oweler • Lin • Buxton • Chapman • Christiansen Gerakaris • Gibian • Hedlund • Hyman • Jacobs ark • Matyas • Meehan • MergoldAustin • • York
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YOUNG ALUMNI RECOGNIZED IN RECENT COMPETITIONS
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Bradford Perkins (B.A. ’65), cofounder and chairman of Perkins Eastman, recently published his fifth book, International Practice for Architects, for the AIA and publisher John Wiley & Sons. The book, which details how to launch an international design practice is, in part, based on his and his 850-person architectural, interior design, and planning firm’s experience in more than 30 countries around the world.
When designing the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, James Biber (B.Arch. ’76), a partner at Pentagram, looked to grab as much newly crafted urban context as 130,000 quare feet possibly can. Three linked buildings in the reclaimed industrial valley site define a cruciform street space that is part cathedral, part galleria, and all rugged industrial fare. The point is to promote the spontaneous rally atmosphere that bikers crave, while positing a “museum on the street” counterpart to the story told inside. The reduced material palette of black glazed brick, galvanized steel, and corrugated orange panels connect the buildings into a factory-like whole, while formal differences signal the hierarchy at play. Other alumni on the Pentagram project team included Michael Zweck-Bronner (B.Arch. ’86), Aleksander Mergold (B.Arch. ’99), Daniel Maxfield (B.Arch. ’00), and James Bowman.
A few recent alumni of Cornell’s undergraduate architecture program are garnering some welcomed recognition— some of it for work that was started while they were still students. Reilly Hogan (B.S. ’08), Aidi Su (B.Arch. ’07), and Kaz Yoneda (B.Arch. ’07) were among the winners of the 2008 Output Foundation competition and had their project “Arc over Golden Gate” published in output 11. The project originated in Mark Cruvellier’s bridge design class. “The Bridge Design course provides a unique opportunity for students to explore the interplay between conceptual ideas and structural innovations; Kaz, Aidi, and Reilly took this opportunity to heart in creating the design for a landmark bridge/ observation platform atop the twin peaks of San Francisco,” says Cruvellier, professor and architecture chair. “Their work for this project not only represents well the creativity of students who have taken this course in the past, but also speaks more broadly to the benefit of having architects more integrally involved in the design of bridges—perhaps one of the most common but also ignored examples of public art/works that one can think of.” Yoneda’s thesis “Enigmas of Firmament: Center for Cosmology at Mauna Kea” was also a winner in Output’s competition. Additionally, Yoneda, now at Sou Fujimoto Architects in Tokyo, received second prize in the 2008 Future of Design Competition sponsored by the Boston Society of Architects (BSA). The project was featured in a video at the BSA gallery at the Residential Design and Construction Convention and Tradeshow (RDC) in Boston in April. The project will also be included in the January/February 2009 design awards issue of the BSA’s bimonthly ideas magazine, ArchitectureBoston.
