Special thanks to Hollander Design | Landscape Architects

No matter where you are, the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art (ICAA) offers courses, lectures, videos, articles, and more at classicist.org.

The start of the new year was marked by a notable gift to New York City that offered a note of hope and optimism for the future: the new Moynihan Train Hall. This inventive re-adaptation of McKim, Mead, and White's iconic James A. Farley Post Office Building opened to the public for the first time on that day, and ICAA Member Firms were responsible for one of the centerpieces of the project. The main Art Deco-inspired clock in the new hall is designed by Peter Pennoyer Architects, and was fabricated by Hyde Park Mouldings (with a face designed by Dyad).

Now architect Peter Pennoyer and Adrian Taylor, principal at Hyde Park Mouldings, share their insights and observations about the process, and what makes such a practical and public commission so unique. ICAA President Peter Lyden had a chance to inquire about some of the particulars of the project, and has captured a behind-the-scenes glimpse at two ICAA Member Firms at work.

On two separate virtual tours hosted by the New England Chapter in collaboration with the ICAA's National Office, Darius Arya, the internationally renowned archaeologist, professor, and host of PBS's Ancient Invisible Cities, led ICAA audiences through some of Rome's most significant archaeological sites. The visit to the Pantheon and to the Roman Forum offer unique and in-depth insight, providing an insider's view of the architecture, artistry, and layers of history that both sites contain.

Now both tours are available to watch again for a limited time. For the next three days the tours will be hosted on classicist.org for anyone who may have missed them when they streamed live.

This program, originally held on December 8, 2020, focused on current topics in climate-responsive design. Design that works with, rather than against, its local climate is unquestionably the way of the future. For now, though, climate-responsive design remains something of a novelty, practiced and championed by the few and not the many. If we are to deliver the 230 billion square meters in new construction estimated to be needed between now and 2060 while also reducing the construction industry’s significant contribution towards global carbon emissions, the way we design needs to change, and fast.

Fortunately, traditional, vernacular, and indigenous design have many possible solutions ready to be adapted and implemented. In this talk, speakers Andrew Coates (Cresolus Tropical Design), Fatou Dieye (Skat Consultancy country representative for Rwanda), Harriet Wennberg (INTBAU, on behalf of Yasmeen Lari) and Deependra Prashad (Principal Architect at DPAP Architects and Secretary of INTBAU India) suggested a way forward for both people and the planet.

Perhaps now more than ever before, we are all aware of the built environment that surrounds us, and of the impacts it has on the health of individuals, communities, and the planet. The Architecture of Place, a collaborative series from the ICAA, INTBAU, and the Prince’s Foundation, brought together the established and emerging voices working to create a better built future. You can find more information on the full series here.

Additional thanks to INTBAU's supporters for this series, Fairfax & Sammons, ADAM Architecture, and Size Group. Additional thanks to The Prince's Foundation's supporter, Mr. Paul Beirne.

The Classicist No. 18

The Classicist is an annual, peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the classical tradition in architecture and the allied arts. Featuring professional and student portfolios as well as academic articles authored by leaders in the field, this beautiful, color-illustrated journal serves as a forum for contemporary, classical practice as well as a source of inspiration and information for students, practitioners, teachers, patrons, and enthusiasts.

The ICAA invites submissions for the Professional Portfolio of the Classicist No. 18, which will be published in the fall of 2021 and is focused on the Mid-Atlantic region. If you are a practitioner who has completed work in the region in the past 10 years, please submit your projects for inclusion by filling out this form. 

The Classicist No. 17, edited by Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk and focused on Florida, is now available for purchase here.

The ancient Vitruvian analogy between the human being and architecture was reconsidered in the Early Renaissance, most profoundly by Leon Battista Alberti. His writings emphasize the role of a human being as an ideal type, worthy of representation in the visual arts. According to Alberti, beauty in architecture is innate, which means that a person cannot help but respond in a positive way to a well-proportioned building. Alberti even believed that if an army were to enter a city with the intention of destroying it, but the buildings are beautiful, the warriors would lay down their weapons and act in a peaceful manner. This utopian theory provides insight into architecture’s extraordinary role of maintaining civic life. In his theoretical writings, Alberti assisted architects by outlining the steps to be followed when designing a building.

This premiere of a video course presented by Peter Kohane, Senior Lecturer of Architecture at UNSW Sydney, will review Alberti’s principles and discuss both their relation to the architecture of the Renaissance and how they can be applied to architectural debates today. The video premiere will be followed by live Q&A with Dr. Kohane.

In making homes, how do you take, as Weaver said of Lutyens, adversity and turn it into amenity? This question has had the attention of the firm Oliver Cope Architect since Oliver’s first house in 1985.

Please join the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art (ICAA) for a virtual lecture featuring Partners Oliver Cope, Rita Marks, and Olivia Rowan, as they discuss the design and revitalization of some of New York and Long Island’s most treasured homes, all featured in their new book, Oliver Cope Architect: City Country Sea. This lecture is moderated by award-winning architectural historian and journalist, Clive Aslet.

Our special thanks to Presenting Sponsor of the ICAA Book Club:

For over fifty years, Robert A.M. Stern Architects has designed extraordinary houses and residences around the world, each suffused with a rich understanding of traditional architecture and an intuitive sense of how to shape a home to the needs of modern life. Many of the firm’s important early commissions were houses, and while RAMSA has since evolved into an internationally renowned with an extraordinarily broad portfolio, an unflagging dedication to timeless residential design has remained a cornerstone of its practice.

Join four of the firm’s distinguished residential Partners and coauthors of the new book Houses: Robert A.M. Stern Architects—Roger Seifter, Randy Correll, Grant Marani, and Gary Brewer—in conversation with Architectural Digest Features Editor, Sam Cochran, for an in-depth look at some of their recent and most exciting projects from around the country in a variety of different architecture styles, many of which have never been seen before.

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.

There is so much more available online at classicist.org: filmed lectures and public programs, panel discussions, and numerous online articles provide an opportunity to stay connected with the ICAA.