Victor Lundy
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docomo mo US NEW YORK/TRI-STATE WINTER 2002 NEWSLETTER EVENTS VICTOR LUNDY’S BEYOND BOLD CONNECTICUT CHURCHES DETAILS AND MORE EVENTS INSIDE, see The meteoric career of architect Victor Lundy contributed Calendar Insert two 1960s churches in Connecticut to the heritage of Modernism. Born in 1923, educated at Harvard under Gropius, BACK FROM UTOPIA BOOK SIGNING Lundy launched his practice in Sarasota, Florida. In the nur- November 22 turing environment Sarasota then offered, Lundy completed Paul Rudolph Foundation, see page 11 a number of adventurous, though relatively small, buildings while in his 30s. In 1959, the commission for a church in LECTURE: MODERNISM AND ITS RECEPTION: Westport, Connecticut enlarged both the scale and the geo- LE CORBUSIER IN NEW YORK CITY graphical range of his work. There, and in a Manhattan January 23, 2003 church that soon followed, Lundy was able to demonstrate Bard Graduate Center, see page 5 the variety and audacity of his designs. UNITARIAN CHURCH IN WESTPORT (1959–1960/65) LE CORBUSIER BEFORE LE CORBUSIER Lundy recalls that the building was to be sited on a wooded November 22 through February 23 ridge, which suggested aspiration toward truth to both The Bard Graduate Center client and architect. Lundy’s sculptural, expressive solution grows out of the walk toward the crest, starting with low- ROGER FERRI: ARCHITECTURAL VISIONARY roofed wings on either side of an entrance garden. The roofs Through December 21 then swoop up to a peak over the altar. The two halves never Wallach Gallery, Columbia University quite meet (as Unitarians never quite agree on the truth), ABOVE AND BELOW, LUNDY’S UNITARIAN CHURCH IN WESTPORT, CT. and a continuous skylight rides up along the axis. THE TWENTIETH CENTURY BOROUGH: “I revere the structure and I like to reveal it,” says Lundy UNITARIAN MEETINGHOUSE IN ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF MODERN in discussing his churches. Holding up this roof are steel HARTFORD (1962–1964) ARCHITECTURE IN QUEENS columns that merge into the framing of the glazed exterior Lundy’s second Connecticut Through March 2, 2003 walls—hidden, though in plain sight—so that the roof seems church, although also Unitarian, Queens Historical Society, Flushing to hover on air. is very different in concept. Laminated beams 16 feet on center form the armature Where Westport is linear and for the double curves of the roofs, and close-packed 2x4s, open to the landscape, set on edge, have been shaped into warped planes that span Hartford radiates from an between them. Some of the beams, fabricated in Oregon, were inward-looking central sanc- DOCOMOMO US too long for trucking and had to be finger-jointed on site. tuary. Where Westport is an Materials are economical: resilient tile floors and parti- essay in wood construction, WEBSITE LAUNCHED tions faced with Philippine mahogany plywood. Though dar- Hartford has a much more ing in concept and 200 feet long, the church was built for complex system, involving about $300,000—a low cost even for the 1960s, but never- wood decking supported on theless more expensive than any previous Lundy building. steel cables from massive In 1965, the year the church was completed, Lundy was concrete walls. one of five architects who went to Moscow in connection Some of the differences with the federally-sponsored “Architecture U.S.A.” exhibit. are attributable to the (Others were Louis Kahn, Robert Venturi, Paul Rudolph, and Hartford clients, who wanted www.docomomo-us.org LUNDY VICTOR COURTESY PHOTOS: Charles Eames.) He recalls that this church was a favorite of a “closed” sanctuary, and the Russian audience. some to the seven-acre grassy site, on which the building is Among the very few alterations over the years are criss- seen from many angles and from hundreds of feet away— crossing cables with turnbuckles set into the axial skylights truly an “object in the round.” over the sanctuary. Added to stiffen the structure, they fit in The 350-seat sanctuary—conceptually circular, but actu- DOCOMOMO NY/TRI-STATE MONTHLY MEETINGS: so logically that one would assume they are original. A few ally shaped like an irregular polygon—is surrounded by an First Tuesday of every month, years ago, the congregation considered expanding the ambulatory, off of which open various auxiliary spaces. 