13 STIRLING+WILFORD American Buildings

Published Writings 13

STIRLING+WILFORD American Buildings: the opportunity to not only participate in one of the four case studies, but actually have the serendipitous position of being the "first in line", as the first Chapter, was one I seized upon. Having been completely paralyzed due to emergency brain surgery and a resultant Stroke in 2011, this was a challenge in many respects.

and me in New York, The Editor in Cambridge, UK, the Designer in London, my colleague Paul Hester in Houston made for an ever-changing evolution through 3 drafts, designing special graphics, and working toward a final product from 2013 - 2015.

My 'advocacy' is represented by the Reviews below.

My Chapter is excerpted in its entierty. (see RED Button at bottom of page)

'CLICK' on images for Caption and to review in Sequence.

RETURN TO WRITINGS

Big Jim & PCP

I met Big Jim while a student at Yale, one of the few attending his introductory seminar/slideshow in which he showed "his work", and since I had met Gowan at Princeton, I knew it. As the Rice Faculty deliberated on a possible architect, I pushed for Stirling, to create a stir by doing his first building in the USA in Houston. This photo was taken when Big Jim had delivered a lecture following announcement of the Commission.

Stirling (L) + Wilford (R)

"Big Jim and Pardner get Rice job!" (see my reference below in P/A August 1979) Wearing Cowboy Hats and blue shirts, the Brits are seen with: Campus Business Manager (C) between them, the Architecture Dean (C, seated), and 2 Yalies: Barton Phelps (R) [see Published Writings 10/PA], wearing similar desert boots as Big Jim, and myself (far R), wearing Jutson cowboy boots.

'CLICK' on images for Caption and to review in Sequence.

INSIDE JAMES STIRLING - DQ cover

My first opportunity to comment on Big Jim's work was in DESIGN QUARTERLY #100/1976. Edited by fellow Yalie Craig Hodgetts, I had the "lead" (and "mercifully brief") essay. Craig was also one of the four authors in the book.

Architectural Review -

My first review of the project.

PA August-1979

The announcement that "Big Jim and P'ardner get Rice Job".

PA- October 1980

An 'updated' Report From Houston', which included reference to the treatment of integrating pairs of upper-storey windows with large lower-storey windows, representing the newly created 2-storey interior volume for the new Gallery.

GA 5-cover

Although Michael Graves was on the cover of GA Document, my review (preceded by a brief intro by Paul Goldberger) was the most extensive documentation of the 3 journals for which I wrote.

"CLICK" to read Essays/short 'Pre-quels"

Representing my critiques of Stirling's work, beginning in 1976 since I knew Big Jim at Yale, and then acting as Advocate through the process of the job's design (the Progressive Architecture pieces), and finally in AR and GA, at completion in 1981. .

"The Book" . . . at last!

A companion to the Editor's Jim Stirling and the Red Trilogy, referenced by the red cover.

A primary Donor was Mrs. Arthur Sackler, and the original cover rather . . .'bright' + 'colorful'. . . too much so, actually, such that the 'final' simpler version was a Relief.

I had advocated calling the anthology of 4 projects, The American Quartet, (which both referred to the 'companion' book, and Lawrence Durrell's 4 books in the Alexandria Quartet, which stand on their own, or fragments of one or more may appear in another, like a palimpsest), to underscore the Partnership's own evolution, as well as the continuation of, and reference, to Themes which both begin and refer back onto themselves.

The Introduction says it all: Paul Hester and his wife Lisa Hardaway did a yoeman's effort in searching for and finding unpublished images to advance a new interpretation of my case study Chapter.

* see Acknowledgements below

'CLICK' on images for Caption and to review in Sequence.

COVER

The design aligning the "+" to the left and squaring off STIRLING WILFORD was a recommendation I made to Michael.

ORIGINAL COVER

as Michael wrote: Dear Alan, Peter has sent me a copy of his email to you dated 23rd October and the two cover versions referred to. In my opinion the '+' to the side is by far the best.