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Oscar Stonorov
 
 
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Oscar Gregory Stonorov (December 2, 1905 - May 9, 1970), was a modernist architect
Architect

An architect is trained and licenced in planning and designing buildings, and participates in supervising the construction of a building. Etymologically, architect derives from the Latin architectus, itself derived from the Greek arkhitekton , i.e....
 and architectural writer
Writer

A writer is anyone who creates a written work, although the word usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, as well as those who have written in many different forms....
, historian
Historian

A historian is an individual who studies and writes about history, and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, systematic narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all events in time....
 and archivist
Archivist

An archivist is a professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to information determined to have long-term value....
 who emigrated to the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 from Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 in 1929. Stonorov lived and worked in the Philadelphia area, where he designed modernist public housing
Public housing

Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by not-for-profit organizations, or by a combination of the two, usually with the aim of providi...
 such as Carl Mackley Homes, which was added to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places in 1982 and the National Park Service's
National Park Service

The National Park Service is the List of United States federal agencies that manages all List of areas in the United States National Park System, many U.S....
 National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation....
 in 1998. Because Stonorov was not registered as an architect in the United States at the time William Pope Barney's name was used as chief architect for the purposes of obtaining permits from the city.

Stonorov was born in Frankfurt
Frankfurt

is the largest city in the German States of Germany of Hesse and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants in Germany, with a 2008 population of 670,000....
, Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 and studied at the University of Florence
University of Florence

The University of Florence is one of the largest and oldest university in Italy. It consists of 12 facultiesand has currently about 60,000 students enrolled....
, Italy
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
 and at the University of Zurich
University of Zurich

The University of Zurich , located in the city of Zurich, is the largest university in Switzerland, with over 24,000 students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of theology, law, medicine and a new Faculty of philosophy....
, Switzerland
Switzerland

Switzerland is a landlocked Swiss Alps country of roughly 7.7 million people in Western Europe with an area of 41,285 km?. Switzerland is a federal republic consisting of 26 states called Cantons of Switzerland....
, and apprenticed with French
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 sculptor Aristide Maillol
Aristide Maillol

Aristide Maillol or Aristides Maillol was a France Catalans Sculpture and Painting....
.






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Oscar Gregory Stonorov (December 2, 1905 - May 9, 1970), was a modernist architect
Architect

An architect is trained and licenced in planning and designing buildings, and participates in supervising the construction of a building. Etymologically, architect derives from the Latin architectus, itself derived from the Greek arkhitekton , i.e....
 and architectural writer
Writer

A writer is anyone who creates a written work, although the word usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, as well as those who have written in many different forms....
, historian
Historian

A historian is an individual who studies and writes about history, and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, systematic narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all events in time....
 and archivist
Archivist

An archivist is a professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to information determined to have long-term value....
 who emigrated to the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 from Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 in 1929. Stonorov lived and worked in the Philadelphia area, where he designed modernist public housing
Public housing

Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by not-for-profit organizations, or by a combination of the two, usually with the aim of providi...
 such as Carl Mackley Homes, which was added to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places in 1982 and the National Park Service's
National Park Service

The National Park Service is the List of United States federal agencies that manages all List of areas in the United States National Park System, many U.S....
 National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation....
 in 1998. Because Stonorov was not registered as an architect in the United States at the time William Pope Barney's name was used as chief architect for the purposes of obtaining permits from the city.

