Peter Eisenman is an American architect. Eisenman's professional work is often referred to as formalist, deconstructive, late avant-garde, late or high modernist, etc. A certain fragmenting of forms visible in some of Eisenman's projects has been identified as characteristic of an eclectic group of architects that were (self-)labeled as
deconstructivistsDeconstructivism is a development of postmodern architecture that began in the late 1980s. It is characterized by ideas of fragmentation, an interest in manipulating ideas of a structure's surface or skin, non-rectilinear shapes which serve to distort and dislocate some of the elements of...
, and who were featured in an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art by the same name. The heading also refers to the storied relationship and collaborations between Peter Eisenman and post-structuralist thinker
Jacques DerridaJacques Derrida was a French philosopher, born in French Algeria. He developed the critical theory known as deconstruction and his work has been labeled as post-structuralism and associated with postmodern philosophy...
.
Eisenman's writings have pursued topics including emancipation and autonomy of the discipline, histories of Architects including,Giuseppe Terragni, Andrea Palladio, Le Corbusier and James Sterling. While Eisenman's work and discourse are considered polarizing (due to a supposed pursuit to liberate form from external references), such antagonistic associations are equally prompted by Colin Rowe's 1972 criticism that the work pursues physique form of European modernism rather than the utopian social agendas (See "Five Architects," (New York: Wittenborn, 1972)) or more recent accusations that Eisenman's work is "post-humanist" (Perhaps because his references to the Renaissance are 'merely' formal?). Despite the claims of "autonomization," Eisenman has famously pursued dialogues with important cultural figures internationally, including his English mentor
Colin RoweColin Rowe , was a British-born, American-naturalised architectural historian, critic, theoretician, and teacher; acknowledged as a major intellectual influence on world architecture and urbanism in the second half of the twentieth century and beyond, particularly in the fields of city planning,...
, the Italian historian
Manfredo TafuriManfredo Tafuri , an Italian architect, historian, theoretician, critic and academic, was arguably the world's most important architectural historian of the past fifty years...
, George Baird,
Fredric JamesonFredric Jameson is an American literary critic and Marxist political theorist. He is best known for his analysis of contemporary cultural trends—he once described postmodernism as the spatialization of culture under the pressure of organized capitalism...
, and
Jacques DerridaJacques Derrida was a French philosopher, born in French Algeria. He developed the critical theory known as deconstruction and his work has been labeled as post-structuralism and associated with postmodern philosophy...
. Eisenman is generally regarded as a harsh figure, he has been accused of being pretentious and closed to criticism. Eisenman is not an advocate of the popular "green" movement, claiming that he believes sustainability to be a passing fad.
Education
As a child Eisenman attended
Columbia High SchoolColumbia High School is a four-year comprehensive regional public high school located at 17 Parker Avenue in Maplewood, New Jersey, which serves students in grades nine through twelve within the South Orange-Maplewood School District, which includes Maplewood and South Orange Townships...
located in
Maplewood, New JerseyMaplewood is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 23,867.-History:...
. He discovered architecture as an undergraduate at
Cornell UniversityCornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
and gave up his position on the swimming team in order to immerse himself in the architecture program there. Eisenman received a Bachelor of Architecture Degree from Cornell, a Master of Architecture Degree from
Columbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
's
Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and PreservationThe Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University in New York City, also known simply as GSAPP, is regarded as one of the most important and prestigious architecture schools in the world...
, and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the
University of CambridgeThe University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
. He received an honorary degree from
Syracuse UniversitySyracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
School of ArchitectureThe School of Architecture at Syracuse University offers bachelor's and master's degrees in architecture that are accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board...
in 2007.
Eisenman currently teaches theory seminars and advanced design studios at the
Yale School of ArchitectureThe Yale School of Architecture is one of the constituent professional schools of Yale University. It is generally considered to be one of the most prestigious architecture schools in the world.- History :...
. He is Professor Emeritus at the Cooper Union School of Architecture.
Practice
Eisenman first rose to prominence as a member of the
New York FiveThe New York Five refers to a group of five New York City architects whose work appeared in a Museum of Modern Art exhibition organized by Arthur Drexler in 1967, and the subsequent book Five Architects in 1972.These five had a common allegiance to a pure form of architectural modernism, harkening...
(also known as the Whites, as opposed to the Grays of Yale: Bob Stern, Charles Moore, etc.), five architects (Eisenman,
Charles GwathmeyCharles Gwathmey was an American architect. He was a principal at Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects, as well as one of the five architects identified as The New York Five in 1969...
,
John HejdukJohn Quentin Hejduk , was an American architect, artist and educator who spent much of his life in New York City, USA...
,
Richard MeierRichard Meier is an American architect, whose rationalist buildings make prominent use of the color white.- Biography :Meier is Jewish and was born in Newark, New Jersey...
, and
Michael GravesMichael Graves is an American architect. Identified as one of The New York Five, Graves has become a household name with his designs for domestic products sold at Target stores in the United States....
) some of whose work was presented at a CASE Studies conference in 1967. Eisenman received a number of grants from the Graham Foundation for work done in this period. These architects' work at the time was often considered a reworking of the ideas of
Le CorbusierCharles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
. Subsequently, the five architects each developed unique styles and ideologies, with Eisenman becoming more affiliated with the Deconstructivist movement.
