton projects included the conversion of Guernsey Hall from a 150-year-old mansion to condominiums; and the restoration of Drumthwacket, the New Jersey governor’s residence; the Lowrie House, home of Princeton University’s president; and Helm Auditorium, also part of Princeton University. But perhaps his most notable assignment was when he was chosen by Frank Lloyd Wright to serve as the Clerk Of the Works for the construction of the Guggenheim Museum in New York City.

Short’s professional career began in New York City working with Holden, McLaughlin and Associates. He left in 1960 to partner with Robert Venturi to form Philadelphia-based Venturi and Short. In 1974 he partnered with Jeremiah Ford III in Princeton to form Short and Ford Architect, one of the nation’s leading historic preservation firms.

As an active member of the architecture community, Short did not limit his talent to his own firm’s projects. He led the community of preservation architects by serving as chairman of the New Jersey Society of Architects Historic Resources and Preservation Committee, and was a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), The Athenaeum of Philadelphia and the Historical Society of Princeton. He died in 1991.

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By Bruce D. Turner, AIA | Also posted in AIA-NJ News | Tagged Architecture Week, Architecture Week 2013, Iconic Architects, William Short | Comments (11)

Eisenman: The Garden State’s Most Iconic Architects

April 11, 2013 – 8:34 am

Peter Eisenman, FAIA

Peter Eisenman, FAIA was born in Newark, N.J. and attended Columbia High School in Maplewood, N.J.

He is an internationally recognized architect and educator whose award-winning, large-scale housing and urban design projects, innovative design for educational institutions and inventive private house designs attest to a career of excellence in design. Throughout his career he’s designed numerous notable projects, including the University of Phoenix stadium for the National Football League’s (NFL) Arizona Cardinals, which was the site of the NFL’s Super Bowl in 2008.

Eisenman, one of the “New York Five,” (Peter Eisenman, Michael Graves, Richard Meier, Charles Gwathmey and John Hejduk) has seen his work evolve and is often referred to as formalist, deconstructive, late avant-garde, late or high modernist. His work, which has been known to provoke controversy, and often seems disconnected from surrounding structures, is sometimes characterized as unpredictable, or even a form of controlled chaos.

Prior to establishing his architectural practice, Eisenman Architects, in 1980, Eisenman was primarily an educator and theorist. In 1967, he founded the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies (IAUS), an international think tank for architecture and served as its director until 1982. Eisenman has studied and made formal use of concepts from other fields in his imaginative designs, including linguistics, philosophy and mathematics.

His academic career includes teaching at numerous prestigious colleges and universities, including at Princeton University in Princeton, N.J. Eisenman is also widely published, with his most recent books including “Code X: The City of Culture of Galicia”; and “Eisenman: Inside Out, Selected Writings 1963-1988.”

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By Bruce D. Turner, AIA | Tagged Architecture Week, Architecture Week 2013, Iconic Architects, Peter Eisenman | Comments (11)

Wells: The Garden State’s Most Iconic Architects

April 10, 2013 – 3:18 pm

Malcolm Wells, FAIA

Malcolm Wells was born in Camden, N.J., raised in Haddonfield, N.J., and lived for some time in Cherry Hill, N.J. Often regarded as the father of modern earth-sheltered architecture, Wells advocated environmentally responsible design and promoted the idea of building structures at least partly underground.

Wells, who died in 2009, started his career working for RCA, where he drew designs for portable radios, remodeled showrooms and eventually designed the RCA Pavilion at the 1964 World’s Fair in Queens, N.Y. With the realization that the pavilion would be torn down after two years, he abruptly changed course to develop his theory of gentle architecture, something that would, as he put it, “leave the land no worse than you found it.”

His designs incorporated the land, often burrowing into hillsides with layers of earth on the roofs that were suitable for gardens or other vegetation. Although Wells never saw his ideas materialize, his ideas influenced the architects who followed him. Wells also practiced what he preached, building underground homes and offices for himself — first in New Jersey and later on Cape Cod.

Wells, who was interested in energy efficiency, aesthetics, land preservation and restoration, was also a writer, illustrator, draftsman, lecturer, cartoonist, columnist and solar consultant.

He wrote a number of books, including “Gentle Architecture” (1981), “Infra Structures” (1994) and “Recovering America” (1999), taught environmental design at Harvard in the mid-1970s and lectured at other architecture schools through the 1980s.

Here’s a fitting quote attributed to U.S. Army General Omar Bradley that is printed on the original concrete wall outside of Wells’ earth-sheltered office in Cherry Hill, off Cuthbert Boulevard.

“If we are not careful we shall leave our children a legacy of billion-dollar roads leading nowhere except to other congested places like those they left behind.”

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By Bruce D. Turner, AIA | Also posted in AIA-NJ News | Tagged Architecture Week, Architecture Week 2013, Iconic Architects, Malcolm Wells | Comments (11)

Holzman: The Garden State’s Most Iconic Architects

April 10, 2013 – 7:41 am

Malcolm Holzman, FAIA

Born in Newark, N.J., Malcolm Holzman, FAIA, a late modernist icon, has designed many important civic and academic structures throughout the United States, namely libraries, museums and performing arts venues. His structures are acknowledged for their evocative nature, technical vision and singular character.

Holzman founded Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates (HHPA) in 1967 and in 2004 separated and established Holzman Moss Bottino Architecture in New York City with members of his HHPA project team. Over the course of his professional career, Holzman has completed more than 150 buildings in 32 states, which represent some of the nation’s most notable architecture.

Holzman is commonly known for his collagist designs with rotated grids, diagonals and eclectic sensibilities. His use of industrial and rural vernaculars, as well as salvaged and local materials run counter to reductionist modernist tendencies, resulting in a more humanist approach.

In addition, Holzman advocated the reuse of older buildings at a time when the profession embraced pristine modernism, exemplified by urban renewal. Holzman was an also early advocate of sustainable building practices.

In addition to his practice, Holzman is a notable author and educator, holding 10 endowed chairs at schools of architecture across the country.

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By Bruce D. Turner, AIA | Also posted in AIA-NJ News | Tagged Architecture Week, Architecture Week 2013, Iconic Architects, Malcolm Holzman | Comments (11)

Hillier: The Garden State’s Most Iconic Architects

April 9, 2013 – 2:48 pm

J. Robert Hillier, FAIA

J. Robert Hillier, FAIA, is a more than 45 year veteran of the profession, having launched his career as a sole practitioner in Princeton, N.J. in 1966. In addition to design excellence, he is known for his business acumen, which earned him the title of New Jersey’s “Entrepreneur of the Year” by Inc. Magazine in 1989.

Hillier built his Princeton firm, Hillier Architecture, to become the nation’s third largest architectural firm. In 2007, it merged with RMJM of Scotland to become the third largest architectural firm in the world. In 2009, he started another firm in Princeton, J. Robert Hiller, which designs and develops local projects. Hillier is also the majority owner of Princeton Magazine, a lifestyle magazine, and Princeton’s leading newspaper, Town Topics.

Hiller has completed projects all over the world, including international schools, mixed-use projects and corporate headquarters, for which he and his firms have received over 300 state, national and international design awards. Some of his most notable projects include the restoration of the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., and GlaxoSmithKline’s worldwide headquarters in London.

Through his activities as both architect and developer, Hillier has preserved over 300 acres of land in New Jersey, contributed to the supply of affordable housing in the state by transforming abandoned properties into residences and helped preserve the state’s architectural heritage by restoring historic buildings.

He’s also a visiting lecturer at Princeton University, where he received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Hillier has also received numerous personal awards, including the Michael Graves Lifetime Achievement Award from the New Jersey chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA-NJ) in 2007 and the New Jersey Institute of Technology President’s Medal for Lifetime Achievement in 2009.

I think the key to success is that you have to be a good designer, you have to be able to sell good design, and you have to be able to sell yourself. They’re all bundled up together. Robert Hillier

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