School Notes: School of Architecture
March/April 2009

Perspecta issues published

The latest issues of Perspecta, the widely read and oft-cited journal edited by students at the school, were recently released. Issue 40, edited by Jacob Reidel ’08MArch, Marc Guberman ’08MArch, ’08MBA, and Frida Rosenberg ’07MEnvD, is called "Monster," and explores the themes of scale. "While 'monster' has been a pejorative term," says Reidel, "it can be seen as something that's very positive. In genetics, monsters represent a variation from the norm." The magazine includes an article by Assistant Professor Eeva-Liisa Pelkonen ’94MEnvD about the New Haven Coliseum, which was designed by Kevin Roche in the Brutalist style. "We loved the building," Reidel says, "but knew it was reviled by many." It was demolished in 2007.

Perspecta 41 was edited by Gabrielle Brainard, Thomas Moran, and Rustam Mehta (all ’08MArch). Its theme is "Grand Tour," which was selected, Mehta says, "because the Grand Tour was once the definitive means by which architects saw the world. We felt that today, while travel is far more commonplace for architects, it was worth asking why we travel, with so many good photos available on the Internet; where we go, if not just to Rome anymore; what we do when we are there, since we're often not measuring buildings and collecting antiquities; and how it changes us when we return."

Editors of Perspecta are chosen through a competitive process, and those selected have two or three years to complete their issue of the magazine.

Symposium observes Palladio birthday

A symposium to mark the 50oth anniversary of the birth of Andrea Palladio, a key figure in the development of Western architecture, was held at the architecture school February 13-14. Participants discussed the impact of his classic treatise, I Quattro Libri dell'Architettura, on the development of modern architecture. The symposium, "What Modern Times Have Made of Palladio," was convened by Kurt W. Forster, Vincent Scully Visiting Professor and a member of the Research Council of the Palladio Center in Vicenza, Italy. Discussants included scholars Howard Burns, Guido Beltramini, and Andreas Beyer, and architects and designers Peter Eisenman, Louis I. Kahn Visiting Professor; Rafael Moneo; and Greg Lynn, Davenport Visiting Professor.

Paul Rudolph focus of events

The school hosted a two-day symposium, "Reassessing Rudolph: Architecture and Reputation," in which scholars, critics, and architects from around the world reconsidered the designer's life (1918-1997) and legacy. Organizers said Rudolph's reputation "rose and fell along with the fortunes of postwar modernism in America." The event was held during the weekend of January 23-24 at Paul Rudolph Hall.

The symposium was followed on January 29 by the Gordon H. Smith Colloquium, which focused on the technical aspects of the restoration of Paul Rudolph Hall. Presenters included Charles Gwathmey ’62BArch, the project's architect; and Elizabeth Skowronek, Robert Leiter, Patrick Bellew (lecturer at the architecture school), and Arthur Heide.