Eisenman's focus on "liberating" architectural form was notable from an academic and theoretical standpoint but resulted in structures that were both badly built and hostile to users. The Wexner Center, hotly anticipated as the first major public deconstructivist building, has required extensive and expensive retrofitting because of elementary design flaws (such as incompetent material specifications, and fine art exhibition space exposed to direct sunlight). It was frequently repeated that the Wexner's colliding planes tended to make its users disoriented to the point of physical nausea; in 1997 researcher Michael Pollan tracked the source of this rumor back to Eisenman himself. In the words of Andrew Ballantyne, "By some scale of values he was actually enhancing the reputation of his building by letting it be known that it was hostile to humanity."
Eisenman's
House VIHouse VI, or the Frank Residence, is a significant building designed by Peter Eisenman, completed in 1975. His second built work, the getaway house, located on Great Hollow Road near Bird's Eye Brook in Cornwall, Connecticut has become famous for both its revolutionary definition of a house as...
, designed for clients Richard and Suzanne Frank in the mid 1970's, confounds expectations of structure and function. Suzanne Frank was initially sympathetic and patient with Eisenman's theories and demands. But after years of fixes to the badly specified and misbegotten House VI (which had first broken the Franks' budget then consumed their life savings), Suzanne Frank was prompted to strike back with
Peter Eisenman's House VI: The Client's Response, in which she admitted both the problems of the building, as much as its virtues.
Eisenman has also embarked on a larger series of building projects in his career, including the recently completed
Memorial to the Murdered Jews of EuropeThe Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe , also known as the Holocaust Memorial , is a memorial in Berlin to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, designed by architect Peter Eisenman and engineer Buro Happold. It consists of a site covered with 2,711 concrete slabs or "stelae", arranged in a...
in
BerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and the new
University of Phoenix StadiumUniversity of Phoenix Stadium, opened August 1, 2006, is a multipurpose football stadium located in Glendale, Arizona. It is the home of the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League and the annual Fiesta Bowl...
in
Glendale, ArizonaGlendale is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, located about nine miles northwest from Downtown Phoenix. According to 2010 Census Bureau, the population of the city is 226,721....
. His largest project to date is the soon-to-be completed
City of Culture of GaliciaCity of Culture of Galicia is a complex of cultural buildings in Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, Galicia, Spain, designed by architect Peter Eisenman and office. The buildings are an extreme challenge to construct as the design of them makes them look like rolling hills with high degree contours...
in Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Eisenman is featured in wide print and many films, including the 30 minute 2008 film
Peter Eisenman: University of Phoenix Stadium for the Arizona Cardinals where he provides a tour of his recent construction.
Awards
In 2001, Eisenman won the National Design Award for Architecture from the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.
Buildings and works
- Falk House (House II Eisenman), Hardwick, Vermont
Hardwick is a town in Caledonia County, Vermont, United States. The population was 3,174 at the 2000 census.It contains the incorporated village of Hardwick and the unincorporated villages of East Hardwick and Mackville...
, 1969
- House VI
House VI, or the Frank Residence, is a significant building designed by Peter Eisenman, completed in 1975. His second built work, the getaway house, located on Great Hollow Road near Bird's Eye Brook in Cornwall, Connecticut has become famous for both its revolutionary definition of a house as...
(Frank residence), CornwallCornwall is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,434 at the 2000 census.In 1939 poet Mark Van Doren wrote "The Hills of Little Cornwall", a short poem in which the beauties of the countryside were portrayed as seductive:The town was also home to the Foreign...
, ConnecticutConnecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, Design: 1972.
- Wexner Center for the Arts
The Wexner Center for the Arts is The Ohio State University’s multidisciplinary, international laboratory for the exploration and advancement of contemporary art...
, Ohio State UniversityThe Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
, Columbus, OhioColumbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, 1989
- Nunotani building, Edogawa Tokyo Japan, 1991 http://artonline.jp/nunotani/index.html
- Greater Columbus Convention Center
thumb|right|300px|Front entrance to the Greater Columbus Convention Center in [[Downtown Columbus|Downtown]] [[Columbus, Ohio]].The Greater Columbus Convention Center is a convention center located in downtown Columbus, Ohio, United States, along the east side of High Street.The convention center...
, Columbus, OhioColumbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, 1993 http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/eisenman/conventioncenter.html
- Aronoff Center for Design and Art, University of Cincinnati
The University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio....
, Cincinnati, OhioCincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
, 1996
- City of Culture of Galicia
City of Culture of Galicia is a complex of cultural buildings in Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, Galicia, Spain, designed by architect Peter Eisenman and office. The buildings are an extreme challenge to construct as the design of them makes them look like rolling hills with high degree contours...
, Santiago de CompostelaSantiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain.The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James...
, Galicia, SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, 1999
- Il giardino dei passi perduti, Castelvecchio Museum
Castelvecchio Museum is a museum in Verona, northern Italy, located in the eponymous medieval castle. Restoration by the architect Carlo Scarpa, between 1959 and 1973, has enhanced the appearance of the building and exhibits...
, VeronaVerona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
, 2004
- Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe , also known as the Holocaust Memorial , is a memorial in Berlin to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, designed by architect Peter Eisenman and engineer Buro Happold. It consists of a site covered with 2,711 concrete slabs or "stelae", arranged in a...
, BerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, 2005
- University of Phoenix Stadium
University of Phoenix Stadium, opened August 1, 2006, is a multipurpose football stadium located in Glendale, Arizona. It is the home of the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League and the annual Fiesta Bowl...
, Glendale, ArizonaGlendale is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, located about nine miles northwest from Downtown Phoenix. According to 2010 Census Bureau, the population of the city is 226,721....
, 2006
External links