Steven Izenour
Encyclopedia
Steven Izenour was an American architect
, urbanist and theorist. He is best known as co-author, with Robert Venturi
and Denise Scott Brown
of Learning from Las Vegas, one of the most influential architectural theory
books of the twentieth century. He was also principal in the Philadelphia firm Venturi, Scott Brown & Associates. He was born in New Haven, Connecticut. His father was theatre stage and lighting designer George Izenour. He was married, in 1964, to Elisabeth Margit Gemmill.
and architecture at the University of Pennsylvania
, before going on to earn a Master of Environmental Design at Yale University
in 1969. After completing his degree he went to work with Philadelphia firm, Venturi and Rauch. While still at Yale he was a teacher who assisted Venturi and Scott Brown in 1968 for a studio course and research project titled "Learning from Las Vegas, or Form Analysis as Design Research". The findings from the research eventually became the book "Learning from Las Vegas" first published in 1972 and republished in a revised edition in 1977 titled Learning from Las Vegas. The Forgotten Symbolism of Architectral Form. As well as teaching at Yale University, Izenour also taught at the University of Pennsylvania
and Drexel University
.
Learning from Las Vegas caused a stir in the architectural world upon its publication, as it was hailed by progressive critics for its bold indictment of Modernism, and by the status quo as blasphemous. A split among young American architects occurred during the 1970s, with Izenour, Venturi, Robert A.M. Stern, Charles Moore and Allan Greenberg defending the book as "The Greys," and Richard Meier, Peter Eisenman, John Heyduk, and Michael Graves writing against its premises as "The Whites." It became associated with post-modernism when magazines such as Progressive Architecture published articles citing its influence on the younger generation. When Tom Wolfe wrote his often-pilloried book, From Bauhaus to Our House Venturi, Scott Brown and Izenour were among the heroes the author praised for their stand against heroic Modernism.
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...
, urbanist and theorist. He is best known as co-author, with Robert Venturi
Robert Venturi
Robert Charles Venturi, Jr. is an American architect, founding principal of the firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates, and one of the major figures in the architecture of the twentieth century...
and Denise Scott Brown
Denise Scott Brown
Denise Scott Brown, is an architect, planner, writer, educator, and principal of the firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates in Philadelphia...
of Learning from Las Vegas, one of the most influential architectural theory
Architectural theory
Architectural theory is the act of thinking, discussing, or most importantly writing about architecture. Architectural theory is taught in most architecture schools and is practiced by the world's leading architects. Some forms that architecture theory takes are the lecture or dialogue, the...
books of the twentieth century. He was also principal in the Philadelphia firm Venturi, Scott Brown & Associates. He was born in New Haven, Connecticut. His father was theatre stage and lighting designer George Izenour. He was married, in 1964, to Elisabeth Margit Gemmill.
Education and teaching
Izenour studied art history at Swarthmore CollegeSwarthmore College
Swarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....
and architecture at the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, before going on to earn a Master of Environmental Design at 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...
in 1969. After completing his degree he went to work with Philadelphia firm, Venturi and Rauch. While still at Yale he was a teacher who assisted Venturi and Scott Brown in 1968 for a studio course and research project titled "Learning from Las Vegas, or Form Analysis as Design Research". The findings from the research eventually became the book "Learning from Las Vegas" first published in 1972 and republished in a revised edition in 1977 titled Learning from Las Vegas. The Forgotten Symbolism of Architectral Form. As well as teaching at Yale University, Izenour also taught at the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
and Drexel University
Drexel University
Drexel University is a private research university with the main campus located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. It was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a noted financier and philanthropist. Drexel offers 70 full-time undergraduate programs and accelerated degrees...
.
Learning from Las Vegas
Izenour accompanied his senior tutor colleagues, Venturi and Scott Brown, to Las Vegas in 1968 together with nine students of architecture and two planning and two graphics students to study the urban form of the city that was regarded as a "non-city", the outgrowth of a "strip", along which were placed parking lots and singular frontages for gambling casinos, hotels, churches and bars. Venturi, Scott Brown and Izenour had already previously visited Las Vegas - which had led to the joint article "A significance for A&P parking lots, or learning from Las Vegas" (1968). The research group studied various aspects of the city, including its symbolism, the lighting, "pattern books", "styles" and "illusion/allusion". Their conclusion was that in a city like Las Vegas image has far greater importance than architectural form. The difference was said to be epitomised in the difference between architecture as either a "decorated shed" or "duck". The greatest part of modernist architecture attempted to be a "duck" in being expressive, especially in terms of volume; but the "decorated shed" held no such illusions and relied on imagery and signs. Virtually all architecture prior to the Modern Movement used such decoration to convey meaning, often profound but sometimes simply perfunctory, such as the signage on medieval shop fronts. Only Modernist architecture eschewed such ornament, relying only on its corporeal or structural elements to convey meaning. As such, it became mute and often vacuous, especially when built for corporate or government clients.Learning from Las Vegas caused a stir in the architectural world upon its publication, as it was hailed by progressive critics for its bold indictment of Modernism, and by the status quo as blasphemous. A split among young American architects occurred during the 1970s, with Izenour, Venturi, Robert A.M. Stern, Charles Moore and Allan Greenberg defending the book as "The Greys," and Richard Meier, Peter Eisenman, John Heyduk, and Michael Graves writing against its premises as "The Whites." It became associated with post-modernism when magazines such as Progressive Architecture published articles citing its influence on the younger generation. When Tom Wolfe wrote his often-pilloried book, From Bauhaus to Our House Venturi, Scott Brown and Izenour were among the heroes the author praised for their stand against heroic Modernism.