For several years I've been saying that architecture has become the "canvas" for art as the 21st century dawns. I've had no formal training in architecture, structural design or building construction management. I'm not even self taught in these subjects. I do, though, pay attention to detail. I do go into a lot of structures, in a lot of cities, towns, burbs and wilderness areas.
If you quiet yourself; look, listen and be in the moment, you can tell how the combination of man's handiwork and the raw beauty of nature's interaction with it affects people. Kenneth Clarke, the great art historian and philosopher perhaps said it best ... "you can tell more about a civilization from its architecture than anything else it leaves behind."
The Pritzker family, those of the Hyatt Corporation were so moved 30 years ago. Being from Chicago, the birthplace of the skyscraper and architectural playground for Burnham & Root, Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright to name a few, they "felt" how much an environment affected people. They may have "backed into" that belief based upon the success of their (and the) first soaring Hyatt Hotel atrium in Atlanta. They were transposed by the way their building affected both guests and employees.
The Pritzgers set about making the Nobel Prize for architecture. Anybody could be nominated, and by anybody. Yes, one person (who happened to win) nominated themselves. The architect had to be alive and have at least 10 designs built to be considered. There is a handsome financial award but it's the medal given each winner that I like. The medal was designed by Louis Sullivan and on it reads words from Henry Wotton who, in 1624 translated the thoughts of Marcus Vitruvius in his Ten Books of Architecture. The words? ... "Well building has three things ... firmness, commodity and delight."
Over 400 people from over 40 countries have been nominated for this award. You've heard of several; Frank Gehrey, I.M. Pei, and Renzo Piano (in order: the Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain ... the pyramid entry at the Louvre ... and the cultural center in New Caledonia). The first winner was Philip Johnson for his glass house in New Canaan, CT. I can tell you from personal experience, it is simply spectacular, the entire complex.
I'm particularly interested in the 1999 winner's work, Lord Norman Foster. Foster specializes in (at least lately) inserting contemporary designs into historic buildings. His newest commission is to create an annex for major renovations on the 1911 landmark main New York City Library. The objective is to have it completed by 2013.
No matter where you are, like in Dallas where they have four Pritzker winners work in their performance art complex, chances are there's a structure worth making the time to go experience from one of the vast number of works created by the 29 winners. All of them would qualify for the Pritzker's key criteria for selection ... it was inherently unique.
W2
valerie - 11/16/2008 8:54:22 PM DST (GMT-4)
Watts -- did you see this?
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2008/11/07/arts/design/1194832296918/maya-lins-wave-field.html&WT.mc_id=VI-D-I-NYT-MOD-MOD-M069-ROS-1108-HDR&WT.mc_ev=click
Maya Lin
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