1963 in architecture
Encyclopedia
The year 1963 in architecture involved some significant events.
Buildings
- March 7 - MetLife BuildingMetLife BuildingThe MetLife Building, originally called the Pan Am Building, is a skyscraper located at 200 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.-History:...
in ManhattanManhattanManhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
is opened. - Bankside Power StationBankside Power StationBankside Power Station is a former oil-fired power station, located on the south bank of the River Thames, in the Bankside district of London. It generated electricity from 1952 to 1981. Since 2000 the station's building has been used to house the Tate Modern art museum.-History:The station was...
in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, designed by Giles Gilbert ScottGiles Gilbert ScottSir Giles Gilbert Scott, OM, FRIBA was an English architect known for his work on such buildings as Liverpool Cathedral and Battersea Power Station and designing the iconic red telephone box....
is completed. (Adaptive reuseAdaptive reuseAdaptive reuse refers to the process of reusing an old site or building for a purpose other than which it was built or designed for. Along with brownfield reclamation, adaptive reuse is seen by many as a key factor in land conservation and the reduction of urban sprawl...
as the Tate ModernTate ModernTate Modern is a modern art gallery located in London, England. It is Britain's national gallery of international modern art and forms part of the Tate group . It is the most-visited modern art gallery in the world, with around 4.7 million visitors per year...
art museum in 2000.) - Millbank TowerMillbank TowerMillbank Tower is a high skyscraper in the City of Westminster at Millbank, on the banks of the River Thames in London, in the United Kingdom. The Tower was constructed in 1963 for Vickers and was originally known as Vickers Tower. It was designed by Ronald Ward and Partners and built by John...
in London is completed. - Engineering Building at the University of LeicesterUniversity of LeicesterThe University of Leicester is a research-led university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is a mile south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park and Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College....
, EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, designed by James StirlingJames Stirling (architect)Sir James Frazer Stirling FRIBA was a British architect. He is considered to be among the most important and influential British architects of the second half of the 20th century...
and James Gowan, is completed. - Alpha House, CoventryCoventryCoventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
, EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, built, a 17-storey residential tower block, the world's first multi-storey building erected by the "jack block" system devised by Felix Adler of Richard Costain (Construction) LtdCostain GroupCostain Group plc is a British construction and civil engineering company headquartered in Maidenhead. It was part of the original Channel Tunnel consortium and is involved in Private Finance Initiative projects.-History:...
.
- Salk Institute, by Louis I. Kahn, at La Jolla, California.
- Exxon BuildingExxon Building (Houston)The ExxonMobil Building was built in 1963 in Houston, Texas. At that time it was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River at , surpassing the Southland Center in Dallas...
in Houston, TexasHouston, TexasHouston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
is completed. - Kobe Port TowerKobe Port Tower, a hyperboloid structure, is a 108 metre high lattice tower in the port city of Kobe, Japan. Kobe Port Tower has an observation deck at a height of 90.28 metres. The red steel Port Tower offers a spectacular sight of the bay area and the surrounding area....
in KobeKobe, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...
, JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
is completed. - Bunshaft ResidenceBunshaft ResidenceThe Bunshaft Residence, sometimes called the Travertine House was an iconic modernist home designed by architect Gordon Bunshaft for himself and his wife on a 2.4-acre lot on the shore of Georgica Pond in East Hampton, New York. It was designed in 1962 and completed in 1963...
(sometimes called the Travertine House) in East Hampton, New YorkEast Hampton (town), New YorkThe Town of East Hampton is located in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, at the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island. It is the easternmost town in the state of New York...
is completed: designed by architect Gordon BunshaftGordon BunshaftGordon Bunshaft was an architect educated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1988, Gordon Bunshaft nominated himself for the Pritzker Prize and eventually won it.-Career:...
for himself and his wife, and his only residential project.
Events
- Work begins on the Ostankino TowerOstankino TowerOstankino Tower is a free-standing television and radio tower in Moscow, Russia. Standing tall, Ostankino was designed by Nikolai Nikitin. It is a member of the World Federation of Great Towers, currently the tallest in Europe and 4th tallest in the world. The tower was the first free-standing...
, designed by Nikolai NikitinNikolai NikitinNikolay Nikitkin was a structural designer and construction engineer of the Soviet Union, best known for his monumental structures.-Biography:...
