Tonight, Preston Scott Cohen is being honored at the National Academy in New York.
Each year, a select group of prominent artists and architects is elected into the National Academy. Election as an Academician recognizes exceptional creative work and contribution to the arts. These artists and architects represent some of the most distinguished practitioners in their respective fields.
— Harvard Graduate School
Preston Scott Cohen, principal of Preston Scott Cohen, Inc., was awarded the notable distinction of academician of the National Academy in New York. Cohen is also the the Gerald M. McCue Professor of Architecture at Harvard Graduate School of Design.
Cohen's work is known for his use of geometric transformations to define the physical experience of the human observer. Derived from descriptive geometries of the 17th century, he materializes oblique projections with the aid of computer technology.
Preston Scott Cohen, Inc., are the architects of the Nanjing Performance Arts Center in China, which utilized "the techniques and economy of local construction practices."
Another notable project by the firm is the Tel Aviv Art Museum. Finished in 2011, the museum consists of hyperbolic parabolas, an innovative solution to the design challenges of a small site and the need for large, rectilinear galleries.
Currently under construction, the Datong Library in China is designed around a large central atrium, surrounded by a four storey helical ramp lined with bookcases.
Founded in 1825, the National Academy is an honorary society of artists and architects. Additionally, the National Academy contains an impressive school and museum.
3 Comments
is the suggestion that "Poured-in-place concrete construction" = utilizing "the techniques and economy of local construction practices"? If so seems less local "vernacular" than i would have guessed from phrasing...
bullshit makes the world go round.
@Nam, it never says vernacular, were you expecting hand-kilned bricks and roof tiles? Anyway, the true vernacular in Chinese cities today is cheap, irregular concrete frames, sometimes with infill brick, almost always clad over with small waterproof tiles
I'd hazard that the mention is not made for the fact of concrete itself, but the adaptation of the building geometry and construction to methods of low-skill, low-precision, low-cost construction through adjustable form work and regular cross sections, and cheap, common tile cladding on most of the lower volume. Specifically, this is worth mentioning in contrast to some of his earlier work like the Tel Aviv Museum of Art which was made in high-precision pre-cast concrete panels, lifted on to the facade with heavy machinery and the Lightfall atrium which used elaborately constructed one-off form work.
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