Benjamin C. Thompson
Encyclopedia
Benjamin C. Thompson was an American
architect
.
Thompson was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota
, graduated from Yale University
in 1941, then spent four years in the United States Navy
fighting in World War II
. After the war he moved to Lexington, Massachusetts
, where he participated in the design and creation of Six Moon Hill
, a ground-breaking neighborhood of modern houses. Later, he moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts
, where he spent the rest of his life.
Thompson was married to Mary Alice Okes, with whom he had 5 children: Deborah, Anthony, Marina, Nicholas, and Benjamin. His second marriage was to Jane Fiske McCullough
, a writer and design critic, who handled his public relations and later became a collaborator on certain of his planning projects.
to form The Architects' Collaborative
with himself and six Yale classmates.
, a company that provided interior furnishings and accessories. Design Research is often noted today for being the first U.S. proprietor of the Finnish clothing and textiles of Marimekko
. The firm eventually added stores in New York (1964) and San Francisco (1965). In 1969, he designed the company's revolutionary second Cambridge store, notable for its extreme openness and use of glass.
's historic dormitories by updating their interior arrangements without visible exterior effect. Shortly thereafter he persuaded Harvard to remodel Boylston Hall (built 1857) rather than demolish it.
During those years, Thompson taught architecture at Harvard University
, and served as Department Chairman 1964-1968. His 1966 essay, “Visual Squalor and Social Disorder,” argued for an urban architecture that would encourage, rather than discourage, joy and social life. To this end, in 1967 he proposed reviving Boston's historic markets with food stalls, cafes, restaurants, and pushcarts.
Thompson separated from the Collaborative in late 1966, and started his own firm, Benjamin Thompson and Associates (BTA) in 1967. His five-story, all-glass showcase for Design Research opened in Cambridge, Massachusetts
in 1968.
He is probably best known for a series of collaborations with the developer James W. Rouse
, including the Faneuil Hall Marketplace (1976), Harborplace
(1980), South Street Seaport
(1985), Bayside Marketplace
in Miami (1987), and Jacksonville Landing
in Jacksonville, Florida
(1987).
, the University of Massachusetts
, and Minneapolis College of Art and Design
. In 1987 BTA received the AIA Firm Award and in 1992 Thompson received the highest honor in American architecture, the Gold Medal of the American Institute of Architects
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
.
Thompson was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
, graduated from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in 1941, then spent four years in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
fighting in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. After the war he moved to Lexington, Massachusetts
Lexington, Massachusetts
Lexington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 31,399 at the 2010 census. This town is famous for being the site of the first shot of the American Revolution, in the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775.- History :...
, where he participated in the design and creation of Six Moon Hill
Six Moon Hill
Six Moon Hill is a residential community dwelling that was designed by The Architects' Collaborative and is located in Lexington, Massachusetts....
, a ground-breaking neighborhood of modern houses. Later, he moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, where he spent the rest of his life.
Thompson was married to Mary Alice Okes, with whom he had 5 children: Deborah, Anthony, Marina, Nicholas, and Benjamin. His second marriage was to Jane Fiske McCullough
Jane Thompson
Jane Thompson, AICP, Hon. AIA, principal of Thompson Design Group, is an urbanist, designer and planner, whose work over forty years has touched cities in North America and around the world.Ms...
, a writer and design critic, who handled his public relations and later became a collaborator on certain of his planning projects.
Career
Thompson began his career as an architect in 1946 when he helped persuade Walter GropiusWalter Gropius
Walter Adolph Georg Gropius was a German architect and founder of the Bauhaus School who, along with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier, is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modern architecture....
to form The Architects' Collaborative
The Architects' Collaborative
The Architects' Collaborative was an American architectural firm formed by Walter Gropius and seven younger architects in 1945 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The other partners were Norman C. Fletcher , Jean B. Fletcher , John C. Harkness , Sarah P. Harkness , Robert S...
with himself and six Yale classmates.
Design Research
In 1953 he founded Design ResearchDesign Research (store)
Design Research or D/R was an innovative retail store founded in 1953 by Ben Thompson in Cambridge, Massachusetts; later it became a chain of a dozen stores across the United States; it went bankrupt in 1978...
, a company that provided interior furnishings and accessories. Design Research is often noted today for being the first U.S. proprietor of the Finnish clothing and textiles of Marimekko
Marimekko
Marimekko is a Finnish company based in Helsinki that has made important contributions to fashion, especially in the 1960s and 1970s. They are particularly noted for brightly-colored printed fabrics and simple styles, used both in women's garments and in home furnishings.- Foundation :Marimekko was...
. The firm eventually added stores in New York (1964) and San Francisco (1965). In 1969, he designed the company's revolutionary second Cambridge store, notable for its extreme openness and use of glass.
Practice and teaching
Thompson's interest in modernism was balanced by appreciation of older architecture. In the late 1950s, he renovated Harvard YardHarvard Yard
Harvard Yard is a grassy area of about , adjacent to Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that constitutes the oldest part and the center of the campus of Harvard University...
's historic dormitories by updating their interior arrangements without visible exterior effect. Shortly thereafter he persuaded Harvard to remodel Boylston Hall (built 1857) rather than demolish it.