6:30 pm at Polshek Partnership church by filling in the entry court between the two front Roofs over these spaces rise toward the center, but stop at E-mail [email protected] to wings. But members of the church consulted with Lundy and the edge of the sanctuary, which has a lower roof. The verti- confirm date and location. managed to fend off the proposal. continued page 7 MORE GOOD NEWS ON THE ADVOCACY FRONT/NY WELCOME The current Landmarks Commission work of Le Corbusier and his concept fits of having their building join New under the directorship of Sherida of the city, aptly described by Rem York’s pantheon of well maintained, Paulsen has actively sought testimony Koolhaas in Delirious New York. landmarked Modern buildings. from DOCOMOMO and the Modern Unfortunately, the Commission was KAUFMANN CONFERENCE ROOMS AT IIE Architecture Working Group in support only able to achieve an interior desig- This fall the Commission held yet a 2002 has been an important year for of landmark protection for a number of nation. The Copacabana-inspired ter- third hearing regarding the designa- DOCOMOMO/US, a year full of change the city’s important Modern buildings. razzo flooring that undulates from tion of the Alvar Aalto designed and new initiatives. We have grown in Equally positive, some local preserva- lobby to plaza to sidewalk is a constant Kaufmann Conference Rooms at 809 number and scope and this has tion groups that have historically reminder of how the outside and inside United Nations Plaza. The Institute of prompted the Board of Directors to taken little interest in Modern of the building are really one brilliant- International Education (IIE), which begin a strategic planning process for Movement buildings have come on ly conceived entity in need of exterior administers Fullbright Fellowships, is the organization’s future. More struc- board with their support. The refrain as well as interior protection. bucking the designation. The IIE shows ture is necessary, but not at the “Modern buildings are a hard sell” is SOCONY MOBIL BUILDING neither a genuine interest in steward- expense of the flexibility and sheer heard far less frequently. I am pleased Socony Mobil Building (1956) at 150 ship of the Aalto monument, nor due enthusiasm that has taken us this far. to report the following developments: East 42nd Street, designed by Harrison respect to Edgar Kaufmann, who fund- We have embarked on three 240 CENTRAL PARK SOUTH and Abramowitz with John Perkin, is ed the rooms and with IIE, adminis- ambitious projects: to organize and The apartment building at 240 Central one of the city’s most exuberant build- tered architecture and design awards expand membership nationwide both Park South by Mayer and Whittlesey ings. Hopefully, the Landmarks over the years. The IIE web site does in DOCOMOMO/US and DOCOMOMO (1941) was designated a NYC landmark Commission will go forward with land- not even mention the conference International; to publish a national last June at a packed-house hearing. mark designation following the hear- rooms, which are clearly an opportuni- newsletter communicating the This elegantly setback building just off ing held October 1. The building’s ty for the institution to bolster its breadth and expertise of the organi- of Columbus Circle is based on butte-like tower is faced with 7,000 worldwide prestige. The Commission zation and finally, DOCOMOMO/US is Bauhaus precedents and features a stainless steel panels embossed in has received many letters document- to host the VIIIth International DOCO- mural by Amédée Ozenfant on its entry high-relief with a diamond pattern. The ing a pattern of public access to the MOMO Conference in 2004. This will façade. The building has suffered tower rests on an opaque, blue glass- rooms since their opening in 1964. take place in New York City in cooper- insensitive alterations and is in need of clad base entered off of 42nd Street (More are needed. If you have visited ation with the Columbia University a master plan for window replacement. the rooms please write the commis- Graduate School of Architecture, Now that 240 CPS has been officially sion giving the circumstances.) The Planning and Preservation. recognized, we can only hope that the rooms will never be safe until they are The conference theme, Commission will continue to work with landmarked, particulary given the fact “International Postwar Modernism the owners as they renovate. that IIE, which now again owns the and the Conjunction of Preservation building, sold it a few years ago without and Design,” will look at the Modern TIME & LIFE BUILDING LOBBY Movement as it evolved after World The lobby of the Time & Life Building War II not just in the US but around on Avenue of the Americas between the world. Through this discussion we 50th and 51st Street, was designated a hope to re-establish a much needed NYC interior landmark this summer. dialogue with the contemporary The building was designed by Michael architectural community—a dialogue Harris of Harrison and Abramovitz and that was lost when the preservation opened 1959. Its stunning lobby cre- community began its battle with ates a sense of floating through a postwar modernism. three dimensional abstract space until These are ambitious goals that we you take a moment to absorb its deco- believe we can accomplish. Our rative layers and decipher its pinwheel VERY ARCHITECURE AND FINE ARTS LIBRARY AND FINE ARTS ARCHITECURE VERY efforts will help us all be more effec- plan.