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A BRIEF HISTORY OF PREFAB
After the Second World War there was a regular prefabricated housing boom in the United States. Some 70 companies were active in this market segment in the post-war era, ultimately leading to the construction of roughly 200,000 prefabricated houses.
However, companies such as Vultee, Lustron, and the Spartan Aircraft Company, which offered buildings built on the basis of steel frames or clad in sheet metal, were still not able to survive. Published 2012.1003
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OSCAR NIEMEYER - BRAZILIAN MODERNIST
As the preeminent figure of one of the most innovative national interpretations of architectural Modernism, and a radical critic of orthodox Modernist aesthetic formulae and moralizing ideologies, Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer occupies a unique place in the pantheon of great builders. Published 2012.0201
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GROPIUS AND BREUER'S HAGERTY HOUSE
Completed in 1938, this proverbial "box on the rocks" designed by Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer sits on a spectacular rocky site directly on the Atlantic Ocean in Cohasset, Massachusetts. Published 2011.0427
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EZRA STOLLER
Many of the finest examples of Modern architecture from the late 1940s to the late 1970s were "made" by a master — not necessarily the architect, but the man who captured the essence of Modern architecture through the lens of his large-format camera: Ezra Stoller. Published 2011.0223
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IN APPRECIATION OF DENNIS SHARP
The death of Dennis Sharp on May 6, 2010, has robbed the architectural world of one of the most eminent and prolific authors, critics and commentators of the 20th-century architectural scene.
Born in 1933 into a family of building contractors, architects and surveyors, Dennis initiated his architectural studies at the Architectural Association (AA) in London and later attended the University of Liverpool under Dr. Quentin Hughes. Published 2010.0609
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ROYAL GOLD MEDAL FOR I.M. PEI
The RIBA Royal Gold Medal for 2010 goes to an architect whose renown has been built over several decades of consistently producing a very particular kind of structure — often aspired to, rarely achieved.
The characteristic buildings of I.M. Pei stand serene with the elemental dignity of high modernism, while at the same time expressing both the dynamism of muscular structural sculpture and the deep subtle touches of sensitivity to context. Published 2010.0210
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TRANSPARENCY IN PRESERVATION
Continuity and the ability to recognize original design intent is critical to the preservation of modern architecture. Original design intent is the visual and conceptual expression of the designer's creativity and therefore informs every aspect of both the building and its construction. Published 2010.0127
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CHICAGO AIA AWARDS 2009
A utility plant stands in glass at the edge of the University of Chicago campus, the geometric tangle of its technical systems revealed inside the radiused crystalline form. Published 2009.1118
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BARNES GOLD MEDAL
Only five times in the 100-year history of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Gold Medal has the AIA's highest honor been awarded posthumously. Renowned 20th-century architect Edward Larrabee Barnes, FAIA has now joined the ranks of the others — Thomas Jefferson, Eero Saarinen, Richard Neutra, William Caudill, and Samuel Mockbee — who did not live long enough to enjoy this well deserved symbol of professional recognition. Published 2007.0117
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HUGH STUBBINS, MODERN TOWER
On New York City's Lexington Avenue at 53rd Street, Citicorp Center (built 1976 to 1978) reaches into the sky like a giant sheathed in aluminum and glass. Its designer, architect Hugh Stubbins, Jr., who challenged modern skyscraper orthodoxy of the time, died July 5, 2006 at the age of 94. Published 2006.0809
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Walter Gropius