Connecticut’s architectural legacy continues
A CONVERSATION WITH TODAY’S ‘STARCHITECTS’
Connecticut has an abundance of architects. Especially celebrated, worldfamous visionaries — also known as “starchitects” a portmanteau that raises designers to idol status.
Every era has its heroes. In architecture the Hero Designer has always been celebrated beyond their buildings: the 20th century saw Frank Lloyd Wright and Louis Kahn become celebrities. In little Connecticut, based in New Haven, Yale deans Paul Rudolph, Charles Moore, Cesar Pelli and most recently Robert A.M. Stern became worldwide cultural figures in architecture. Additionally, Kevin Roche, Herb Newman and Hartford’s own Tai Soo Kim won outsized commissions and saw the world celebrate their buildings.
But perspective changes over time. Here, in Connecticut, the death of Pelli, Roche and Yale architectural historian Vincent Scully in the last couple of years have changed celebrity into legacy for these masters of 20thcentury architecture. Rather than looking back to the past, there is real value in listening to those who are here, now, and have changed the world we live in.
Herb Newman in New Haven has been a hero in architectural development, helping the entire Ninth Square Neighborhood to become a vital part of the city, but more, his designs, teaching and scores of awards over the last 50 years make him a true hero of architecture’s possibilities.
When I asked him about his career, his humanism shone brightly:
“I questioned my career choice of architect when I was new to the profession because I didn’t make the connection between my aspiration to make beautiful things and my parents’ view that I should do something to help people and make a better world. As I approach the end of my career, I recognize it is my love of human beings and human interchange which has guided my aesthetic urges.”
Tai Soo Kim came to America to be an architect, and his devotion has been rewarded with commissions all over the world, and his deft hand has helped create schools all over Connecticut and New England. His awareness of the context of his work is only matched by his humility. When I asked him about his place in the world after 50 years, his quiet mission was clear:
“We are engaged in a very important endeavor, working in a global context: We shouldn’t forget how important this work is and the impact it has on each community . ... Even the smallest project is an opportunity to make something extraordinary from something ordinary, exceeding all expectations. I think about architecture all the time. Especially during my morning walks in the park.”
Robert A.M. Stern may be the most famous “name” in architecture in America today, and the former Yale dean has a cautionary perspective. Although his firm is based in New York City, Stern has an ongoing presence in New Haven. His thoughts on architecture can be extended to our entire culture:
“These are difficult but interesting times for the profession, as the ageold authority of built form is challenged by the immense imagistic power of electronic media, which some architects find so compelling that they are prepared to overthrow architecture as we know it. Though new times need new solutions, architecture has an obligation to see beyond the moment. It will be too bad if we succumb to the siren song of electronics only to realize that we have traded a physical architecture of solid and void for an illusionistic world of smoke, mirrors, mist and fog. Architects should stop worrying about selfexpression, and zeitgeist, which lead to an obsession with saying things differently as opposed saying them clearly or meaningfully.”
It is too easy to praise those who have left their mission, but these architects are still in the full force of creation, building and influence. But more, their perspective about how the world is changing is invaluable, spanning the era of 20thcentury “starchitects” into the uncharted realities of a 21stcentury future.