1969 in architecture
Encyclopedia
The year 1969 in architecture involved some significant events.
Buildings and structures
- January 8: At the Smithsonian, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden building is begun, with ground-breaking by U.S. President Lyndon B. JohnsonLyndon B. JohnsonLyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
, Chief JusticeChief JusticeThe Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
Earl WarrenEarl WarrenEarl Warren was the 14th Chief Justice of the United States.He is known for the sweeping decisions of the Warren Court, which ended school segregation and transformed many areas of American law, especially regarding the rights of the accused, ending public-school-sponsored prayer, and requiring...
, and the Secretary S. Dillon Ripley. - March 7 - The John Hancock CenterJohn Hancock CenterJohn Hancock Center at 875 North Michigan Avenue in the Streeterville area of Chicago, Illinois, is a 100-story, 1,127-foot tall skyscraper, constructed under the supervision of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, with chief designer Bruce Graham and structural engineer Fazlur Khan...
in ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
is completed, by Skidmore, Owings and MerrillSkidmore, Owings and MerrillSkidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP is an American architectural and engineering firm that was formed in Chicago in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings; in 1939 they were joined by John O. Merrill. They opened their first branch in New York City, New York in 1937. SOM is one of the largest...
. - September 18 - Dresden TV tower (Fernsehturm Dresden-Wachwit) begins radio transmission in DresdenDresdenDresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, GermanyGermanyGermany , 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...
. - October 3 - The Berliner Fernsehturm in BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, GermanyGermanyGermany , 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...
is completed.
- Knights of Columbus Building in New Haven, ConnecticutNew Haven, ConnecticutNew Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
, designed by Roche-DinkelooRoche-DinkelooRoche-Dinkeloo, otherwise known as Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates LLC , is an architectural firm based in Hamden, Connecticut founded in 1966....
is completed. - One New York PlazaOne New York Plaza1 New York Plaza is an office building in New York City, built in 1969, and is located at the intersection of South and Whitehall Streets . It is the southernmost of all Manhattan skyscrapers.- History :...
is completed in ManhattanManhattanManhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, designed by William LescazeWilliam LescazeWilliam Edmond Lescaze was a Swiss-born American architect, and is one of the pioneers of modernism in American architecture....
& Assocs. and Kahn & Jacobs. - Bank One PlazaChase Tower (Chicago)Chase Tower, located in the Chicago Loop area of Chicago at 10 South Dearborn Street, is a 60 story skyscraper completed in 1969. At 850 feet tall, it is the tenth tallest building in Chicago, the tallest building inside the Chicago 'L' Loop elevated tracks, and the 32nd tallest in the United...
in ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
is completed. Renamed as the Chase TowerChase Tower (Chicago)Chase Tower, located in the Chicago Loop area of Chicago at 10 South Dearborn Street, is a 60 story skyscraper completed in 1969. At 850 feet tall, it is the tenth tallest building in Chicago, the tallest building inside the Chicago 'L' Loop elevated tracks, and the 32nd tallest in the United...
on October 24, 2005. - 555 California Street (formerly The Bank of America Center), is completed in San Francisco, California, and was the tallest building west of the Mississippi from 1969–1972.
- Toronto-Dominion CentreToronto-Dominion CentreThe Toronto-Dominion Centre, or Centre, is a cluster of buildings in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, consisting of six towers and a pavilion covered in bronze-tinted glass and black painted steel. It serves as the global headquarters of the Toronto-Dominion Bank, as well as providing office and...
(formerly the Royal Trust Tower) is partially completed in TorontoTorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, OntarioOntarioOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. - FMT 6 - Brackenheim telecommunication tower completed in Brackenheim-Cleebronn, GermanyGermanyGermany , 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...
. - Hilton HotelLas Vegas HiltonThe Las Vegas Hilton is a hotel, casino, and convention center in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is a joint venture between Colony Capital, which owns 60 percent, and New York City-based REIT Whitehall Street Real Estate Funds, which owns the remaining 40 percent...
in Las VegasLas Vegas metropolitan areaThe Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
, NevadaNevadaNevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
is completed. Designed by architect Martin Stern, Jr.Martin Stern, Jr.Martin Stern, Jr. was an American architect who was most widely known for his large scale designs and structures in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is credited with originating the concept of the structurally integrated casino resort complex in Las Vegas.The International Hotel and the first MGM Grand...
and the largest hotel at the time.
Awards
- AIA Gold MedalAIA Gold MedalThe AIA Gold Medal is awarded by the American Institute of Architects conferred "by the national AIA Board of Directors in recognition of a significant body of work of lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture."...
- William Wilson Wurster. - Architecture Firm AwardArchitecture Firm AwardThe Architecture Firm Award is the highest honor that The American Institute of Architects can bestow on an architecture firm for consistently producing distinguished architecture.Prior recipients of the AIA Architecture Firm Award include:...
- Jones & Emmons. - RAIA Gold MedalRoyal Australian Institute of ArchitectsThe Australian Institute of Architects is a professional body for architects in Australia. Until August 2008, the Institute traded as the "Royal Australian Institute of Architects", which remains its official name....
- Robin BoydRobin BoydRobin Gerard Penleigh Boyd CBE was an influential Australian architect, writer, teacher and social commentator...
. - Royal Gold MedalRoyal Gold MedalThe Royal Gold Medal for architecture is awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects on behalf of the British monarch, in recognition of an individual's or group's substantial contribution to international architecture....
- Jack Antonio Coia. - Twenty-five Year AwardTwenty-five Year AwardThe Twenty-five Year Award is an architecture prize awarded by the American Institute of Architects to buildings and structures that have "stood the test of time for 25 to 35 years", and that "[exemplify] design of enduring significance." The project receiving the award can be located anywhere in...
- Rockefeller CenterRockefeller CenterRockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th and 51st streets in New York City, United States. Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. It was declared a National...
Deaths
- February 11 - Frederic Joseph DeLongchampsFrederic Joseph DeLongchampsFrederic Joseph DeLongchamps was an American architect. He was one of Nevada's most prolific architects, yet is notable for entering the architectural profession with no extensive formal training.-Early life and education:...
(born 1882) - 5 July - Walter GropiusWalter GropiusWalter 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....
(born 1883) - 17 August - Ludwig Mies van der RoheLudwig Mies van der RoheLudwig Mies van der Rohe was a German architect. He is commonly referred to and addressed as Mies, his surname....
(born 1886) - November 7 - Ernesto Nathan RogersErnesto Nathan RogersErnesto Nathan Rogers was an Italian architect, writer and educator.-Biography:Born in Trieste, Italy he graduated from the Politecnico di Milano, Italy in 1932...
(born 1909) - August 8 - Welton BecketWelton BecketWelton Becket was an architect who designed many buildings in Los Angeles, California.Becket was born in Seattle, Washington and graduated from the University of Washington program in Architecture in 1927 with a Bachelor of Architecture degree .He settled in Los Angeles in 1933 and formed a...
(born 1902)