Stonorov was born in Frankfurt
Frankfurt

is the largest city in the German States of Germany of Hesse and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants in Germany, with a 2008 population of 670,000....
, Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 and studied at the University of Florence
University of Florence

The University of Florence is one of the largest and oldest university in Italy. It consists of 12 facultiesand has currently about 60,000 students enrolled....
, Italy
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
 and at the University of Zurich
University of Zurich

The University of Zurich , located in the city of Zurich, is the largest university in Switzerland, with over 24,000 students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of theology, law, medicine and a new Faculty of philosophy....
, Switzerland
Switzerland

Switzerland is a landlocked Swiss Alps country of roughly 7.7 million people in Western Europe with an area of 41,285 km?. Switzerland is a federal republic consisting of 26 states called Cantons of Switzerland....
, and apprenticed with French
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 sculptor Aristide Maillol
Aristide Maillol

Aristide Maillol or Aristides Maillol was a France Catalans Sculpture and Painting....
. In 1928, he worked in the offices of André Lurçat
André Lurçat

Andr? Lur?at was a French modernist architect, landscape architect, furniture designer and city planner, a founding member of CIAM, and active in the rebuilding in French cities after World War II....
 in Paris
Paris

Paris is the Capital of France and the country's largest city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the ?le-de-France Regions of France ....
, France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
. In 1940 Stonorov, along with George Howe
George Howe

George Howe was the first Australian editor, poet and early printer.Howe was the son of Thomas Howe, a government printer on Basseterre, Saint Christopher Island in the West Indies....
, worked on the design of housing developments
Housing developments

Housing developments are structured building development of residential properties. Popular throughout the US and UK, these are often faceless, characterless areas of high density, low impact residences of single family homes....
 in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , often colloquially referred to as PA by natives and Northeasterners, is a U.S. state located in the Northeastern United States and Mid-Atlantic States regions of the United States....
 with Louis Kahn
Louis Kahn

Louis Isadore Kahn was a world-renowned architect of Estonian origin based in Philadelphia, United States. After working in various capacities for several companies in Philadelphia, he founded his own atelier in 1935....
. In 1943, Stonorov co-wrote with Louis Kahn
Louis Kahn

Louis Isadore Kahn was a world-renowned architect of Estonian origin based in Philadelphia, United States. After working in various capacities for several companies in Philadelphia, he founded his own atelier in 1935....
 Why City Planning Is Your Responsibility and in 1944 again collaborated with Louis Kahn
Louis Kahn

Louis Isadore Kahn was a world-renowned architect of Estonian origin based in Philadelphia, United States. After working in various capacities for several companies in Philadelphia, he founded his own atelier in 1935....
 co-writing You and Your Neighborhood... A Primer for Neighbohood Planning. Between 1950 and 1954 Philadelphia architect and future Pritzker Prize
Pritzker Prize

The Pritzker Architecture Prize is awarded annually by the Hyatt Foundation to honor "a living architect whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture."...
 winner Robert Venturi
Robert Venturi

Robert Charles Venturi, Jr. is an award-winning American architect and founding principal of the firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates. Robert Venturi and his wife and partner, Denise Scott Brown, are regarded among the most influential architects of the twentieth century, both through their architecture and planning, and theoretical w...
 (who later worked directly for Louis Kahn
Louis Kahn

Louis Isadore Kahn was a world-renowned architect of Estonian origin based in Philadelphia, United States. After working in various capacities for several companies in Philadelphia, he founded his own atelier in 1935....
) worked in the offices of Oscar Stonorov. In 1957 he established the partnership of Stonorov & Haws.

Stonorov dedicated a significant amount of his life to researching and compiling the archives of Swiss architect Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier

Charles-?douard Jeanneret-Gris, who chose to be known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and also Painting, who is famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called Modern architecture or the International Style....
 and co-edited, with Willy Boesiger and Max Bill
Max Bill

Max Bill was a Switzerland architect, artist, Painting, typeface designer, and graphic designer.Bill was born in Winterthur. After an apprenticeship as a silversmith during 1924-1927, Bill took up studies at the Bauhaus in Dessau under many teachers including Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee and Oskar Schlemmer from 1927 to 1929, after which...
, the Œuvre complète: Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier

Charles-?douard Jeanneret-Gris, who chose to be known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and also Painting, who is famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called Modern architecture or the International Style....
 et Pierre Jeanneret
Pierre Jeanneret

Pierre Jeanneret was a Swiss architect who collaborated with his more famous cousin Charles Edouard Jeanneret for about twenty years. Their working relationship ended when he joined the French Resistance and Le Corbusier did not....
, the definitive 8 volume set of the complete work of Swiss architect Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier

Charles-?douard Jeanneret-Gris, who chose to be known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and also Painting, who is famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called Modern architecture or the International Style....
 initially released between 1929 ands 1969 as a result of Stonorov and Boesiger working directly with Le Corbusier.

