Archinect - News

A new gift will keep the legacy of the American School alive at the University of Oklahoma's College of Architecture

2023-02-28T13:53:00-05:00

A new landmark donation to the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture at the University of Oklahoma will help preserve the legacy of the American School, one of the most important movements within midcentury modernism, thanks to the generosity of legendary professor Bob Faust’s widow Sherry.

The multimillion gift will go towards maintaining the school’s archive, hiring a curator to oversee the collection and coordinate exhibition programming around it, creating a permanent exhibition space in the lobby of Gould Hall, an annual fellowship, and a four-year funded professorship for special research projects related to design topics.

The college’s Division of Architecture director Stephanie Pilat said the professorship is designed in a “flexible way,” adding it would come with a salary stipend and a budget to pursue projects related to the American School. “It will provide support for that library which supports this important history, and it will provide funding for a curator of ...

Pope Francis announces return of Parthenon fragments in a potential precedent-setter

2022-12-20T18:39:00-05:00

Pope Francis will send back to Greece the three fragments of the Parthenon Sculptures that the Vatican Museums have held for two centuries, in the latest case of a Western museum bowing to demands for restitution of artifacts to their countries of origin.

The bequest was labeled a “donation” from the Vatican by Pope Francis, who also called it “a concrete sign of [his] sincere desire to follow in the ecumenical path of truth.”

The British Museum, meanwhile, is also reportedly in talks with Greece to return parts of its argued-over trove of Elgin Marbles as early as next year. A timeline for the Vatican's return to the Acropolis Museum has not yet been verified by either party.

Previously on Archinect: The British Museum is under fire after refusing Parthenon Marbles 3D scan

A children's book to gift to your little aspiring architect

2018-12-28T17:03:00-05:00

Through gorgeous illustrations and a relatable story Norman's Architecture Adventure teaches children how having an imagination is the greatest adventure anyone can have. Nothing holds Norman back, he sees what could be and he creates it. He is unrestricted by age, ethnicity, or preconceptions.

Now published and available for purchase online, Norman's Architecture Adventure is a fun children's book written & illustrated by Joshua P. Sanabria. By following the steps of a young African American boy that aspires to be an architect just like his mom, the book not only hopes to foster kids' curiosity and imagination but also to encourage more African Americans to pursue architecture.

Cranbrook receives Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Smith House as donation

2018-04-23T13:25:00-04:00

Cranbrook, known worldwide as an architectural set piece, is getting a new gem in its diadem — a Frank Lloyd Wright house. The house was built in 1950 by Sara and Melvyn Maxwell Smith. The donation came from the Towbes Foundation. “The Smith family always said they didn’t want this to just pass to another set of homeowners,” said Gregory Wittkopp, director of the Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research. “The phrase they used was they wanted it to be ‘an educational resource.’ ”

The donation by the Towbes Foundation was a gift "that other design schools would kill for," The Detroit News reports and tells the legendary tale of A. Alfred Taubman donating a substantial portion of the windows to the cash-strapped Smith family to get the FLW-designed house finished before the winter of 1949.

Lautner's Sheats-Goldstein house is to be donated to LACMA

2016-02-17T12:08:00-05:00

I want the house to be an educational tool for young architects, and I want to inspire good architecture for Los Angeles - James Goldstein

In a most generous move, public in Los Angeles is assured to have access to a masterpiece designed by legendary architect and maintained by its colorful owner Jim Goldstein who dedicated a good part of his living to the healthy survival of the house.

"Even though he had the Concannon Residence torn down, to his credit, James Goldstein made sure in his will that the expanded Goldstein House, and with that the legacy of both structures, will never be sold. The compound could very well become a publicly accessible cultural treasure for the entire city." - Lautner's Concannon Residence, from Dust to Dust

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