Yale art historian for more than 60 years, Vincent Scully died on Thursday night in his Lynchburg, Virginia residence due to complications of Parkinson's disease. His architectural writings had an immense impact on the later half of the 20th century giving context to architecture in culture and society. Known for his theatrical lectures, Scully taught at Yale from 1947 to 1991 where his retirement only lasted a year. By popular demand he returned and taught until 2009, when health related issues caused him to cease lecturing.
Scully promoted strong modernist opinions while also championing contextual and social awareness. His association with the New Urbanism movement stressed his beliefs on the importance of the pedestrian, human-scale construction, and retaining a sense of community. The Vincent Scully Prize is awarded annually and is a testament to his influence over culture as a whole.
Here are some twitter testaments to Vincent Scully:
2 Comments
Such sad news. He was a giant.
"American Architecture and Urbanism", and especially "The Architecture of the American Summer". We're really formative for me.
From his obituary in the Washington Post. Too bad we haven't learned.
"Dr. Scully admired some of the buildings by Wright and other towering giants of modern architecture, including Walter Gropius, Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe, but he began to see an emptiness at the core of their designs.
What they lacked, Dr. Scully concluded, was the human touch. He began to teach that architecture was about more than pure design. Its purpose was not to burnish the ego of the architect but to provide humane and beautiful places for community life to flourish."
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