Timeline of works

  • 1930 - second prize entry in design competition for the Palace of Soviets
    Palace of Soviets

    The Palace of Soviet was a project to construct an administrative center and a congress hall in Moscow, Russia, near the Moscow Kremlin, on the site of the demolished Cathedral of Christ the Saviour ....
    , Moscow
    Moscow

    Moscow is the capital and the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia of the Russian Federation. It is also the largest European cities and metropolitan areas, with the Moscow metropolitan area ranking among the largest urban areas in the world....
     (with Alfred Kastner
  • 1933 - Juniata Park Housing, AKA Carl Mackley Houses
    Carl Mackley Houses

    The Carl Mackley Houses is a public housing project in Juniata, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Built in 1933-1934 as single-family apartments, it opened in 1935....
    , Philadelphia (with Alfred Kastner and W. Pope Barney)
  • 1939 - Children's World, 1939 New York World's Fair
  • 1940 - Carver Court, Coatesville, Pennsylvania
    Coatesville, Pennsylvania

    Coatesville is a city in Chester County, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 10,838 at the 2000 census.The town is home to the former Lukens Steel Company, which was bought by the former Bethlehem Steel Corporation which was bought by the former Ohio-based International Steel Group in 2002 which was bought by Mitt...
     (with Louis I. Kahn and George Howe
    George Howe

    George Howe was the first Australian editor, poet and early printer.Howe was the son of Thomas Howe, a government printer on Basseterre, Saint Christopher Island in the West Indies....
    )
  • 1942 - Pennypack Woods, Philadelphia (with Louis I. Kahn and George Howe
    George Howe

    George Howe was the first Australian editor, poet and early printer.Howe was the son of Thomas Howe, a government printer on Basseterre, Saint Christopher Island in the West Indies....
    )
  • 1943 - Model Neighborhood Rehabilitation Project, Philadelphia (with Louis I. Kahn)
  • 1945 - Prefabricated Houses, Chester County, Pennsylvania
    Chester County, Pennsylvania

    Chester County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2000, the population was 433,501. The county seat is West Chester, Pennsylvania....
     (with Louis I. Kahn)
  • 1950 - Cherokee Village Apartments, Philadelphia (Robert Venturi
    Robert Venturi

    Robert Charles Venturi, Jr. is an award-winning American architect and founding principal of the firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates. Robert Venturi and his wife and partner, Denise Scott Brown, are regarded among the most influential architects of the twentieth century, both through their architecture and planning, and theoretical w...
     was the draftsman for this project
  • 1948 - Penn Towne Apartment Complex, Philadelphia
  • 1953 - Schuylkill Falls Housing Project, Philadelphia
  • 1964 - India Pavilion at 1964 World's Fair (with Stonorov & Haws and Mansinh Rana)
  • 1969 - Casa-studio di Jorio Vivarelli, Pistoia
    Pistoia

    Pistoia is a city in the Tuscany region of Italy, the capital of a province of Pistoia, located about 30 km west and north of Florence....
    , Italy
    Italy

    Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....


Further reading

  • Sandeen, Eric J. "The Design of Public Housing in the New Deal: Oskar Stonorov and Carl Mackley Houses." American Quarterly 37 (Winter 1985): 645-67.*"Juniata Park Housing Corporation project in Philadelphia", in Architectural Record, 1958 Apr., v. 77, p. 328-329
  • "Preview: New York World's Fair 1964-1965", in Architectural Record, 1964 Feb., v. 135, p. 137-144.


External links