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The ICAA is a nonprofit educational organization committed to promoting and preserving the practice, understanding, and appreciation of classical design.

ARTICLES & VIDEOS: NEW THIS ISSUE

On September 15, 2022, the ICAA was pleased to welcome Phillip Smith, Associate Professor of Architecture at the American College of the Building Arts, for an in-depth exploration of the origins of Greco-Roman architecture and the influence that African Americans have had on American classical architecture. In his lecture, Professor Smith makes a thoughtful argument for the enduring impact that African American architects, designers, and builders have had on our nation’s built environment. American classicism would not be what it is today without the influence of architectural greats like Julian Abele and Robert R. Taylor.

Phillip Smith is the Associate Professor of Architecture at the American College of the Building Arts and works as a project consultant at American Vernacular Inc and with MHK Architecture.

Lead Annual Public Programs Sponsor: RINCK

Seasonal Public Programs Sponsor: Dell Mitchell Architects

Seasonal Public Programs Sponsor: Hyde Park Mouldings

In 2022, the ICAA, INTBAU, and the Prince’s Foundation were pleased to continue their collaboration with The Architecture of Place: In Conversation with..., a series of interviews featuring three architects from different backgrounds and points of view: Mohamad Hamouié, Whitley Esteban, and Elsie Owusu.

In the second installment of the series, Mohamad Hamouié interviewed Whitley Esteban about her work, background, and design perspective. Students from the University of Notre Dame also made a special appearance and provided guest questions for the interviewee.

Whitley Esteban recently founded her own firm, Studio Tre, and is a member of the ICAA's Board of Directors. From 2015, Whitley Esteban worked with Roman and Williams Buildings and Interiors as Managing Director and then Architectural Design Director, overseeing all aspects of the firm’s projects across three continents and commercial, institutional, and residential typologies. Her work there acknowledged the significance of classical & traditional design principles as underpinnings of the practice.

The ICAA would like to thank our Lead Sponsor for Continuing Education courses: Uberto Construction.

During the innagural year of the Architecture of Place series in 2020, the ICAA, the Prince's Foundation, and INTBAU welcomed Dr. Shipra Narang Suri and Dr. David Howard for a lecture that explored the intersection of health and urbanization, and what it means for how we plan and manage our cities. David Howard presents his research in urban design and health infrastructure, and Shipra Narang Suri presents on planning services and the role they play in creating healthy living environments.

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ARTICLES & VIDEOS: PREVIOUS ISSUE

For the past decade, Irish architectural historian Robert O’Byrne has been traveling around his native country, visiting its country houses and investigating the stories behind them, many presented in his award-winning blog, The Irish Aesthete. On November 16, 2022, the ICAA was pleased to join Robert on the road, to explore some of his favorite historic properties and to learn what makes them so special.

A former Vice-President of the Irish Georgian Society, Robert O’Byrne is one of Ireland’s best-known writers and lecturers specializing in the country’s historic houses and gardens. He is the author of more than a dozen books, among them Luggala: The Story of a Guinness House and Romantic Irish Homes and, most recently, Left without a Handkerchief.

Lead Annual Public Programs Sponsor: RINCK

Seasonal Public Programs Sponsor: Dell Mitchell Architects

Seasonal Public Programs Sponsor: Hyde Park Mouldings

Richard Economakis, a professor of architecture at the University of Notre Dame and a member of the ICAA's Board of Directors, continues his four-part video series A Survey of Classical Architecture. Following the first two entries in the series, which focus on the emergence of Western classical architecture in Ancient Greece and the continuation of those architectural expressions in Ancient Rome and the writings of Vitruvius, this third installment analyzes how the rediscovery of Vitruvius's works inspired a new period of architectural splendor known as the Italian Renaissance.

The session opens with an analysis of Alberti's De Re Aedificatoria (a.k.a. Ten Books on Building), starting with the organization of the treatise, his mural (as opposed to columnar) outlook, and treatment of the formal elements. The course continues with a discussion of Serlio's contributions, including his organization of the columnar types as a 'cast of characters', his description of architecture as dramatic play, and his approach to proportioning and articulating the classical elements. The lecture ends with descriptions of Vignola and Palladio's treatises, stressing their modular approach and refinements.

The ICAA would like to thank our Lead Sponsor for Continuing Education courses: Uberto Construction.

From May 28th through June 4th, 2022, the ICAA held the Christopher H. Browne Edinburgh Drawing Tour, bringing participants to one of the great classical cities of the world for the first time ever. At the centre of the Scottish Enlightenment in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Edinburgh was remodeled as ‘the Athens of the North’. Grand new public buildings were inspired by the antiquities of Greece and Rome, and the city was expanded by the building of the New Town, later praised by Henry-Russell Hitchcock as ‘the most extensive example of a Romantic Classical city in the world’. A graceful sequence of streets, squares, crescents and circuses were laid out, all built in the local warm-grey sandstone and brought to life by the distinctive Scottish light.

Among the participants was Cindy Black, principal at ICAA Member Firm Rick and Cindy Black Architects. She has shared with the ICAA her account of the program, accompanied by photographs and illustrations created on-site. Learn more about the ICAA's Christopher H. Browne Drawing Tours, which will take participants to Newport, Rhode Island and Venice, Italy in 2023.

NATIONAL CALENDAR: MULTI-DAY PROGRAMS

The deadline for scholarships is March 6th.

The deadline for scholarships is March 6th.

The deadline for scholarships is February 27th.

NATIONAL CALENDAR: CONTINUING EDUCATION

NATIONAL CALENDAR: AWARDS & PRIZES

March 1st, 2023 - Call for Entries Deadline

The ICAA would like to thank our 2023 Award for Emerging Excellence Sponsor, Robert Bump Construction.

To purchase tables, please contact development@classicist.org.

NATIONAL CALENDAR: EXHIBITIONS

The ICAA will hold a three-day architecture and design conference for up to 200 attendees attendees in Charleston, South Carolina on November 3-5, 2023. Complete with a diverse offering of talks, panel discussions, working sessions, and tours, Enduring Places: ICAA National Conference will focus on three themes that are at the heart of classical design: craftsmanship, preservation, and sustainability. Ticket sales to be announced.

In conjunction with the National Conference, the ICAA will host a juried art exhibition of student and young professional work. Taking place at the historic Aiken-Rhett House in partnership with Historic Charleston Foundation, the group exhibition will be on view during the month of November. Students and young professionals, 35 years old and younger, are invited to submit works inspired by the classical tradition for consideration. A distinguished jury with backgrounds in various design fields will carefully review all submissions and select the finest examples of classical design to include in this historic show. Submissions are now open.

NATIONAL CALENDAR: PUBLIC PROGRAMS & LECTURES

Lead Annual Public Programs Sponsor: RINCK

Seasonal Public Programs Sponsor: Dell Mitchell Architects

Seasonal Public Programs Sponsor: Hyde Park Mouldings

If your membership is due for renewal, or if you would like to join and support the ICAA, you can do so on our website.

NATIONAL CALENDAR: ICAA TRAVEL PROGRAMS

Mansions of Los Angeles

Enjoy privileged invitations into some of L.A.’s most spectacular addresses, studios, and collections amassed by preeminent figures from the art, architecture, and film worlds on a sophisticated itinerary which will also include meals at the homes of local design insiders, and the chance to engage with other aficionados in discussion about the past, present, and future design landscape of L.A.

April 22nd - May 1st, 2023 - SOLD OUT

Join fellow classicists for a journey to Sicily that will include stays in stunning hotels, walking tours, luncheons, cocktails, and dinners at private villas and palazzos, and of course visits to the remarkable architectural treasures of the region, including the Greek ruins at Segesta and the Valley of the Temples.

May 27th - June 5th, 2023 - SOLD OUT

The ICAA is pleased to partner with Classical Excursions to present this week-long excursion to discover the beautiful and unique Gustavian style of architecture and decoration in Sweden, including visits to Drottningholm Palace, Gunnebo, and Gustav III’s Pavilion at Haga, among other remarkable destinations.

In partnership with Classical Excursions, this tour of the hidden gems of Naples and the Amalfi Coast will bring participants to grand palaces, stunning churches, and private houses and gardens of Positano and Capri, along an abundance of museums, workshops, and more.

NATIONAL CALENDAR: ICAA CHAPTER ONLINE EVENTS

Southern California Chapter