1957 in architecture

Zeilenbau housing at Interbau, by Walter Gropius

The year 1957 in architecture involved some significant architectural events and new buildings.

Events

• July 20 – Civic Trust (England), founded by Duncan Sandys to promote improvement of the built environment, holds its inaugural conference.
• Byrd Station commissioned in West Antarctica.

Buildings opened

• July 22 – Fazle Omar Mosque, Hamburg, Germany.
• October 15
  • Torre de Madrid, one of the tallest buildings in Spain, designed by Julián and José María Otamendi Machimbarrena.
  • Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge in China, with Wang Juqian as chief engineer.
• Otaniemi Chapel, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland, designed by Heikki and Kaija Siren.

Buildings completed

• Friedrich-Engelhorn-Hochhaus in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, at this time the tallest building in Germany.
• The Interbau project in Hansaviertel, West Berlin, with buildings designed by forty-eight architects.
• Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts in Yerevan, Armenia.
• Munkegaard School near Copenhagen, Denmark, designed by Arne Jacobsen.
• Spaarbank, Rotterdam, designed by J. J. P. Oud in 1942.
• Richards Medical Research Laboratories by architect Louis Kahn, on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania, USA.
• Unité d'Habitation at Marseille, by Le Corbusier.
• Josep Lluís Sert's house for himself at 64 Francis Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
• Dr. Robert Hohf House near Kenilworth, Illinois, USA by Keck & Keck.
• The Pediment, Aynho, Northamptonshire, England, designed by Raymond Erith.^[1]
• Norms Restaurant, La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles, USA by Armét & Davis.

Awards

• AIA Gold Medal – Ralph Walker, Louis Skidmore
• RIBA Royal Gold Medal – Alvar Aalto

Births

• May 18 – Ai Weiwei, Chinese contemporary artist, active in sculpture, installation, architecture, curating, photography, film, and social, political and cultural criticism^[2][3]
• August 5 – Shigeru Ban, Japanese architect known for use of paper and cardboard

Deaths

• January 7 – Joze Plecnik, Slovene architect (born 1872)
• February 2 – Julia Morgan, first woman to be admitted to the architecture program at l'École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, and the first woman architect licensed in California (born 1872)
• August 22 – Beverly Loraine Greene, first African American woman architect to be licensed (born 1915)
• October 3 – Bernard Maybeck, American architect of the Arts and Crafts Movement (born 1862)
• October 15 – Henry Van de Velde, Belgian Flemish painter, architect and interior designer (born 1863)

References