United States
Hugh Stubbins and associates In an address to students of architecture in the Spring of 1966, at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, Hugh Stubbins, speaking on the subject of “Education in Architecture,” left his audience with this closing statement: “Of all the Arts, Architecture is the most pervasive. It encompasses almost every facet of design. It shelters man and symbolizes his security; it defines and limits space; it provokes emotions and it has been the mirror of every civilization since the beginning of time.
Even though a building has commodity and firmness, to be considered truly great it must possess one more quality perhaps transcending the others, that of “delight”.
It must have that quality which appeals to the spirit—it must have beauty.
In the final analysis, the environment of man is the consequence of what HE believes to be important. It is the reflection of his own inner drive toward a greater awareness and his concern for all human values.” For over twenty-five years Hugh Stubbins has been actively engaged in the practice of architecture, and during these years his work has increasingly expressed his understanding of the issues which are vital to the production of quality in architecture.
Today Hugh Stubbins maintains a unique forty-man office which operates on a “staff level”. He brings into position the particular specialties of each individual as they are required for the needs of a specific project, while maintaining design responsibility for the total work of the office.
In the early years of practice the emphasis was on residential work scattered about the New England region. In recent years the practice has expanded into a national and international operation which includes projects of greater scope on a private and public level.
Recent projects have been a 65,000 seat Sports Stadium in the City of Philadelphia, a 32 story Office Building in Boston and a University Dormitory living-com150
plex for over 6,000 students at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.
Of the foreign projects, most notable is the Congress Hall, in Berlin, Germany, which was designed by Hugh Stubbins in 1955 and completed in 1957. He was also selected by the World Health Organization as one of two United States Architects to participate in the international competition for the W.H.O. headquarters in Geneva, and on another occasion for a competition involving the design of the American Embassy in London.
New projects in the office include a College for the Creative Arts in Santa Cruz, California, which is to be part of the huge University of California expansion program, and a completely new College to be built in the Berkshire region of Massachusetts.
Besides emphasis in architectural design, the office provides experts in planning, site engineering, landscape design, interior furnishings, color and materials coordination. Structural, Mechanical, Engineering and other special services are performed outside the office by such specialists in a consulting capacity.
Hugh Stubbins was born in Birmingham, Alabama some 54 years ago. He studied at the Georgia Institute of Technology and graduated in 1933 with honors, which included two scholarships for graduate studies at both Harvard and MIT. Choosing Harvard, he graduated in two years with a Masters degree in Architecture.
In 1940, Walter Gropius invited him to a position as instructor in the Graduate School of Design at Harvard. Subsequently he was appointed an Associate Professor and in 1953, became Chairman of the Department of Architecture, a post which was held for a year before resigning to devote full attention to his expanding practice.
Besides an active role in the education of young architects, and in lecturing at Universities in various parts of the country, he has been a national Vice-President of the American Institute of Architects, a
Director of the Benjamin Franklin Foundation, Berlin, Germany and Chairman of the Design Advisory Committee of the Boston Redevelopment Authority. In recent years his honors have included election to the National Academy of Design, Fellowships in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and in the American Institute of Architects.
He and his wife, the former Colette Fadeuilhe of Paris, France and children of a former marriage, live a full and active life. As a man of action, he at times appears somewhat impatient with the inefficiency and lack of conviction in others’ expressed thoughts and actions, yet at the same time he pursues his goals with a disciplined objectivity.
The youthful spirit and boundless energies are expressed in his pursuit of living the full life—in the out-of-doors by sailing in the summer and skiing in the winter.
Recently he took time out on weekends and evenings to design and build a new home for his family including the personal development of working drawings, specifications and subsequently the supervision of construction.
In the work of Hugh Stubbins there are some guidelines or principles which he
“Architecture is man’s creations of the fabric of our physical environment
tries to follow. He has a deep respect for function, and states “The planning problem must be solved, the building must “work” not only for the user but if possible be flexible for the future. The principle of function cannot be violated because Architecture is the servant of society”.
“Structure is of great importance. It should be forthright, logical and honest. A building should have structural integrity.
That does not mean that structure must necessarily always be expressed.” “We must be conscious of architecture as an expression of our time, built in our time, for the use and enjoyment of our contemporaries, using our technology and experience.” “A building should express in some way its purpose as well as have a unity in itself.
It must be a whole thing.” In continuing his remarks on theories in Architecture, he includes integration within the environment as being of prime importance, and claims, “To avoid the chaos we now have in our physical world, we must respect our surroundings be — they natural or man-made.” He recalls a quotation made recently by a Dutch Architect—
“Whoever attempts to solve the riddle of space in the abstract will construct the outline of emptiness and call it space.
