Architect/Engineers Flashcards
Buckminster Fuller (Richard Buckminster “Bucky” Fuller)
1895-1983 American architect y author - Developed the Geodesic Dome structure, incl. Montreal Biosphere (1967-pic) - Coined terms such as “Spaceship Earth”, “ephemeralization”, y “synergy” - Fullerine carbon molecules named for him due to geodesic shape - President of Mensa (1974-83)
Cass Gilbert
1859-1934 American architect - Designer of Woolworth Building (1913-pic); US Supreme Court building (1935) - “Gothic” style, skyscrapers
Christopher Wren
1632-1724 English architect - St. Paul’s Cathedral, Royal Naval College - Designed many London buildings after Great Fire of 1666 - Designed 54 churches - Also a noted astronomer
Classical Orders of Ancient Greek Architecture
- Doric - Earliest y simplest; Circular capitals (tops)
- Ionic - Thinnest, smallest columns; Capitals decorated with volutes (spiral scrolls)
- Corinthian - Most ornate; Elaborate capitals decorated with acanthus leaves
Two Roman styles later added:
- Tuscan - Simpler version of Doric
- Composite - Ornate like Corinthian
Donato Bramante
1444-1514 Italian architect - Introduced Renaissance architecture to Milan, y the High Renaissance style to Rome - Co-designer (with Michelangelo, et al) of St. Peter’s Bailica in Rome, the largest church in the world, y the burial site of St. Peter - Designed the San Pietro in Montorio church in Rome
Ferdinand (Marie, Vicomte) de Lesseps
1805-1894 French engineer y diplomat - Develped Suez Canal, completed in 1869 - Attempted Panama Canal construction in 1880’s, but was stopped by disease y financial problems - Served as diplomat, y officially presented the Statue of Liberty to USA in 1884
Filippo Brunelleschi
1337-1446 Italian architect y designer - Recognised as the first modern engineer, planner, y sole construction supervisor - Known for developing a technique for linear perspective in art, using mirrors y geometry - Designed the (world’s largest) brick dome for the Florence Cathedral in 1436 - Friends with Donatello, y one of the founders of the Renaissance
Frank Gehry (Frank Owen Goldberg)
1929- Canadian architect from Toronto - Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao (1997); Walt Disney Concert Hall in LA (2003); Museum of Pop Culture (formerly EMP Museum) in Seattle - Many of his buildings, including his private residence in Santa Monica, have become world-renowned attractions - Called “the most important architect of our age”
Frank Lloyd Wright
1867-1959 American architect from WI - Fallingwater in PA (1935-pic); Guggenheim Museum in NYC - Lived at Taliesin Studio in Wisconsin - Leader of the Prairie School movement
Frederick Law Olmsted
1822-1903 American landscape architect - Co-designed many well-known urban parks with senior partner Calvert Vaux, incl. Prospect Park y Central Park (both NYC); Niagara Reservation; Mt. Royal Park (Montreal); Belle Isle Park (Detroit); the Emerald Necklace (Boston) - Later worked in conservation efforts
Gottlieb Daimler
1834-1900 German engineer from Baden-Württemberg - Developed small, high-speed engines for use in all kinds of transporation, with his life-long business partner Wilhelm Maybach - Developed the 1st motorcycle in 1885, the Daimler Reitwagen - His corporation began selling automobiles in 1892
Guglielmo Marconi
1874-1937 Italian inventor y electrical engineer - Known for pioneering work on long-distance radio transmission - Nobel Physics (1909) - Founded The Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company in UK (1897)
Gustave Eiffel
1832-1923 French engineer - Started with iron railroad bridges in France - Eiffel Tower (1889); Garabit Viaduct (1884-pic) - Designed structure of Statue of Liberty - Later in life studied meteorology and aerodynamics
Henry Hobson Richardson
1838-1886 American architect from New Orleans - Popularized the style now called Richardsonian Romanesque - Trinity Church in Boston (1877-pic); New York State Asylum in Buffalo
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
1806-1859 British engineer - Built dockyards, the Great Western Railway, many steamships including the first propeller-driven transatlantic, and numerous important bridges and tunnels - Revolutionized public transport and modern engineering
Isamu Noguchi
1904-88 American landscape architect y sculptor - Known for furniture design for Herman Miller, incl. the Noguchi Table - Sculptures incl. Red Cube (NYC); Black Sun (Seattle); Sky Gate (Honolulu)
James Watt
1736-1819 Scottish engineer y inventor - Made significant improvements to Thomas Newcomen’s 1712 steam engine with his Watt Steam Engine released in 1776, which was fundamental to the early Industrial Revolution (1760-1830) - His new steam engine vastly improved energy efficiency, y was able to produce rotary motion - Developed the concept of horsepower, y the SI unit of power (the watt) was named for him
Jeanne Gang
1964- American architect from IL - Founder y leader of Studio Gang (est 1997) - Known for the Aqua Tower (2009-pic-Chicago) y St. Regis Chicago (2020 - Tallest structure in the world designed by a woman, 1,198 ft)
Karl Benz
1844-1929 German engineer from Karlsruhe - Developed the 1st internal combustion powered automobile in 1885, the Benz Patent-Motorwagen - Merged with Gottleib Daimler’s corporation in 1926 to become Mercedes-Benz
Le Corbusier (Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris)
1887-1965 Swiss-French architect y urban planner - One of the pioneers of modern architecture, y especially the Brutalist style - Co-designer of the Headquarters of the UN (1952) - Prepared the master plan for the city of Chandigarh in Punjab India, y designed many buildlings there - Was a painter early in career
Louis Sullivan
1856-1924 American architect from Boston - Called the “father of skyscrapers” - Mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright - Influential in developing the steel high-rise - Wainwright Building in St Louis (1891-pic); Chicago Stock Exchange building - Said that “Form ever follows function”
Mimar Sinan
1490-1588 Ottoman Turkish architect - Chief architect y civil engineer for Suleiman the Magnificent y other sultans - Designed the Selimiye Mosque (1574-pic); Süleymaniye Mosque (1558); Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge (1577 - in Bosnia) - Worked as a military engineer, before becoming chief royal architect in 1540 - His apprentices would later design the Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Istanbul y the Taj Mahal in Agra
Natalie de Blois
1921-2013 American architect from NJ - Partner at Skidmore Owings Merrill, y designed several of the tallest woman-designed buildings in the world - Lever House (1952-NYC-pic); 270 Park Avenue (1960-NYC); Equitable Building (1965-Chicago); Pepsi-Cola Building (1960-NYC)
Oscar Niemeyer
1907-2012 Brazilian architect - One of key figures in development of modern architecture - Designed the civic buildings in the planned city of Brasilia - Collaberated on design of UN HQ in NYC - Exiled for a time because of socaialist views, worked in Cuba y USSR
Philip (Cortelyou) Johnson
1906-2005 American architect from OH - Postmodern style - Gate of Europe (1996-pic-Madrid); Crystal Cathedral (Orange County); The Glass House (CT) - Called “the best-known openly gay architect in America” - Pritzker Prize 1979
Reginald Fessenden
1866-1932 Canadian inventor y engineer - Pioneer of early radiotelephony - Credited with the 1st transmissions of voice y music (1906) - Received patents in other fields like sonar y television
Samuel F(inley) B(reese) Morse
1791-1872 American inventor y painter from MA - Painted Judgment of Jupiter, Dying Hercules, portraits of Monroe y Adams - In 1825, slow news of his wife’s death led to exploration of rapid long-distance communication - Developed single-wire telegraph in Washington DC - Co-developed Morse Code