EVENT HONORS TWO DEDICATED CORNELLIANS— EARL AND POLLY FLANSBURGH A wonderful party honoring a pair of great Cornellians was held last spring. Earl R. Flansburgh (B.Arch. ’54) served as a Cornell University trustee for 15 years, designed the Cornell Store and the Builder’s Wall, and, with his wife Louise “Polly” Flansburgh, continues to give generously of time and money to support Cornell. In May, the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning (AAP) honored the Flansburghs for all they have done for the university. About 85 friends gathered at the Flansburgh’s home in Lincoln, Massachusetts, welcomed by W. Stanley Taft, then-interim dean of AAP. Guests included Porus D. Olpadwala, dean of AAP from 1999 to 2004, David C. Knapp, Cornell provost from 1974 to 1978, and President Emeritus Frank H. T. Rhodes. In his talk at the event, Rhodes recalled that Mr. Flansburgh was actually part of a trustee group that interviewed him for the Cornell presidency. “In a lapsed moment, he gave me the job,” Rhodes deadpanned. Mr. Flansburgh was one of the first architects to serve as trustee, Rhodes said, and “his expertise and counsel were simply invaluable.” “I would like to give special thanks to Polly as well,” Rhodes said, “for her dedication as an alumna in her own right and for her support over the years of the many ways Earl has devoted time and energy to Cornell. The Flansburghs have more Cornell connections than almost any family I can think of. Both their fathers were Cornell professors, and Mrs. Flansburgh’s greatgrandfather, Dr. Tarbell, was a member of Cornell’s first graduating class in 1869. Earl and Polly’s son Schuyler, along with a cousin, are the first-ever fifth-generation Cornellians. “However,” Rhodes continued, “[all those Cornell associations] could never guarantee in anyone the kind of dedication that Earl and Polly have shown to Cornell. That kind of loyalty and generosity must come from deep inside a person’s true nature.” David Sheffield (’55, B.Arch. ’60, M.R.P. ’61), followed Rhodes’s speech with some trepidation, joking that speaking after Rhodes was terrifying. But, he said, “friendship trumps terror; I’d do anything for Earl.” In 1963, Mr. Flansburgh founded his own firm, Earl R. Flansburgh & Associates, and, said Sheffield, “soon, everybody knew his name.” Sheffield added, “[Earl is] a great friend, a great architect, a great husband, a great father, a great Cornellian, and a great guy.” Earl R. Flansburgh served as a university trustee from 1972 to 1987, and was then recognized as a Cornell University Trustee Emeritus in 1987. For many years he was chair of the trustees’ buildings and properties committee. In 1982, he chaired the committee that developed Cornell’s Foremost Benefactor Program, and he personally designed the Builder’s Wall to honor those benefactors.
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Earl and Polly Flansburgh have been married for over 50 years. They have two sons, John Conant Flansburgh and Earl “Schuyler” Flansburgh ’79. Earl R. Flansburgh & Associates designed the Campus Store, which was built in the late 1960s. In January 1969, Progressive Architecture selected the store for one of its prestigious design awards. Mr. Flansburgh represented the university as an official delegate at several university presidential inaugurations in the Boston area. The Flansburghs have also been very involved with Cornell’s Young Alumni Committees in the Ithaca area, and later in Boston. At the height of his busy career, Mr. Flansburgh returned to campus several times a year to give portfolio workshops for the benefit of architecture students. The Flansburghs’ generous financial support includes the Earl R. Flansburgh Campaign Recognition Scholarship the Earl R. and Louise H. Flansburgh Dean’s Discretionary Fund in AAP.AAP
01 Mark Gibian’s “Crescendo” at Northside Piers. Photo courtesy the New York Sun. 02 Reilly Hogan, Aidi Su, and Kaz Yoneda’s “Arc over Golden Gate.” 03 Anna Czigler (B.Arch. ’06). 04 Earl Flansburgh. Credit: William Staffeld. 05 Polly Flansburgh in front of a piece by her husband, Earl. She purchased the work at an auction and gave it as a gift to her husband. Credit: William Staffeld.
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Designed by FXFOWLE Architects, the Oculus Condominium is situated at the nexus of the Flatiron District, Chelsea, Greenwich Village, and Union Square in New York City. The new building features 47 residences on 10 floors, including four exclusive penthouses. Twentyone of the 47 residences feature outdoor space. The building’s façade features a “floating veil” of terracotta bands that maintains a consistent backdrop for the streetscape, while a windowwall behind adds visual depth. The undulating expression of the wall corresponds to the internal organization of the studios, one-, twoand three-bedroom units. Dan Kaplan (B.Arch. ’84) a senior partner at FXFOWLE Architects served as the lead designer on the project. Stefan Dallendorger (M.Arch. ’94), a senior associate at FXFOWLE Architects, is the project architect and Gerald Davis (B.Arch. ’84) from Alchemy Properties is the developer.
CORNELL architecture•art••planning NEWS 05——fall2008