NYC - East Village: The Cooper Union Foundation Building
Image by wallyg
The Cooper Union Foundation Building, located in Cooper Square between Astor Place and East 7th Street, was designed by Frederick A. Peterson and constructed from 1853-1959. The brownstone faced, featuring Italianate and Rundbogenstil architectural features, was among the first (and earliest standing) structures to employ rolled iron beams and a steel frame--fabricated at Peter Coopers' foundry in Trenton--and was among the earliest buildings designed to accommodate an elevator. The original structure rose only five stories, with income-producing stores on the first floor. Several rooftop additions have led to significant structural alterations, including the 1887 replacement of the original rectangular second-floor windows with segmented arched openings by architect Loepold Eidlitz. In 1975-76 the cast iron storefronts were restored and the street level was converted into a library as part of an extensive renovation by John Hejduk, Dean of Cooper Union's architecture school.
Cooper Union's Great Hall, located in the basement level of the Foundation Building and dedicated to the free discussion of public issues, was site of Abraham Lincoln's Right Makes Might speech in 1860. Then a little-known attorney from Illinois, yet to declare his candidacy for the Republican Party's Presidential nomination, Lincoln gave a speech which opposed Stephen A. Douglas on the question of federal power to regulate and limit the spread of slavery to the federal territories and new States. Widely reported in the press and reprinted throughout the North in pamphlet form, the speech galvanized support for Lincoln and contributed to his gaining the Party's nomination for the Presidency. Other speakers over the years have included Mark Twain, Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony, Emma Goldman, H.L. Mencken, William Jennings Bryant, and American Presidents Ulysses S. Grant, Grover Cleveland, William Howard Taft, Theodore Roosevelt, and Bill Clinton. Clinton spoke on May 12, 1993 about reducing the federal deficit and on May 23, 2006, as the Keynote Speaker at The Cooper Union's 147th Commencement along with Anna Deavere Smith. He appeared a third time on April 23, 2007, along with Senator Edward Kennedy, Henry Kissinger, Norman Mailer, and others at the memorial service for historian Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. The Great Hall continues to serve as an important metropolitan art space, hosting lectures and performances by key figures such as Joseph Campbell, Steve Reich, Salman Rushdie, Ralph Nader, Richard Stallman, Rudolph Giuliani, Pema Chodron, and Hugo Chávez.
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, dedicated to the "advancement of science and art," was established in 1859 as a school offering free education to working class men and women. The legacy of Peter Cooper, who ran the first U.S. railroad and helped lay the trans-Atlantic telegraph cable, it is the only private, full-scholarship college in the United States dedicated exclusively to preparing students for the professions of art, architecture and engineering. The Cooper Union began with adult education in night classes on the subjects of applied sciences and architectural drawing, as well as day classes for women on the subjects of photography, telegraphy, typewriting and shorthand. Those free classes, a landmark in American history and the prototype for what is now called continuing education, have evolved into three distinguished schools that make up The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art: the School of Art, the Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture and the Albert Nerken School of Engineering.
Cooper Union's Foundation Building was designated a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1965.
National Historic Register #66000540 (1966)
NYC - East Village: The Cooper Union Foundation Building
Image by wallyg
The Cooper Union Foundation Building, located in Cooper Square between Astor Place and East 7th Street, was designed by Frederick A. Peterson and constructed from 1853-1959. The brownstone faced, featuring Italianate and Rundbogenstil architectural features, was among the first (and earliest standing) structures to employ rolled iron beams and a steel frame--fabricated at Peter Coopers' foundry in Trenton--and was among the earliest buildings designed to accommodate an elevator. The original structure rose only five stories, with income-producing stores on the first floor. Several rooftop additions have led to significant structural alterations, including the 1887 replacement of the original rectangular second-floor windows with segmented arched openings by architect Loepold Eidlitz. In 1975-76 the cast iron storefronts were restored and the street level was converted into a library as part of an extensive renovation by John Hejduk, Dean of Cooper Union's architecture school.
