“For the harmonious and contextually sensitive renovation of the row of storefront facades on the east side of Madison Avenue immediately north of 88th Street,” the Carnegie Hill Neighbors will recognize the Board of Directors of 47 East 88th Street on May 13, 2013 at the National Academy Museum.
View of storefronts AFTER renovation. Image by Stan Honda from Carnegie Hill News Spring 2013, Vol. 34, No. 1.
As America’s oldest city, St. Augustine, celebrated the 500th Anniversary of the exploration of Florida by Juan Ponce de León, the ICAA Florida Chapter held its second annual jury for the Addison Mizner Medal for Excellence in Classical and Traditional Architecture.
I am often asked which books should be read to learn about the history and practice of classical architecture. In an attempt to answer that question, I offer this list of essential books. Without doubt it is incomplete, as all pursuits of knowledge will always be. And it certainly reflects my own interests, as it is weighted to American architecture. Nonetheless, I hope you find it useful and please advise me of any errors or omissions.
Continue readingOne brisk New York winter’s eve I skipped into the Century Association, thrilled that the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art had arranged a visit to see Charles Platt’s book collection. His scrapbooks, with shiny photographs lining black pages, were the highlight. In awed silence I imagined Platt studying them as he designed his own projects. Designers need access to good precedents, yet one cannot always dash off to study buildings and places in person. It is with that in mind that I have assembled and shared my Architectural Image Database.
This place of my home and heart, Williamsburg, often remembered by visitors in images of white clapboarded colonial houses surrounded by lush green boxwood under brilliant blue skies, holds a different magic in the gray quiet of winter. When the touring crowds thin, I meet my hometown again and find in her still somnolence moments that warm my soul. While all sleeps, waiting to wake in the riot of spring, I wander the empty streets and hidden gardens, conjuring times long-past, recalling happy moments of youth, hoping for the days to come.
Architecture tells us about ourselves. Whether it is academic architecture guided by refined aesthetic traditions or vernacular architecture designed and constructed by the layperson, it can reveal aspects of our history, our culture, or a particular place and time.
All architecture reflects its place, but vernacular architecture is inseparable from it because it relies on regional materials, simple forms, and local labor. For example, a building design will respond to the area’s climate: porches, large windows, and high ceiling are common in the hot and humid South, whereas small windows and low ceilings are typical in the cold and windy North. Because vernacular architecture speaks of its place and people, it allows us to experience diversity that, in turn, enriches us.
Continue readingI’m very pleased that my drawings have been selected for exhibit in The International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture & Urbanism’s (INTBAU) exhibition on modern traditional architecture and the artistic skills involved in creating beautiful and harmonious buildings and places. 28 January – 15 February 2013 at the Prince’s Foundation in London. Click here for more information about the exhibit.
Enjoy a video tour of Chadsworth Cottage, located on Figure Eight Island, North Carolina. Designed by Christine G. H. Franck, Inc. for Jeffrey L. Davis. Construction by Murray Construction. Landscape by Landscapes Unique.
Learn more about architectural education in this lecture delivered at the University of Notre Dame’s conference: From Vernacular to Classical: The Perpetual Modernity of Palladio, June 10-12, 2011.
This past Friday at New York’s Racquet and Tennis Club, I was honored to present the ICAA’s inaugural Stanford White Awards Patron Award to my long-time client and friend, Lloyd Zuckerberg. My comments follow here below: