Roger Duffy
Encyclopedia
Roger Duffy is an American architect
, known for rigorous and unconventional approach to design. He currently works as a partner
at the firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
. He has been a design partner in the New York office since 1995, and is a member of the American Institute of Architects
and the League Circle of the Architectural League of New York
.
He received his Bachelor of Architecture
from Carnegie Mellon University
in 1979. Mr. Duffy currently lives with his wife and two children in Stuyvesant Town
in New York City
.
Experimentation and collaboration are evident throughout Roger Duffy’s projects worldwide, ranging from his award-winning Upper School and Library at Greenwich Academy, to the new home of the Skyscraper Museum
in New York, and the landside terminal at Ben Gurion International Airport
. His design for the Kuwait Police Academy was included in the Venice Biennale
, “Next”.
He does not work in any particular style, instead choosing a design that is rooted in a deep understanding of the unique qualities of each client’s program, site, and aspirations. His interest in making art integral to his designs has led to numerous fruitful collaborations with a wide range of artists, including James Turrell
and Robert Whitman
, and contributions from Lawrence Wiener.
Duffy received AIA design awards for 350 Madison Avenue, Birch Meadows Tennis Academy, Delbarton School
Performing Arts Center, Paterson PS 25, and multiple AIA design awards for Greenwich Academy
and Burr Elementary School. He also won a PA award for 350 Madison Avenue. Duffy’s buildings have been featured in the New York Times, A + U, International Design Magazine, Metropolis Magazine, House and Garden, and Architectural Record
.
Sustainability is a key aspect of Duffy’s design approach. His Koch Center for Science, Mathematics & Technology at Deerfield Academy
will receive a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
(LEED) Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. To launch the programming and design of the building, Duffy organized a symposium
, gathering experts from a variety of fields in a panel discussion. The symposium, a model adapted from the academic world, is characteristic of Duffy’s interest in broadening the context in which architecture is conceived.
In his work for schools, colleges, and universities, he looks for unique interventions to develop solutions to campus-wide problems and challenges. Duffy’s master planning work at Marist College
reflects a long held interest in campus planning and urban design. Before he begins any project, Duffy studies and analyzes the functionality of the best of that building type. This benchmarking methodology yields to a conceptual process that involves transcending and superseding the current state-of-the-art.
Two of Mr. Duffy’s most important initiatives are the creation of the campus planning and design studio known as SOM Education Lab and the launching of the SOM Journal, an annually published book of the firm’s best work as selected and critiqued by an independent jury of artists, designers, and critics.
site in New York City
. The group developed a complex, intertwined complex of nine bent buildings, interspersed vertically with small pocket park
s. It was not well-received, worsened by the fact that Duffy barely spoke about his idea at the general presentation on the 15th of that month, suggesting that he did not have much to say about it. Duffy withdrew SOM from the competition in late January 2003, so that the firm could focus on its other project, 7 World Trade Center
.
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
, known for rigorous and unconventional approach to design. He currently works as a partner
Partnership
A partnership is an arrangement where parties agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests.Since humans are social beings, partnerships between individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments, and varied combinations thereof, have always been and remain commonplace...
at the firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP is an American architectural and engineering firm that was formed in Chicago in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings; in 1939 they were joined by John O. Merrill. They opened their first branch in New York City, New York in 1937. SOM is one of the largest...
. He has been a design partner in the New York office since 1995, and is a member of the American Institute of Architects
American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to support the architecture profession and improve its public image...
and the League Circle of the Architectural League of New York
Architectural League of New York
The Architectural League of New York is a non-profit organization "for creative and intellectual work in architecture, urbanism, and related disciplines"....
.
He received his Bachelor of Architecture
Bachelor of Architecture
The Bachelor of Architecture is an undergraduate academic degree designed to satisfy the academic component of professional accreditation bodies, to be followed by a period of practical training prior to professional examination and registration. It is awarded for a course of study that lasts up...
from Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
in 1979. Mr. Duffy currently lives with his wife and two children in Stuyvesant Town
Stuyvesant Town
Stuyvesant Town—Peter Cooper Village is a large private residential development on the East Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City, and one of the most iconic and successful post-World War II private housing communities...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Career
After graduating from Carnegie Mellon, he attempted to find a job at many firms, eventually arriving in the lobby of SOM's Washington, DC office without an appointment. He was not promised an interview, simply waiting in the lobby for several days before David Childs interviewed him, on the basis of his determination. He worked in Washington for several years, before he moved to New York.Experimentation and collaboration are evident throughout Roger Duffy’s projects worldwide, ranging from his award-winning Upper School and Library at Greenwich Academy, to the new home of the Skyscraper Museum
Skyscraper Museum
The Skyscraper Museum, located in New York City in the United States, has been the only museum of its kind in the world since opening on May 1, 1997...
in New York, and the landside terminal at Ben Gurion International Airport
Ben Gurion International Airport
Ben Gurion International Airport , also referred to by its Hebrew acronym Natbag , is the largest and busiest international airport in Israel, handling 12,160,339 passengers in 2010...
. His design for the Kuwait Police Academy was included in the Venice Biennale
Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale is a major contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years in Venice, Italy. The Venice Film Festival is part of it. So too is the Venice Biennale of Architecture, which is held in even years...
, “Next”.
He does not work in any particular style, instead choosing a design that is rooted in a deep understanding of the unique qualities of each client’s program, site, and aspirations. His interest in making art integral to his designs has led to numerous fruitful collaborations with a wide range of artists, including James Turrell
James Turrell
James Turrell is an American artist primarily concerned with light and space. Turrell was a MacArthur Fellow in 1984. He is represented by The Pace Gallery in New York...
and Robert Whitman
Robert Whitman
Robert Whitman is an American artist best known for his seminal theater pieces of the early 1960s combining visual and sound images, actors, film, slides, and evocative props in environments of his own making...
, and contributions from Lawrence Wiener.
Duffy received AIA design awards for 350 Madison Avenue, Birch Meadows Tennis Academy, Delbarton School
Delbarton School
Delbarton School is a private all-male Roman Catholic college preparatory school in Morristown, New Jersey, educating young men from 7th to 12th grade. Delbarton is a Catholic independent school directed by the Benedictine monks of St. Mary's Abbey....
Performing Arts Center, Paterson PS 25, and multiple AIA design awards for Greenwich Academy
Greenwich Academy
Greenwich Academy is an independent, all-girls preparatory day school in Greenwich, Connecticut. Founded in 1827, it is the oldest girls' school in Connecticut. Greenwich Academy's motto is Ad ingenium faciendum, "Toward the Building of Character."...
and Burr Elementary School. He also won a PA award for 350 Madison Avenue. Duffy’s buildings have been featured in the New York Times, A + U, International Design Magazine, Metropolis Magazine, House and Garden, and Architectural Record
Architectural Record
Architectural Record is an American monthly magazine dedicated to architecture and interior design, published by McGraw-Hill Construction in New York City. It is over 110 years old...
.
 |
Sustainability is a key aspect of Duffy’s design approach. His Koch Center for Science, Mathematics & Technology at Deerfield Academy
Deerfield Academy
Deerfield Academy is an independent, coeducational boarding school in Deerfield, Massachusetts, United States. It is a four-year college-preparatory school with approximately 600 students and about 100 faculty, all of whom live on or near campus....
will receive a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design consists of a suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, homes and neighborhoods....
(LEED) Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. To launch the programming and design of the building, Duffy organized a symposium
Symposium
In ancient Greece, the symposium was a drinking party. Literary works that describe or take place at a symposium include two Socratic dialogues, Plato's Symposium and Xenophon's Symposium, as well as a number of Greek poems such as the elegies of Theognis of Megara...
, gathering experts from a variety of fields in a panel discussion. The symposium, a model adapted from the academic world, is characteristic of Duffy’s interest in broadening the context in which architecture is conceived.
In his work for schools, colleges, and universities, he looks for unique interventions to develop solutions to campus-wide problems and challenges. Duffy’s master planning work at Marist College
Marist College
Marist College is a private liberal arts college on the east bank of the Hudson River near Poughkeepsie, New York. The site was established in 1905 by Marist Brothers, and the college was chartered in 1929...
reflects a long held interest in campus planning and urban design. Before he begins any project, Duffy studies and analyzes the functionality of the best of that building type. This benchmarking methodology yields to a conceptual process that involves transcending and superseding the current state-of-the-art.
Two of Mr. Duffy’s most important initiatives are the creation of the campus planning and design studio known as SOM Education Lab and the launching of the SOM Journal, an annually published book of the firm’s best work as selected and critiqued by an independent jury of artists, designers, and critics.
World Trade Center Plans
In December 2002, he headed a team that designed a proposal for the rebuilt WTCWTC
WTC is an initialism which may stand for:*World Trade Center in New York, a seven-building complex in Lower Manhattan that was destroyed in the September 11, 2001 attacks**World Trade Center a series of World Trade Centers...
site in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The group developed a complex, intertwined complex of nine bent buildings, interspersed vertically with small pocket park
Pocket park
A pocket park, parkette or mini-park is a small park accessible to the general public. In some areas they are called miniparks or vest-pocket parks....
s. It was not well-received, worsened by the fact that Duffy barely spoke about his idea at the general presentation on the 15th of that month, suggesting that he did not have much to say about it. Duffy withdrew SOM from the competition in late January 2003, so that the firm could focus on its other project, 7 World Trade Center
7 World Trade Center
7 World Trade Center is a building in New York City located across from the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan. It is the second building to bear that name and address in that location. The original structure was completed in 1987 and was destroyed in the September 11 attacks...
.
Projects
- Deerfield AcademyDeerfield AcademyDeerfield Academy is an independent, coeducational boarding school in Deerfield, Massachusetts, United States. It is a four-year college-preparatory school with approximately 600 students and about 100 faculty, all of whom live on or near campus....
natatoriumNatatoriumA natatorium is a term given for a building containing a swimming pool. In Latin, a cella natatoria was a swimming pool in its own building, although it is sometimes also used to refer to any indoor pool even if not housed in a dedicated building...
, Deerfield, MassachusettsDeerfield, MassachusettsDeerfield is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 4,750 as of the 2000 census. Deerfield is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area in Western Massachusetts, lying only north of the city of Springfield.Deerfield includes the...
- 1991 - Deerfield AcademyDeerfield AcademyDeerfield Academy is an independent, coeducational boarding school in Deerfield, Massachusetts, United States. It is a four-year college-preparatory school with approximately 600 students and about 100 faculty, all of whom live on or near campus....
dormitory complex, Deerfield, MassachusettsDeerfield, MassachusettsDeerfield is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 4,750 as of the 2000 census. Deerfield is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area in Western Massachusetts, lying only north of the city of Springfield.Deerfield includes the...
- 1998 - Ben Gurion International AirportBen Gurion International AirportBen Gurion International Airport , also referred to by its Hebrew acronym Natbag , is the largest and busiest international airport in Israel, handling 12,160,339 passengers in 2010...
Terminal 3 / Landside Terminal, Tel Aviv, Israel - 2004 (With Ram KarmiRam KarmiRam Karmi is a leading Israeli architect. He is head of the Tel Aviv-based Ram Karmi Architects company, and is known for his Brutalist style.-Biography:Ram Karmi was born in Jerusalem, and grew up in Tel Aviv...
and Moshe SafdieMoshe SafdieMoshe Safdie, CC, FAIA is an architect, urban designer, educator, theorist, and author. Born in the city of Haifa, then Palestine and now Israel, he moved with his family to Montreal, Canada, when he was 15 years old.-Career:...
)
As a partner
- Greenwich AcademyGreenwich AcademyGreenwich Academy is an independent, all-girls preparatory day school in Greenwich, Connecticut. Founded in 1827, it is the oldest girls' school in Connecticut. Greenwich Academy's motto is Ad ingenium faciendum, "Toward the Building of Character."...
upper School and library - Greenwich, ConnecticutGreenwich, ConnecticutGreenwich is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 61,171. It is home to many hedge funds and other financial service companies. Greenwich is the southernmost and westernmost municipality in Connecticut and is 38+ minutes ...
- 2002 - Burr Elementary School, Fairfield, ConnecticutFairfield, ConnecticutFairfield is a town located in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is bordered by the towns of Bridgeport, Trumbull, Easton, Redding and Westport along the Gold Coast of Connecticut. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 59,404...
- 2003 - Kuwait Police Academy, Safat, Kuwait - 2003
- Skyscraper MuseumSkyscraper MuseumThe Skyscraper Museum, located in New York City in the United States, has been the only museum of its kind in the world since opening on May 1, 1997...
, New York, New York - 2004 - Deerfield AcademyDeerfield AcademyDeerfield Academy is an independent, coeducational boarding school in Deerfield, Massachusetts, United States. It is a four-year college-preparatory school with approximately 600 students and about 100 faculty, all of whom live on or near campus....
, Koch SMT Center, Deerfield, MassachusettsDeerfield, MassachusettsDeerfield is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 4,750 as of the 2000 census. Deerfield is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area in Western Massachusetts, lying only north of the city of Springfield.Deerfield includes the...
- 2006
- St. Albans SchoolSt. Albans School (Washington, D.C.)St. Albans School is an independent college preparatory school for boys in grades 4–12, located in Washington, D.C. The school is named after Saint Alban, traditionally regarded as the first British martyr. Within the St...
Long Range Capital Plan, Washington, DC - 2007-2020 - Brown UniversityBrown UniversityBrown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
, Sidney Frank Center, Providence, Rhode IslandProvidence, Rhode IslandProvidence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
- 2009
See also
- Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
- David ChildsDavid ChildsDavid M. Childs is the Consulting Design Partner at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. He is best known for his redesign of the new One World Trade Center in New York....
- William F. Baker (engineer)William F. Baker (engineer)William Frazier Baker, also known as Bill Baker, is an American structural engineer known for engineering the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building/manmade structure....
- Ross WimerRoss WimerRoss Wimer, FAIA is an American architect, known for integrating the rigor and logic of engineering into his designs. He is a design director in the Chicago office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, LLP and is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects...
- Craig W. HartmanCraig W. HartmanCraig W. Hartman, FAIA is an architect and the Design Partner of the Skidmore, Owings and Merrill San Francisco, California office. His most prominent work includes the Cathedral of Christ the Light for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland. It is the first cathedral in the world built entirely...
- T.J. GottesdienerT.J. GottesdienerT.J. Gottesdiener, FAIA, is an architect and Managing Partner of the New York office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill . A graduate of Cooper Union’s Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture, Gottesdiener joined SOM in 1980 and was made Partner in 1994...