Oculus Book Talk Series

Book Review: Five North American Architects: An Anthology by Kenneth Frampton

Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation (GSAPP)
Lars Müller Publishers, 2012

Kenneth Frampton began his tenure at Columbia University’s GSAPP in 1972. During the subsequent years he not only shaped and impacted his students but his treatise Modern Architecture: A Critical History (1980; revised 1985, 1992, and 2007) reached far beyond the gates of higher learning to influence the most seasoned practitioner. Five North American Architects which includes our Canadian brethren, is a reflection of 21st-century architecture through the work of Stanley Saitowitz (Natoma Architects, San Francisco), Brigitte Shim, Hon. FAIA, and Howard Sutcliffe, Hon. FAIA (Shim-Sutcliffe Architects, Toronto), Rick Joy (Rick Joy Architects, Tucson), John Patkau, AIA, and Patricia Patkau (Patkau Architects, Vancouver), and Steven Holl, FAIA (Steven Holl Architects, New York).

While all five cozily share the pages inside the slim spine of this anthology, one of the things that I found to be most dynamic about this book is how the traits and views espoused by Frampton – “landscape, material, craft, space, light,” in addition to “their propensity for typological invention” – influenced each of these architects so fundamentally. Saitowitz’s seven principles of architecture, and Holl’s five axioms of architecture, which he wrote in Frampton’s honor, crystallize many of the shared philosophies and differences.

There is also something equally valuable to consider when reading Five North American Architects – that under the right vision and tutelage, an educational think tank can be more than a laboratory for students; it can inject energy and new ideas into professional practices at varying stages of their careers. Which brings us back to where we began, with Frampton, who at the age of 80 has achieved what so few in the academic world have not: a bridge of continuance and influence between educator and practitioners.

Each month, the AIANY Oculus Committee presents a Book Talk at the Center for Architecture. Oculus Book Talks highlight a recent publication on architecture or design – presented by the author. The Book Talks are a forum for dialogue and discussion, and copies of the publications are available for sale and signing. Kenneth Frampton was the featured writer on April 30. The next talk takes place on 06.11.12 and features Diana Balmori and Joel Sanders’ Groundwork: Between Landscape and Architecture (Monacelli, 2011).

Maxinne Rhea Leighton, Assoc. AIA, is a member of the AIANY Oculus Committee and in charge of NE Region Business Development/Marketing at Parsons Brinckerhoff.