Whoever attempts to meet man in the abstract will speak with his echo and call this a dialogue. Man still breathes in and out. When is architecture going to do the same?” Expanding on these concepts, Hugh Stubbins thinks of architecture in it’s broadest sense not as individual buildings, but as the whole fabric of the physical environment. “Architecture is man’s “manmade” world in its totality. It is everything we have built about us, our cities, our suburbs, our sidewalks, highways, buildings parks, signs, street lighting, right down to the houses we live in, the chairs we sit in, all of our physical aids to living.
It is seldom, if ever, that one person can design the whole fabric. Usually only a small part of it comes within the purview of the Architect, and it follows that, if order and all the great attributes of the Art of Architecture are to be achieved, then an important consideration is the relation of each individual’s effort to the whole.” Hugh Stubbins believes that Alvar Aalto of Finland is the greatest living Architect and one who has consistently followed the approach of building within the whole fabric of his environment.
“Aalto never strives for “newsworthy” architecture” says Stubbins, “He builds with a thorough familiarity of the problem and its situation with a palate of homogenous materials and logical structure.
He draws upon past experience with an eye to the future and is always considerate of the background and geography of his country. His fresh, sincere and humble approach has influenced me greatly.” When a new person is placed on the office staff, a Manual of Operations is given him for review and for his file as a ready reference on the procedures and policies
of the office. On the first page, there is a statement of the philosophy of the firm, as written by Hugh Stubbins which reads: “Traditionally, the architect has always been the “Master Builder.” Today, the Architect is all of that and more. He corporately must understand and coordinate the intricacies of private, federal and municipal finance; the massive scope of urban planning; and the abundance of rapidly advancing technology. But basic to these modern responsibilities is the combined necessity for the Architect’s trained judgement in maintaining the delicate balance between art and construction.
Drawing pictures is but a means to this end.
The Architect must first understand people, he must know the client’s financial means, and must design to meet them, both immediately and eventually, he must know the Laws governing building contracts... how to complete a project expeditiously and well.
By perceptive study of the physical and emotional needs of a building program, as well as the necessities—both realized and unrealized, the Architect must produce in tangible terms a structure of the highest esthetic standards, which, at the same time, succeeds in satisfying the functional, financial, and humanistic aspects of the project.
To these ideals, the firm of Hugh Stubbins and Associates is dedicated.”
Congress Hall Berlin Germany, 1957
Photos: John Brook, Wummer, Ezra Stoller, J. W. Molitor, L. M. Bowen, L. Reens
Paul John Grayson
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Senior Center of Bowdoin College Brunswick, Maine, 1963
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Three Buildings — A sixteen story tower building with living quarters for 202 senior class students and resident faculty; Seminar, Conference and reading rooms; visitor's lounges and offices of the Director and staff.
A two story building with main dining room, a large lecture and concert lounge.
A three story Director's residence apartment for visitors, and banquet rooms.
The Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School Boston, Massachusetts.
One of the largest medical libraries in the world which in design reflects a strong and well defined philosophy of library service emphasizing easy access to the collections, as an active instrument of education and an essential adjunct to research.
Eight level structure
450,000 Volumes
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Interior View of open court at Level Lower One.
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Lower two.
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▲ Loeb Drama Center, Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts First flexible — experimental theater in the United States. Auditorium seats Six Hundred.
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Detail view, State Street Bank Building Boston, Massachusetts.
Collaborative Project ofPearl Street Associates, including Hugh Strubbins.
34 Story Tower steel frame, 17 foot cantilevered exterior spans, floor system metal deck and fill.
Exterior wall precast concrete frame supported at each floor glazed from interior.
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Pratiquant l’architecture depuis plus de 25 ans Hugh Stubbins dirige aujourd’hui un bureau unique, fort de quarante spécialistes. Préoccupé tout d’abord de doter de résidences la Nouvelle Angleterre il s’est ensuite consacré à des ouvrages nationaux et internationaux comprenant des projets de grande envergure (stade de 65 000 places à Philadelphie, 32 étages de bureaux à Boston, complexe dortoir-living pour plus de 6000 étudiants à l’Université d’Amherst. — A l’étranger: Halle des Congrès de Berlin, concours pour le quartier-général de l’OMS à Genève et concours pour l’Ambassade Américaine de Londres. — Dans l’avenir: Collège d’Arts à Santa Cruz et collège dans le Berkshire entre autres).
Né à Birmingham (Alabama) il y a quelque 54 ans Hugh Stubbins était invité en 1940, par Walter Gropius, à enseigner à Harvard. A part un rôle actif dans la formation des jeunes architectes il cumule les charges honorifiques et les décorations, ce qui ne l’empêche pas de poursuivre avec une objectivité disciplinée les buts qu’il s’est proposés.
