1979 in architecture
Encyclopedia
The year 1979 involved some significant events in architecture.
Buildings
- March - Kuwait TowersKuwait TowersThe Kuwait Towers are three towers of reinforced concrete in Kuwait City. The main tower is 187 metres high and serves as a restaurant and water tower. It also has a Viewing Sphere which rises to 123 metres above sea level and completes a full turn every 30 minutes. The second tower is 145.8 metres...
opened in Kuwait CityKuwait City-Suburbs:Although the districts below are not usually recognized as suburbs, the following is a list of a few areas surrounding Kuwait city:Al-Salam ""السلام"" -Economy:...
with a Viewing Sphere which completes a full turn every 30 minutes. - October 10 - The AtheneumNew Harmony's AtheneumNew Harmony's Atheneum is the visitor center for New Harmony, Indiana. It is named for the Greek Athenaion, which was a temple dedicated to Athena in ancient Greece...
, designed by Richard MeierRichard MeierRichard Meier is an American architect, whose rationalist buildings make prominent use of the color white.- Biography :Meier is Jewish and was born in Newark, New Jersey...
, opened as a visitor center in New Harmony, IndianaNew Harmony, IndianaNew Harmony is a historic town on the Wabash River in Harmony Township, Posey County, Indiana, United States. It lies north of Mount Vernon, the county seat. The population was 916 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Evansville metropolitan area. Many of the old Harmonist buildings still stand...
. - September 2 - Prabhupada's Palace of Gold dedicated in Marshall CountyMarshall County, West VirginiaAs of the census of 2000, there were 35,519 people, 14,207 households, and 10,101 families residing in the county. The population density was 116 people per square mile . There were 15,814 housing units at an average density of 52 per square mile...
, West VirginiaWest VirginiaWest Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
as a memorial shrine built by Hare Krishna devotees. - Parque Central ComplexParque Central ComplexThe Parque Central Complex is a housing, commercial and cultural development, implemented by Centro Simón Bolívar and located in the urbanization of the county in the center of the city of Caracas, Venezuela adjacent to Paseo Vargas....
, the tallest building in South America, completed in CaracasCaracasCaracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
, VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. - The Tower of EuropeEuropaturmThe Europaturm is a 337.5 metre high telecommunications tower in Frankfurt am Main in Germany.-History:Designed by architect Erwin Heinle, the tower's construction began in 1974. At its completion five years later, it became the tallest free-standing structure in the Federal Republic of Germany...
in Frankfurt am Main, 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. - Vienna International CentreVienna International Centreright|250px|thumb|Vienna International Centre . The [[UNO-City|Austria Center Vienna]] can be seen at the far left in the middle distance....
completed for the United Nations Office at ViennaUnited Nations Office at ViennaThe United Nations Office in Vienna is one of the four major UN office sites where several different UN agencies have a joint presence. The office complex is located in Vienna, the capital of Austria, and is part of the Vienna International Centre, a cluster of several major international...
. - Rio de Janeiro CathedralRio de Janeiro CathedralThe Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro , is the seat of the archbishop of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is dedicated to Saint Sebastian, the patron saint of Rio de Janeiro. The current church was built between 1964 and 1979 and replaced a series of old churches that had served as cathedrals since 1676. It...
(Catedral Metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro) completed, with 64 meter (210 ft) tall stained glass windows.
Events
- December - The Twentieth Century SocietyThe Twentieth Century SocietyThe Twentieth Century Society is a British charity which campaigns for the preservation of architectural heritage from 1914 onwards. The society's interests extend to buildings or artefacts, whether important or humble, rare or commonplace, that characterise Twentieth Century Britain.The Sociey was...
established as The Thirties Society in the United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
as an architectural conservation pressure group. - Pritzker PrizePritzker PrizeThe Pritzker Architecture Prize is awarded annually by the Hyatt Foundation to honour "a living architect whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built...
instituted by Jay A. Pritzker. - Construction begins at the Jacob K. Javits Convention CenterJacob K. Javits Convention CenterJacob K. Javits Convention Center is a large convention center located on Eleventh Avenue, between 34th and 38th streets, on the West side of Manhattan in New York City. It was designed by architects I. M. Pei and partners. The revolutionary space frame structure was undertaken in 1979 and...
designed by I. M. PeiI. M. PeiIeoh Ming Pei , commonly known as I. M. Pei, is a Chinese American architect, often called a master of modern architecture. Born in Canton, China and raised in Hong Kong and Shanghai, Pei drew inspiration at an early age from the gardens at Suzhou...
. - Xanadu HouseXanadu HouseThe Xanadu Houses were a series of experimental homes built to showcase examples of computers and automation in the home in the United States. The architectural project began in 1979, and during the early 1980s three houses were built in different parts of the US: one each in Kissimmee, Florida;...
design started.
Awards
- American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal – I. M. PeiI. M. PeiIeoh Ming Pei , commonly known as I. M. Pei, is a Chinese American architect, often called a master of modern architecture. Born in Canton, China and raised in Hong Kong and Shanghai, Pei drew inspiration at an early age from the gardens at Suzhou...
. - 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."...
- I. M. PeiI. M. PeiIeoh Ming Pei , commonly known as I. M. Pei, is a Chinese American architect, often called a master of modern architecture. Born in Canton, China and raised in Hong Kong and Shanghai, Pei drew inspiration at an early age from the gardens at Suzhou...
. - 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:...
- Geddes Brecher Qualls Cunningham. - Grand prix national de l'architectureGrand prix national de l'architectureThe Grand Prix national de l'architecture is a French prize awarded by a jury of twenty persons under the chairmanship of the Ministry of Culture to an architect, or an architectural firm, for recognition of an outstanding contribution to architecture. Established in 1975 and relaunched in 2004,...
- Claude Parent. - Pritzker PrizePritzker PrizeThe Pritzker Architecture Prize is awarded annually by the Hyatt Foundation to honour "a living architect whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built...
- Philip JohnsonPhilip JohnsonPhilip Cortelyou Johnson was an influential American architect.In 1930, he founded the Department of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and later , as a trustee, he was awarded an American Institute of Architects Gold Medal and the first Pritzker Architecture...
. - RAIA Gold MedalRoyal Australian Institute of Architects Gold MedalThe Gold Medal is the highest award of the Australian Institute of Architects awarded annually since 1960. The award was created to recognise distinguished service by Australian architects who have:* designed or executed buildings of high merit;...
- Bryce MortlockBryce MortlockDr. Bryce Mortlock was an Australian architect and planner. In partnership with Sydney Ancher, Stuart Murray andKen Woolley, his career spanned the era in which modern Australian architecture was consolidated....
. - RIBARoyal Institute of British ArchitectsThe Royal Institute of British Architects is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally.-History:...
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....
- Charles and Ray Eames. - 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...
- Yale University Art GalleryYale University Art GalleryThe Yale University Art Gallery houses a significant and encyclopedic collection of art in several buildings on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Although it embraces all cultures and periods, the Gallery possesses especially renowned collections of early Italian painting,...
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