The Architects' Collaborative
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
architectural firm formed 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....
and seven younger architects in 1945 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...
. The other partners were Norman C. Fletcher
Norman Fletcher
Norman Collings Fletcher was an American architect who was a co-founder and partner of the architectural firm The Architects' Collaborative , working there from 1945 until the firm's demise in 1995. His wife was Jean B. Fletcher.Fletcher was born in Providence, Rhode Island...
(December 8, 1917-May 31, 2007), Jean B. Fletcher
Jean B. Fletcher
Jean Bodman Fletcher was an American architect who was a founding member of the Architects' Collaborative. She graduated from Smith College in 1937, and finished her architectural training at the Cambridge School in 1941, an architecture school for women affilitated with Harvard University and...
(1915–September 13, 1965), John C. Harkness
John C. Harkness
John Cheesman Harkness is an American architect who was a founder and partner of The Architects Collaborative in Cambridge, Massachusetts with Walter Gropius and six other architects...
(b. November 30, 1916), Sarah P. Harkness
Sarah P. Harkness
Sarah Pillsbury Harkness is an American architect. She was born in Swampscott, Massachusetts.She attended the Smith College Graduate School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture in 1940. She was a founder, in 1945, and now Principal Emeritus of the Architects' Collaborative...
(b. July 8, 1914), Robert S. McMillan
Robert S. McMillan (architect)
Robert Sensman McMillan was an architect who was one of the founders of The Architects Collaborative. He was a part of TAC its founding date in 1945 until he left in 1963. Following his departure from TAC, he started his own firm Robert S. McMillan Associates, which concentrated mainly on projects...
(April 3, 1916–March 14, 2001), Louis A. McMillen
Louis A. McMillen
Louis Albert McMillen was an American architect who was one of the original founding partners of The Architects Collaborative with Walter Gropius and six other architects. McMillen was part of TAC from its founding in 1945 until its demise in 1995.-Career:McMillen attended Yale University School...
(October 21, 1916–May 8, 1998) and Benjamin C. Thompson
Benjamin C. Thompson
Benjamin C. Thompson was an American architect.Thompson was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, graduated from Yale University in 1941, then spent four years in the United States Navy fighting in World War II...
(July 3, 1918–August 21, 2002). TAC has created many successful projects, and has been well respected for its broad range of designs. One of TAC's specialties was designing public school buildings.
Way of working
This philosophy reflected Gropius' central preoccupation with the social responsibilities of architecture. The idea of "collaboration", which was the basis of TAC. It was carried out in that an entire group of architects have their input on a project, rather than putting an emphasis on individualism. There would be a "partner-in-charge", who would meet with clients and have the final decision of what goes into the design. Originally, each of the eight partners would hold weekly meetings on a Thursday to discuss their projects and be open to design input and ideas. However, as the firm grew larger there were many more people on a team and it was more difficult to consolidate into one group. Therefore, many other "groups" of architects within the firm were formed and carried out the same original objective.Demise
Financial problems in the 1980s resulted in TAC being unable to pay expenses which they owed to BayBank and Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, to which TAC's headquarters was sold in 1988. TAC closed officially in April 1995 In response, many archives and architectural libraries worked fast to retrieve TAC's drawings and records. The majority of these are now stored in the Rotch Library at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
.
Legacy
TAC has been a notable landmark in the history of postwar modernismModernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
. For the most part the firm functioned as a team rather than on an individual basis, which was considered a unique method of architectural practice, which reflected Gropius' philosophy of working collaboratively with others when he was a Bauhaus
Bauhaus
', commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933. At that time the German term stood for "School of Building".The Bauhaus school was founded by...
instructor in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
prior to TAC. In later years, TAC was known as one of the first architects to design environmentally "green
Green Movement
The Green Movement refers to a series of actions after the 2009 Iranian presidential election, in which protesters demanded the removal of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from office...
" buildings starting in the early 1980s. Two of the original eight founders, Norman Fletcher and John "Chip" Harkness stayed with TAC for its entire 50 year existence.
Important works
- Six Moon HillSix Moon HillSix Moon Hill is a residential community dwelling that was designed by The Architects' Collaborative and is located in Lexington, Massachusetts....
; Lexington, MassachusettsLexington, MassachusettsLexington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 31,399 at the 2010 census. This town is famous for being the site of the first shot of the American Revolution, in the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775.- History :...
; 1947-1950 - Five Fields; Lexington, MassachusettsLexington, MassachusettsLexington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 31,399 at the 2010 census. This town is famous for being the site of the first shot of the American Revolution, in the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775.- History :...
; 1951-1959 - Harvard Graduate CenterHarvard Graduate CenterThe Harvard Graduate Center, also known as Harkness Commons, was commissioned of The Architects Collaborative by Harvard University in 1948...
; Cambridge, MassachusettsCambridge, MassachusettsCambridge 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...
