Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates: Buildings and Projects 1986-1997: Buildings and Projects, 1986-1998

Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown are among the world's leading contemporary architects. Their writings, including the seminal books Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture (1966; Venturi) and Learning from Las Vegas (1972; Venturi, Scott Brown, and Steven Izenour), have profoundly influenced architectural thought. The built work of the firm Venturi, Scott Brown & Associates of Philadelphia has had an equally great impact. Through a commitment to a creative understanding of history and the everyday environment and to the use of visual references in the design of buildings, this firm has changed the face of modern architecture. Guild House (1963), the Vanna Venturi House (1963), and Franklin Court (1976), all in Philadelphia, are key examples of a new outlook on the art of building. This landmark monograph -- assembled in collaboration with the architects -- illustrates the firm's work between 1986 and 1998. In his main text, Stanislaus von Moos analyzes the architects' understanding of tradition in relation to the social and urban complexities of our post-industrial, multicultural era. Featured are acclaimed buildings such as the Sainsbury Wing of the National Gallery in London; the Seattle Museum of Art; buildings for such universities and colleges as Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard, UCLA, and Dartmouth; and new works, including the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art, the hotel and recreation center in Nikko Kirifuri, Japan, and the administration building for the Département de la Haute-Garonne in Toulouse, France. The Architectural Partnership Of Robert Venturi And Denise Scott Brown Has Long Been Known For Its Preeminent Position In The Theory And Practice Of Architecture. Their Writings, Including Complexity And Contradiction In Architecture And Learning From Los Vegas, Have Profoundly Directed Architectural Thought In The Twentieth Century. The Firm's Built Work - In Its Creative Understanding Of History And The Everday Environment, Its Emphasis On Multiculturalism And Multimedia, And Especially Its Considerationof Iconography Versus Abstraction - Has Been Equally Influential. This Comprehensive Monograph On Venturi, Scott Brown & Associates Includes More Than Eighty Buildings And Projects: Urban Plans And Development Studies; Important Civic Buildings Such As The Sainsbury Wing Of London's National Gallery; And A Great Number Of Projects At Universities Across The United States.^ Also Presented Are Spectacular Renovations For The Frank Furness Library Building At The University Of Pennsylvania And Harvard's Memorial Hall And Designs For Houses, Exhibitions, Fabrics, Furniture, And Decorative Items. The Catalog, Written By The Architects, Focuses On Important Aspects Of Their Practice In The Late 1980s And The 1990s, Notably The Juxtaposition Of A Hype Sensibility In Decoration - Manifested In Large-scale Led Signs And Colorful Supergraphics - And A Generic Architecture. The Introductory Essay, By Stanislaus Von Moos, Discusses Five Major Themes In Venturi And Scott Brown's Architecture: Its Dialogue With Their Hometown, Philadelphia, As Both A National Shrine And A Center Of Architectural Innovation; The Importance Of The American Campus As A Model For Planning And Design; Organicism As A Source Of Their Design Theory; The Role Of Realism And Abstraction In The Firm's Architecture; And The Venturis' Recent Interest In Japan And Its Traditions.^ Finally, In An Interview Conducted By Von Moos And Mary Mcleod, The Architects Comment On Las Vegas Today, The Role Of Feminism And Mannerism In Architecture, And The Importance Of The Ordinary. -- From Front Flap. Penn's Shadow -- Scenes Of Learning -- Secret Physiology -- Tableaux -- City As Kimono -- Urban Design -- Civic Buildings -- Institutional Buildings -- Commercial Architecture -- Houses -- Renovations -- Exhibitions, Interior Design, Decorative Arts -- On Artful Artlessness: A Conversation. Stanislaus Von Moos ; With Project Descriptions By Denise Scott Brown And Robert Venturi And An Interview By Mary Mcleod. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 361-367). Looking out over the roofs of Manayunk, an old mill town northwest of central Philadelphia, "disfigured" by industrial "blight," one cannot help thinking of the brick structures, chimneys, painted signs, water tanks, and electric wires of Charles Demuth's mesmerizingly airy views from his home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, painted between 1920 and 1933 (fig. 3).