By Liam Otten
February 23, 2001
Beginning Monday, the University's School of Architecture will host a series of lectures exploring the future of urban housing and its impact on the St. Louis region.
The series will feature presentations by six nationally recognized architectural firms, all of which are short-listed for a major new housing development in the Grand Center arts and entertainment district. The visits are co-sponsored by Grand Center Inc. and the School of Architecture as part of the school's Monday Night Lecture Series.
Each lecture starts at 7 p.m. in the Steinberg Hall Auditorium and is free and open to the public. A reception for the architect and attendees will be held at 6:30 p.m. next door in Givens Hall.
"It's a fascinating question --How do you create architecture that is forward-looking and that respects the history of a city as old as St. Louis?" said Cynthia Weese, FAIA, dean of the School of Architecture. "These lectures will provide a rare and exciting opportunity for the community to become directly involved in the architect selection process."
"In recent years, St. Louis has made some terrific gains in redeveloping the historic downtown core," said Jim Holtzman, director of real estate development for Grand Center. "However, if we are to continue that momentum, it is important that the city also develop new market-rate housing projects that are both urban in style and architecturally significant."
Weese and Eric Sandweiss, assistant affiliate professor of architecture and director of Research for the Missouri Historical Society, both served on the architect selection committee for the Grand Center project. Other jurors include Emily Rauh Pulitzer, art collector and board member of Grand Center; David Lee, FAIA, of the Boston-based architecture firm Stull and Lee Inc; St. Louis developer Steve Trampe; and Kara McCarty, curator of decorative arts and design at Saint Louis Art Museum.
Speakers will be introduced by Holtzman and Peter MacKeith, assistant dean of the School of Architecture. They are:
¥ Monday --Richard Gluckman, principal of the New York-based firm luckman Mayner Architects. Recent projects include The Austin Museum of Art in Texas; the Mori Museum of Art in Tokyo; the Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; and the Dia Center for the Arts, New York.
¥ March 5 --Julie Eizenberg of Koning Eizenberg Architects, based in Santa Monica, Calif. The firm is known for investigating the design potential of socially responsible projects, from affordable housing to community and recreation centers, schools, custom homes, hotels, stores and workplaces.
¥ March 19 --Elva Rubio and Philip Durham, founding partners of Rubio/Durham Architects, based in Chicago and St. Louis. The firm has worked with numerous nonprofit and community organizations to develop both commercial and residential projects.
¥ March 27 --Danelle Guthrie and Tom Buresch, of Guthrie/Buresch Architects. The firm has worked on a wide variety of residential and commercial projects in the Los Angeles area.
¥ April 9 --Craig Barton and Maurice Cox, principals of RBGC Architects. Both also serve as associate professors of architecture at the University of Virginia, where Barton additionally directs the Urban Studies Program.
¥ April 17 --Bradley Burke of Studio E Architects, based in San Diego. The firm has worked with more than a dozen California and New Mexico nonprofit organizations on a variety of planning and design projects, including numerous urban housing and mixed-use developments.
For more information, call 935-6200.
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