; 1949 - University of BaghdadUniversity of BaghdadThe University of Baghdad is the largest university in Iraq and the second largest Arab university following the University of Cairo.- Nomenclature :Both University of Baghdad and Baghdad University are used interchangeably....
; Baghdad, Iraq; 1957-1960 - Pan-American World Airways BuildingMetLife BuildingThe MetLife Building, originally called the Pan Am Building, is a skyscraper located at 200 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.-History:...
; New York, New York; 1958-1963 (with Emery Roth & Sons) - Wayland High SchoolWayland High SchoolWayland High School is a secondary school located at 264 Old Connecticut Path in Wayland, Massachusetts. Its principal is Patrick Tutwiler. The style of the high school was inspired by college campuses: there are 8 separate buildings, each dedicated to one or more general areas of study. ...
; Wayland, MassachusettsWayland, MassachusettsWayland is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 12,994 at the 2010 census.For geographic and demographic information on Cochituate, which is part of Wayland, please see the article Cochituate, Massachusetts.-History:...
; 1960, 1966 & 1972 - John Fitzgerald Kennedy Office Building; Boston, Massachusetts; 1961-1966
- Parkside Elementary School; Columbus, IndianaColumbus, IndianaColumbus is a city in and the county seat of Bartholomew County, Indiana, United States. The population was 44,061 at the 2010 census, and the current mayor is Fred Armstrong. Located approximately 40 miles south of Indianapolis, on the east fork of the White River, it is the state's 20th largest...
; 1962 - RosenthalRosenthalRosenthal is a name of German origin, meaning rose valley, and may refer to:* Rosenthal, Hesse, in the Waldeck-Frankenberg district* Rosenthal , a part of Berlin, Germany* Rosenthal, a part of Peine in Lower Saxony...
Porcelien Factory; Selb, BavariaSelbSelb is a town in the district of Wunsiedel, in Upper Franconia, Bavaria, Germany. It is situated in the Fichtelgebirge, on the border with the Czech Republic, 20 km northwest of Cheb and 23 km southeast of Hof.-Notable people:...
; 1965 - Tower EastTower EastTower East is a high-rise office building in Shaker Heights, Ohio. At , it is the tallest building in the city. Tower East was the last building in the United States designed by architect Walter Gropius. BGK Equities of Santa Fe purchased the building for $12.68 million in 2000.- References :**...
; Shaker Heights, OhioShaker Heights, OhioShaker Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population was 28,448. It is an inner-ring streetcar suburb of Cleveland that abuts the city on its eastern side.-Topography:Shaker Heights is located at...
; 1969 - AIAAmerican Institute of ArchitectsThe 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...
Headquarters Building; Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
; 1973 - Health Sciences Expansion; University of MinnesotaUniversity of MinnesotaThe University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
, Minneapolis, MinnesotaMinneapolis, MinnesotaMinneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
; 1974 - San Francisco Tower; Kansas City, MissouriKansas City, MissouriKansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
; 1976 - Bauhaus Archive; Berlin, Germany; 1976-1979
- Corporate Headquarters for CIGNACIGNACigna , headquartered in Bloomfield, Connecticut, is a global health services company, owing to its expanding international footprint and the fact that it provides administrative services only to approximately 80 percent of its clients...
; Bloomfield, ConnecticutBloomfield, ConnecticutBloomfield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 20,626 at the 2009 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and 0.2 square miles is water.Bloomfield is bordered by Windsor to the...
; 1979-1984 - Embassy of the United StatesEmbassy of the United States in AthensThe Embassy of the United States in Athens is the embassy of the United States in Greece, in the capital city of Athens. The embassy is charged with diplomacy and Greece–United States relations. The United States Ambassador to Greece is the head of the diplomatic mission of the United States to...
, AthensAthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, GreeceGreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
(with consulting architect Pericles A. SakellariosPericles A. SakellariosPerikles A. Sakellarios , was one of the leading figures in Greek architecture between 1936 and 1985.- Biography :Born in Corfu – Greece on 13 September 1905, first son of Aristidis Sakellarios and Thalia Mavrogianni....
) - Shirley S. Okerstrom Fine Arts Building;Traverse City,MI:United States; 1972
- Copley PlaceCopley PlaceCopley Place is an enclosed shopping mall, constructed in 1983, located in the Back Bay section of Boston, Massachusetts. It is owned by Simon Property Group, which acquired it in the 2002 breakup of the then-Dutch owned Urban Shopping Centers, Inc...
, mixed-use retail/cinema/hotel/office building development; Boston, Massachusetts; 1984 - Heritage on the Garden, condominium facing the Public GardenPublic GardenPublic Garden is the second mini-album by Dragon Ash; released in 1997. Realism II was used as the theme for Asahi National Broadcasting Co.'s "Sports Spotters" show.-Track listing:#"Realism II" – 2:55#"Ability → Normal" – 3:05...
; Boston, Massachusetts; 1988 - Flagship Wharf Condominiums; Charlestown Navy Yard, MassachusettsMassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
; 1990