. - Pennsylvania Station (New York City)Pennsylvania Station (New York City)Pennsylvania Station—commonly known as Penn Station—is the major intercity train station and a major commuter rail hub in New York City. It is one of the busiest rail stations in the world, and a hub for inbound and outbound railroad traffic in New York City. The New York City Subway system also...
by McKim, Mead and White is demolished. - Work begins on the University of East AngliaUniversity of East AngliaThe University of East Anglia is a public research university based in Norwich, United Kingdom. It was established in 1963, and is a founder-member of the 1994 Group of research-intensive universities.-History:...
in NorwichNorwichNorwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
, EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, designed by Denys LasdunDenys LasdunSir Denys Lasdun CH was an eminent English architect. Probably his best known work is the Royal National Theatre, on London's South Bank of the Thames, which is a Grade II* listed building and one of the most notable examples of Brutalist design in the United Kingdom.Lasdun studied at the...
. - Team 4Team 4Team 4 was a British architectural firm, established in 1963 by architects Su Brumwell, Wendy Cheeseman, Norman Foster and Richard Rogers. At the time Rogers and Brumwell were both married, as were Foster and Cheeseman...
architectural practice established by Richard RogersRichard RogersRichard George Rogers, Baron Rogers of Riverside CH Kt FRIBA FCSD is a British architect noted for his modernist and functionalist designs....
, Norman FosterNorman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames BankNorman Robert Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank, OM is a British architect whose company maintains an international design practice, Foster + Partners....
and their respective wives.
Awards
- American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal – Ludwig Mies van der RoheLudwig Mies van der RoheLudwig Mies van der Rohe was a German architect. He is commonly referred to and addressed as Mies, his surname....
- AIA Gold MedalAIA Gold MedalThe AIA Gold Medal is awarded by the American Institute of Architects conferred "by the national AIA Board of Directors in recognition of a significant body of work of lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture."...
- Alvar AaltoAlvar AaltoHugo Alvar Henrik Aalto was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware...
. - RAIA Gold MedalRoyal Australian Institute of ArchitectsThe Australian Institute of Architects is a professional body for architects in Australia. Until August 2008, the Institute traded as the "Royal Australian Institute of Architects", which remains its official name....
- Arthur Stephenson. - Royal Gold MedalRoyal Gold MedalThe Royal Gold Medal for architecture is awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects on behalf of the British monarch, in recognition of an individual's or group's substantial contribution to international architecture....
- William Holford. - Grand Prix de Rome, architecture: (unknown).
Births
- October 16 Filipe Oliveira DiasFilipe Oliveira DiasFilipe Oliveira Dias is a Portuguese architect. He owns a post-graduation from IUCC , and is a Professor at the Escola Superior de Artes Aplicadas , a school of the Polytechnical Institute of Castelo Branco, since 2006. He is among Portugal's regularly published architects born in the 20th century...
- Benedetta TagliabueBenedetta TagliabueBenedetta Tagliabue is an Italian architect. She lives and works in Barcelona.-Education:In 1989 she graduated in Venice from the "Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia" in Italy....
in MilanMilanMilan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,... - Alejandro Zaera PoloAlejandro ZaeraAlejandro Zaera Polo is a contemporary architect and founder of London and Barcelona-based Alejandro Zaera-Polo Architecture. He is also a Visiting Professor in Princeton and Yale Schools of Architecture, and is a prolific theorist, widely published in different professional media.-Career:Alejandro...
in MadridMadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
Deaths
- 11 February Elmar LohkElmar LohkElmar Lohk was an Estonian architect. After spending his childhood in his birthplace and in Shanghai, he moved to Darmstadt in 1921, where he graduated from the Darmstadt University of Technology in 1925. After graduation he worked in Tallinn until 1943...
(born 1901) - 23 April Adrian Gilbert ScottAdrian Gilbert ScottAdrian Gilbert Scott was an English architect. He was the grandson of Sir George Gilbert Scott, son of George Gilbert Scott, Jr., nephew of John Oldrid Scott, and brother to Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, all architects....
- Herbert James RowseHerbert James RowseHerbert James Rowse was a British architect, born in Crosby, Merseyside on the northern outskirts of Liverpool. He graduated from the Liverpool University School of Architecture in 1907 three years after the influential Professor Charles Reilly became Head of the School.Rowse was one of the ...