H. Allen Brooks
Encyclopedia
H. Allen Brooks was an architectural historian and longtime professor at the University of Toronto
. Brooks has written on Frank Lloyd Wright
and the Prairie School
and on the early years of Le Corbusier
.
Brooks served as an engineer in the Philippines (1946–47), then pursued his education at Dartmouth College
(B.A.
, 1950), Yale University
(M.A.
, 1955), and Northwestern University
(Ph.D.
, 1957). After one year at the University of Illinois, Brooks joined the faculty of the Department of Fine Art at the University of Toronto
, where he taught until retirement in 1986. He occasionally accepted visiting positions and lectured throughout North America, Europe and Australia.
Brooks became known in the early 1970s for his research on Wright and the Prairie School (the name Prairie School has been credited to Brooks). Brooks's first book, The Prairie School: Frank Lloyd Wright and his Midwest Contemporaries (1972), received the Alice Davis Hitchcock Award
of the Society of Architectural Historians
. He has continued to publish on Wright and the Prairie School and has received the "Wright Spirit Award," the highest award granted by the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy
.
Brooks has also pursued the career of Le Corbusier. His LeCorbusier's Formative Years: Charles-Edouard Jeanneret at La Chaux-de-Fonds, published in 1997, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize
in biography and won a first prize from the Association of American Publishers
for books in architecture and urban planning. Brooks was editor of the 32-volume LeCorbusier Archive providing thorough documentation LeCorbusier's practice.
Brooks was a past board member and president, and a Fellow of the Society of Architectural Historians
. He was a charter member of the Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada
and a life member of the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain
.
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
. Brooks has written on Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
and the Prairie School
Prairie School
Prairie School was a late 19th and early 20th century architectural style, most common to the Midwestern United States.The works of the Prairie School architects are usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in horizontal bands,...
and on the early years of Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
.
Brooks served as an engineer in the Philippines (1946–47), then pursued his education at Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
(B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
, 1950), Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
(M.A.
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
, 1955), and Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
(Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
, 1957). After one year at the University of Illinois, Brooks joined the faculty of the Department of Fine Art at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
, where he taught until retirement in 1986. He occasionally accepted visiting positions and lectured throughout North America, Europe and Australia.
Brooks became known in the early 1970s for his research on Wright and the Prairie School (the name Prairie School has been credited to Brooks). Brooks's first book, The Prairie School: Frank Lloyd Wright and his Midwest Contemporaries (1972), received the Alice Davis Hitchcock Award
Alice Davis Hitchcock Award
The Alice Davis Hitchcock Award, established in 1949, by the Society of Architectural Historians, annually recognizes "the most distinguished work of scholarship in the history of architecture published by a North American scholar." The oldest of the six different publication awards given...
of the Society of Architectural Historians
Society of Architectural Historians
The Society of Architectural Historians is an international not-for-profit organization that promotes the study and preservation of the built environment worldwide....
. He has continued to publish on Wright and the Prairie School and has received the "Wright Spirit Award," the highest award granted by the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy
Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy
The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy is an organization devoted to the historic preservation of buildings and their furnishings and decoration designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, as well as to the study of Wright's career The organization has grown since its founding in the late 1980s to...
.
Brooks has also pursued the career of Le Corbusier. His LeCorbusier's Formative Years: Charles-Edouard Jeanneret at La Chaux-de-Fonds, published in 1997, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
in biography and won a first prize from the Association of American Publishers
Association of American Publishers
The Association of American Publishers is the national trade association of the American book publishing industry. AAP has more than 300 members, including most of the major commercial publishers in the United States, as well as smaller and non-profit publishers, university presses and scholarly...
for books in architecture and urban planning. Brooks was editor of the 32-volume LeCorbusier Archive providing thorough documentation LeCorbusier's practice.
Brooks was a past board member and president, and a Fellow of the Society of Architectural Historians
Society of Architectural Historians
The Society of Architectural Historians is an international not-for-profit organization that promotes the study and preservation of the built environment worldwide....
. He was a charter member of the Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada
Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada
The Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada is a learned society devoted to the examination of the role of the built environment in Canadian society. Its membership includes structural and landscape architects, architectural historians and planners, sociologists, ethnologists, and...
and a life member of the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain
Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain
The Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain is a leading society in Great Britain for people interested in the history of architecture.- Purpose :...
.
Writings
- Brooks, H. Allen, Frank Lloyd Wright and the Prairie School, Braziller (in association with the Cooper-Hewitt Museum), New York 1984; ISBN 0807610844
- Brooks, H. Allen (editor), Le Corbusier Princeton University Press, Princeton 1987; ISBN 0691002789
- Brooks, H. Allen (general editor), Le Corbusier Archive (32 volumes), Garland Publishing, New York; Fondation Le Corbusier, Paris 1991; ISBN 0824050509
- Brooks, H. Allen, Le Corbusier's Formative Years: Charles-Edouard Jeanneret at La Chaux-de-Fonds University of Chicago PressUniversity of Chicago PressThe University of Chicago Press is the largest university press in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including The Chicago Manual of Style, dozens of academic journals, including Critical Inquiry, and a wide array of...
, Chicago and London 1997; ISBN 0226075796 - Brooks, H. Allen, The Prairie School, W.W. Norton, New York 2006; ISBN 039373191X
- Brooks, H. Allen (editor), Prairie School Architecture: Studies from "The Western Architect", University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Buffalo 1975; ISBN 0802021387
- Brooks, H. Allen, The Prairie School: Frank Lloyd Wright and his Midwest Contemporaries, University of Toronto Press, Toronto 1972; ISBN 0802052517, W W Norton page
- Brooks, H. Allen (editor), Writings on Wright: Selected Comment on Frank Lloyd Wright, MIT PressMIT PressThe MIT Press is a university press affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts .-History:...
, Cambridge MA and London 1981; ISBN 0262021617