Seagram Building in New York City. // Photo by: Jules Antonio, flickr
Architecture stories from New York: Building Seagram
Phyllis Lambert
Internationally acclaimed architect Phyllis Lambert will present the next Faculty of Architecture Dean’s Lecture Series talk on March 24.
Lambert will discuss her book, Building Seagram (Yale University Press, 2013), which tells the biography not just of this important building, but of the culture of post-WWII design, including the significant part corporate patronage played in the era’s real estate development, and of the project’s substantial role in shaping landmark legislation and zoning laws in New York City.
Lambert managed the project and will share many personal stories and insights on the project and the working relationships between architects Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson. She will also offer a detailed scholarly assessment of the design and construction process, and the building’s cultural legacy and life in the city over a half century.
There will be a book signing following the lecture.
What: Faculty of Architecture Dean’s Lecture Series
When: Tuesday, Mar. 24, 2015, 6 p.m.
Where: Centre Space, John A. Russell Building, Faculty of Architecture, 84 Curry Place
About Phyllis Lambert
Phyllis Lambert is Founding Director Emeritus of the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) in Montreal and member of its Board of Trustees, which she chaired for thirty years. In the 1950s, as Director of Planning for the Seagram Building, Lambert was instrumental in adding a landmark to New York’s skyline. Twenty-five years later in founding the CCA she deepened and expanded the culture of architecture locally and internationally. Gold medalist and Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, Lambert holds the highest civil honours in Canada as Companion of the Order of Canada and Grand Officier de l’Ordre National du Québec, and also Commander of the Ordre des arts et des lettres de France. Lambert was honored with the Golden Lion at last year’s Venice Architecture Biennale, an apt recognition for this legendary architect, author, historian, urban activist, and critic.
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