Selon Hugh Stubbins, le principe de Fonction ne saurait être violé puisque l’architecture est au service de la société. Elle est aussi le monde « man-made » de l’homme dans sa totalité. Elle est surtout, de tous les arts, le plus étendu, qui embrasse presque chaque face du dessin. Elle abrite l’homme et symbolise sa sécurité. Elle définit et limite l’espace.
Suscitant l’émotion et miroir, dès le début des temps, de toute civilisation l’architecture enfin doit posséder cette qualité qui parle à l’esprit et qui s’appelle la Beauté.
Seit 25 Jahren als Architekt tätig leitet Hugh Stubbins heute ein einzigartiges, mit 40 Fachleuten besetztes Büro. Er beschäftigte sich anfänglich mit dem Bau von Wohnhäusern in Neu-England. Später hat er sich dann nationalen und internationalen Aufgaben gewidmet, zu denen Projekte großen Umfangs gehören (ein Stadion mit 65 000 Plätzen in Philadelphia, ein 32stöckiges Bürohaus in Boston, ein Schlafsaal-Wohnraum-Komplex für mehr als 6000 Studenten der Amherst-Universität. Im Ausland: Berliner Kongreßhalle, Wettbewerb für das Hauptquartier der OMS in Genf und Wettbewerb für die amerikanische Botschaft in London. In Planung: unter anderem Bau einer Kunsthochschule in Santa Cruz und eines Gymnasiums in Berkshire).
Vor einigen 54 Jahren in Birmingham (Alabama) geboren, erhielt Hugh Stubbins im Jahre 1940 von Walter Gropius eine Einladung, in Harvard zu lehren. Neben einer aktiven Rolle bei der Ausbildung junger Architekten hat er mehrere Ehrenämter und Auszeichnungen, was ihn nicht daran hindert, seine vorgenommenen Ziele mit einer disziplinierten Objektivität weiterzuführen.
Hugh Stubbins zufolge ist das Funktionsprinzip unverletzlich, da die Architektur im Dienste der Gesellschaft steht und damit die « man-Made »-Welt des Menschen in ihrer Gesamtheit darstellt. Von allen Künsten ist sie die ausgedehnteste, die fast jede Seite des Entwurfs umfasst. Die Architektur schützt den Menschen und symbolisiert seine Sicherheit. Durch sie wird der Raum bestimmt und abgegrenzt. Gemütsbewegung erweckend und seit Anfang aller Zeiten Spiegel jeglicher Kultur, muß die Architektur letztlich jene Eigenschaft besitzen, die den Geist anspricht und Schönheit heißt.
Hugh Stubbins pratica da 25 anni e dirige uno studio di quaranta specialisti. Ha cominciato con la costruzione di abitazioni nella Nuova Inghilterra, per passare poi a progetti più importanti, quali uno stadio per 65.000 spettatori a Filadelfia, un palazzo commerciale di 32 piani a Boston, un complesso dormitorio-living per 6000 studenti all’università di Amherst, un palazzo dei congressi a Berlino, il Collegio delle Arti a Santa Cruz e un collegio nel Berkshire, questi due ultimi non ancora eretti.
Fu chiamato nel 1940 da Walter Gropius per insegnare a Harvard.
Secondo Hugh Stubbins, il principio di « Funzione » non può essere violato, dato che l’architettura è al servizio della società.
Detail of Entry to Undergraduate Dormitories, Princeton University, New Jersey.
Five Buildings for Undergraduate Students and Faculty, ranging from two to five stories 90,000 sq. ft.
Practicando la arquitectura desde hace mâs de 25 anos, Hugh Stubbins dirige hoy dia una oficina de cuarenta especialistas. Preocupado desde el primer instante de instalar residencias en la Nueva Inglaterra, se consagró después a las obras nacionales e internacionales que comprenden proyectos de gran envergadura (estadio para 65 000 personas en Filadelfia, conjunto dormitorio-living para mâs de 6000 estudiantes en la Universidad de Amherst. En el extranjero : Hall del Congreso de Berlin. En el futuro : Colegio de Artes en Santa Cruz y colegio en Berkshire, entre otros).
Nacido en Birmingham (Alabama) hace 54 anos Hugh Stubbins fué invitado en 1940 a ensenar en Harvard. Aparte de haber contribuido activamente a la formación de arquitectos jóvenes acumulaba cargos honorificos y decoraciones.
Segün Hugh Stubbins, la arquitectura es, de todas las artes, la mâs extensa, que abarca casi todas las faces del dibujo. Abriga al hombre y simboliza su seguridad. Define y limita el espacio. En fin, posee la cualidad que habla al espiriti! y que se llama la Belleza.
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