Preston Scott Cohen
Encyclopedia
Preston Scott Cohen is a Boston
based designer and the Gerald M. McCue Professor in Architecture at Harvard Graduate School of Design
(GSD). While Mr. Cohen is not a registered architect, he is a celebrated building designer and is Principal at Preston Scott Cohen, Inc. based in Cambridge, Massachusetts
.
in 1982 and 1983 (respectively). In 1985, he received his Master of Architecture degree from the Harvard GSD. Gaining professorship there in 2003, he also served as the Director of the Architecture degree program. In 2008, he was appointed Chair of the GSD, a position held just prior by Toshiko Mori, and at one point by Walter Gropius
.
conference, Cohen gives a vision of his geometric transformations which are used to define the movement in space of the building occupant. The transformation is only accessible on paper but the images show all the same that these forms are the apothesis of his research at a given moment.
His approach is based on the descriptive geometry of the 17th century, but he shows a novel application by using oblique projection
s. This approach is supported by computer modelling. The calculations are rapid, sometimes preprogrammed, and the transformation from two dimension
s to three is a simplified by the software. Geometry
is returned to its independent status after having served primarily the needs of technology during the industrialization of the West. It is no longer a tool for the production of machinery.
In the case of the Wu House, photographs of which have been collected by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
, the curves are the intersections of cylindrical volumes. The spaces are three-dimensional images of geometrical operations. The vitality of the lines reflects an idea of design
which is far from the preconceived rules of aesthetics
.
(estimated $45 million budget to build flexible gallery spaces, concessions, as well as the restoration of labs and offices). It is noted for its hyperboloid form, and is to be finished with Israeli stone. Renderings of the project were shown at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
in a 2006-2007 exhibition entitled Skin + Bones: parallel practices in fashion and architecture.
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
based designer and the Gerald M. McCue Professor in Architecture at Harvard Graduate School of Design
Harvard Graduate School of Design
The Harvard Graduate School of Design is a graduate school at Harvard University offering degrees in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Planning and Design.-History:...
(GSD). While Mr. Cohen is not a registered architect, he is a celebrated building designer and is Principal at Preston Scott Cohen, Inc. based in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
.
Academic Career
He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Architecture degrees from the Rhode Island School of DesignRhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design is a fine arts and design college located in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1877. Located at the base of College Hill, the RISD campus is contiguous with the Brown University campus. The two institutions share social, academic, and community resources and...
in 1982 and 1983 (respectively). In 1985, he received his Master of Architecture degree from the Harvard GSD. Gaining professorship there in 2003, he also served as the Director of the Architecture degree program. In 2008, he was appointed Chair of the GSD, a position held just prior by Toshiko Mori, and at one point by Walter Gropius
Walter Gropius
Walter Adolph Georg Gropius was a German architect and founder of the Bauhaus School who, along with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier, is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modern architecture....
.
Geometry in architecture
In the Wu House paper for the 2001 ArchiLabArchiLab
ArchiLab is an annual architectural exposition and conference held in Orléans in France. So far, there have been ArchiLab projects every year from 1999 to 2008.- ArchiLab 2001 :...
conference, Cohen gives a vision of his geometric transformations which are used to define the movement in space of the building occupant. The transformation is only accessible on paper but the images show all the same that these forms are the apothesis of his research at a given moment.
His approach is based on the descriptive geometry of the 17th century, but he shows a novel application by using oblique projection
Oblique projection
Oblique projection is a simple type of graphical projection used for producing pictorial, two-dimensional images of three-dimensional objects.- Overview :Oblique projection is a type of parallel projection:...
s. This approach is supported by computer modelling. The calculations are rapid, sometimes preprogrammed, and the transformation from two dimension
Dimension
In physics and mathematics, the dimension of a space or object is informally defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any point within it. Thus a line has a dimension of one because only one coordinate is needed to specify a point on it...
s to three is a simplified by the software. Geometry
Geometry
Geometry arose as the field of knowledge dealing with spatial relationships. Geometry was one of the two fields of pre-modern mathematics, the other being the study of numbers ....
is returned to its independent status after having served primarily the needs of technology during the industrialization of the West. It is no longer a tool for the production of machinery.
In the case of the Wu House, photographs of which have been collected by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is a modern art museum located in San Francisco, California. A nonprofit organization, SFMOMA holds an internationally recognized collection of modern and contemporary art and was the first museum on the West Coast devoted solely to 20th century art...
, the curves are the intersections of cylindrical volumes. The spaces are three-dimensional images of geometrical operations. The vitality of the lines reflects an idea of design
Design
Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...
which is far from the preconceived rules of aesthetics
Aesthetics
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste...
.
Tel Aviv Museum of Art
He is the winner of the Herta and Paul Amir Competition (awarded January, 2004) to design a new building for the Tel Aviv Museum of ArtTel Aviv Museum of Art
The Tel Aviv Museum of Art is an art museum in Tel Aviv, Israel. It was established in 1932 in a building that was the home of Tel Aviv's first mayor, Meir Dizengoff. The Helena Rubinstein Pavilion for Contemporary Art opened in 1959. The museum moved to its current location on King Saul Avenue in...
(estimated $45 million budget to build flexible gallery spaces, concessions, as well as the restoration of labs and offices). It is noted for its hyperboloid form, and is to be finished with Israeli stone. Renderings of the project were shown at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles is a contemporary art museum with three locations in greater Los Angeles, California. The main branch is located on Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, near Walt Disney Concert Hall...
in a 2006-2007 exhibition entitled Skin + Bones: parallel practices in fashion and architecture.
Publications
- Several publications, including the 1997 monograph Preston Scott Cohen
- Wu House paper for the ArchiLab conference 2001
- Forthcoming book Permutations of Descriptive Geometry