Cooper Union's Great Hall, located in the basement level of the Foundation Building and dedicated to the free discussion of public issues, was site of Abraham Lincoln's Right Makes Might speech in 1860. Then a little-known attorney from Illinois, yet to declare his candidacy for the Republican Party's Presidential nomination, Lincoln gave a speech which opposed Stephen A. Douglas on the question of federal power to regulate and limit the spread of slavery to the federal territories and new States. Widely reported in the press and reprinted throughout the North in pamphlet form, the speech galvanized support for Lincoln and contributed to his gaining the Party's nomination for the Presidency. Other speakers over the years have included Mark Twain, Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony, Emma Goldman, H.L. Mencken, William Jennings Bryant, and American Presidents Ulysses S. Grant, Grover Cleveland, William Howard Taft, Theodore Roosevelt, and Bill Clinton. Clinton spoke on May 12, 1993 about reducing the federal deficit and on May 23, 2006, as the Keynote Speaker at The Cooper Union's 147th Commencement along with Anna Deavere Smith. He appeared a third time on April 23, 2007, along with Senator Edward Kennedy, Henry Kissinger, Norman Mailer, and others at the memorial service for historian Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. The Great Hall continues to serve as an important metropolitan art space, hosting lectures and performances by key figures such as Joseph Campbell, Steve Reich, Salman Rushdie, Ralph Nader, Richard Stallman, Rudolph Giuliani, Pema Chodron, and Hugo Chávez.
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, dedicated to the "advancement of science and art," was established in 1859 as a school offering free education to working class men and women. The legacy of Peter Cooper, who ran the first U.S. railroad and helped lay the trans-Atlantic telegraph cable, it is the only private, full-scholarship college in the United States dedicated exclusively to preparing students for the professions of art, architecture and engineering. The Cooper Union began with adult education in night classes on the subjects of applied sciences and architectural drawing, as well as day classes for women on the subjects of photography, telegraphy, typewriting and shorthand. Those free classes, a landmark in American history and the prototype for what is now called continuing education, have evolved into three distinguished schools that make up The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art: the School of Art, the Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture and the Albert Nerken School of Engineering.
Cooper Union's Foundation Building was designated a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1965.
National Historic Register #66000540 (1966)
Area Design-Build Team to Construct New University of Maryland Event Center and President's Residence
Image by University of Maryland Press Releases
Aerial: President's residence. Shot 5/6/2008
COLLEGE PARK, Md.--The University of Maryland College Park Foundation, concluding a rigorous search and evaluation process, will hire the design-build team of Forrester Construction/Barnes Vanze Architects/Gibson Builders to design and construct a new University Event Center and President's Residence. The action follows earlier approval from the USM Board of Regents to build the much-needed University Events Center and to either upgrade or replace the newly vacated President's Residence.
The Foundation, a private 501.c3 corporation, will raise private support to fund the project. The Foundation was established to raise and manage private support to advance the University's mission and goal to become one of the top public research universities in the nation.
The University of Maryland is in the last two years of its ambitious billion capital campaign, Great Expectations: The Campaign for Maryland, one-third of which is committed to raising much-needed student scholarships and other types of student financial aid. It has raised more than 0 million to date. Maryland's new president, Wallace D. Loh, will be a significant asset in raising the funds to successfully close out the campaign.
As we all know, a significant and measurable component in the role of any effective president today is to raise funds - both public and private - on behalf of the university. More often than not, the president's residence doubles as the major venue in this regard, said John N. Lauer, '63, Chair of the Foundation's Executive Committee. The University of Maryland has sorely needed a presidential venue in which to host the level of cultivation and recognition events that help advance its mission and fundraising goals.
According to an American Council of Education survey in 2001, university presidents were polled on the four areas that occupy most of their time. Presidents at public institutions spent approximately 44.2 percent of their time actively engaged in fundraising, building partnerships with other organizations, and representing the institution to stakeholders (American College President, ACE, 2002).
The planned Event Center will be integrated with the new residence into a single structure but with public space and private (i.e., residence) space largely separate. With an estimated seating capacity of 125 and a standing capacity of approximately 350, the planned venue will greatly enhance business conducted on behalf of the University of Maryland. The room will be dividable for smaller gatherings. There will be handicapped accessible restrooms, a catering kitchen, storage space, a loading dock, and office and work space for staff. The Events Center will be built to meet or exceed LEED Silver Certification standards.
In addition to fundraising, the new Center will be used for a wide range of university initiatives and activities that will continue raising the university's profile and visibility -- hosting high-level conferences, ambassadors, and guest speakers. The new Event Center will also be located within a short walking distance of other major campus venues, such as the Clarice Smith Center, allowing the university to host events connected to performances at the performing arts center.
The new residence will include the kinds of spaces on the main floor and second (top) floor of the current residence with the addition of a garage and possibly a screened porch. It would be built to meet or exceed LEED Silver Certification standards, smaller in actual size, with much more livable space and more energy efficient than the current residence.
The Project Team
Maryland-based Forrester Construction Company is one of the Washington Metropolitan area's leading commercial general contractors, having earned an industry-wide reputation for consistently delivering exceptional construction services on projects ranging from small tenant interiors to national landmarks including the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery. It has more than 20 years of design-build experience and a 10-year relationship with the University of Maryland. Barnes Vance Architects, Inc. has had a long, successful design history in the Washington, DC area and beyond, providing imaginative architectural solutions carefully tailored to client needs. This is achieved by combining a respect for tradition with the quiet incorporation of the latest technology. Forrester has enlisted Gibson Builders, a company with expertise in residential construction, to be an integral part of the team.
Design-Build Approach
The Foundation opted for a design-build approach, in which the architect and builder work together as a team from start to finish. This typically allows for a project to move forward on a faster schedule and assures rigorous cost control as adjustments can be made easily along the way. Current expectations are for the new facility to be completed by June 2012.
The Foundation has set a cap on the cost of the project at .2 million. All funding will be provided by private donors. More than one-third of the maximum cost was secured before selection of the design-build team and before any concepts or renderings were available.
The Selection Committee
The Committee that selected the winning design-build team consisted of several Foundation representatives, Frank Brewer (Associate Vice President for Facilities at the University), Carlo Colella (the University's Director of Capital Projects) and two members of his staff, and Steve Hurtt, former dean of the School of Architecture, Planning, and Historic Preservation.
The Current Residence
All proposals submitted to the Foundation's selection committee deemed the current unsuitable for renovation and use as a residence. The cost of renovation would likely exceed the cost of new construction, achieving a LEED Silver or better Certification level would be unlikely, and the basic structure would remain problematic. One proposer characterized renovation options as if not putting lipstick on a pig, at least it would be dressing up a broken down wreck . The Foundation will work with the University to determine whether the residence can be converted to other uses or should be demolished.
UM Facilities Management as Owner's Representative
The Foundation has engaged the University's Facilities Management (FM) Office to provide technical and administrative support and coordination for the project and to ensure that design and work complies with all University standards and policies.
Contact:
Millree Williams
301 405 4621 or millree@umd.edu
Businessman on a Horse - by William McElcheran
Image by Shaun Merritt
Bronze, 1989
From the city of Calgary website:
"McElcheran said his businessmen replace the classical hero. Instead of dealing with heroic imagery, he endeavoured to find his idea of the ‘larger-than-life’ in the non-hero. Conversation grew in his mind as he watched the ‘fat cats’ wheel and deal on the corner of Bay and King Streets in Toronto."
"William McElcheran received a scholarship to attend the Ontario College of Art, where in 1948 he graduated at the top of his class and was awarded the Lieutenant Governor’s Medal."
" In his earlier years as a woodworker, McElcheran focused on liturgical art as he began carving church furniture. He went on to become chief designer at Bruce Brown and Briesly architects where he helped co-ordinate the planning and designing of churches and university buildings."
" His countless stations-of-the-cross, stained-glass windows, and bas-reliefs can be seen in churches in Toronto, Hamilton and Quebec. As he began to seek other clients, his work became more secularized, which led to the creation of his businessmen."
"McElcheran is now internationally recognized for his bronze figures of portly businessmen, portraying these self-important men of trade in different settings and situations. His commissioned works can be found in churches, subways, and numerous public places worldwide."
"Since his death in 1999, McElcheran forgeries have appeared on the market, which is indicative of how well regarded and widely accepted his works have become."
Winston Hewitt Memorial Scholarship winners, December 2011
Image by csudhgallery
From left to right: Nam Kim, Design; Vlima Ansaldo, Design; Kellan King, Studio Art; Carolyn Swartz, Design; Luis Avalos, Design; (not pictured) Mark Canto, Studio Art.
No comments:
Post a Comment