During those years, Thompson taught architecture at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, and served as Department Chairman 1964-1968. His 1966 essay, “Visual Squalor and Social Disorder,” argued for an urban architecture that would encourage, rather than discourage, joy and social life. To this end, in 1967 he proposed reviving Boston's historic markets with food stalls, cafes, restaurants, and pushcarts.
Thompson separated from the Collaborative in late 1966, and started his own firm, Benjamin Thompson and Associates (BTA) in 1967. His five-story, all-glass showcase for Design Research opened in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
in 1968.
He is probably best known for a series of collaborations with the developer James W. Rouse
James W. Rouse
James Wilson Rouse , founder of The Rouse Company, was a pioneering American real estate developer, urban planner, civic activist, and later, free enterprise-based philanthropist...
, including the Faneuil Hall Marketplace (1976), Harborplace
Harborplace
Harborplace is a festival marketplace in Baltimore, Maryland, that opened in 1980 as a centerpiece of the revival of downtown Baltimore. As its name suggests, it is located on the Inner Harbor....
(1980), South Street Seaport
South Street Seaport
The South Street Seaport is a historic area in the New York City borough of Manhattan, located where Fulton Street meets the East River, and adjacent to the Financial District. The Seaport is a designated historic district, distinct from the neighboring Financial District...
(1985), Bayside Marketplace
Bayside Marketplace
Bayside Marketplace is a festival marketplace in Downtown Miami, Florida. It's in between Bayfront Park to the south end, and the American Airlines Arena to the north. As Bayside's name suggests, it wraps along the banks of the Biscayne Bay....
in Miami (1987), and Jacksonville Landing
Jacksonville Landing
The Jacksonville Landing is a shopping and dining complex in Jacksonville, Florida. It was built by the Rouse Company and opened in 1987. It has been compared to New York City's South Street Seaport, Boston's Faneuil Hall or Miami's Bayside, all developed by Rouse.-History:The Jacksonville Landing...
in Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
(1987).
Honors
Thompson received honorary doctorates from Colby CollegeColby College
Colby College is a private liberal arts college located on Mayflower Hill in Waterville, Maine. Founded in 1813, it is the 12th-oldest independent liberal arts college in the United States...
, the University of Massachusetts
University of Massachusetts
This article relates to the statewide university system. For the flagship campus often referred to as "UMass", see University of Massachusetts Amherst...
, and Minneapolis College of Art and Design
Minneapolis College of Art and Design
Minneapolis College of Art and Design is a private, nonprofit four-year and postgraduate college specializing in the visual arts. Located in the Whittier neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, MCAD currently enrolls approximately 1,000 students offering curriculum that includes...
. In 1987 BTA received the AIA Firm Award and in 1992 Thompson received the highest honor in American architecture, the Gold Medal of the American Institute of Architects
American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to support the architecture profession and improve its public image...
.
Designs
- Google images
- Design Research Headquarters in Cambridge, MassachusettsCambridge, MassachusettsCambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
- HarborplaceHarborplaceHarborplace is a festival marketplace in Baltimore, Maryland, that opened in 1980 as a centerpiece of the revival of downtown Baltimore. As its name suggests, it is located on the Inner Harbor....
in Baltimore, Maryland - South Street SeaportSouth Street SeaportThe South Street Seaport is a historic area in the New York City borough of Manhattan, located where Fulton Street meets the East River, and adjacent to the Financial District. The Seaport is a designated historic district, distinct from the neighboring Financial District...
in New York, New York - Bayside MarketplaceBayside MarketplaceBayside Marketplace is a festival marketplace in Downtown Miami, Florida. It's in between Bayfront Park to the south end, and the American Airlines Arena to the north. As Bayside's name suggests, it wraps along the banks of the Biscayne Bay....
in Miami, FloridaMiami, FloridaMiami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625... - Jacksonville LandingJacksonville LandingThe Jacksonville Landing is a shopping and dining complex in Jacksonville, Florida. It was built by the Rouse Company and opened in 1987. It has been compared to New York City's South Street Seaport, Boston's Faneuil Hall or Miami's Bayside, all developed by Rouse.-History:The Jacksonville Landing...
in Jacksonville, FloridaJacksonville, FloridaJacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968... - Faneuil Hall MarketplaceFaneuil HallFaneuil Hall , located near the waterfront and today's Government Center, in Boston, Massachusetts, has been a marketplace and a meeting hall since 1742. It was the site of several speeches by Samuel Adams, James Otis, and others encouraging independence from Great Britain, and is now part of...
, Boston, MassachusettsBostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
Further reading
- "Ben Thompson", Architecture Boston, Spring 2011 issue, Boston Society of ArchitectsBoston Society of ArchitectsOne of the oldest and largest chapters of the AIA, the Boston Society of Architects is a nonprofit membership organization committed to architecture, design and the built environment .-History:...
. Issue is dedicated entirely to Ben Thompson with articles by various authors. - Dunlap, David W., "Benjamin C. Thompson, 84, Architect Of Festive Urban Marketplaces, Is Dead", The New York Times, August 20, 2002