Michael Sorkin
Encyclopedia
Michael Sorkin is an American architecture critic. He is a Distinguished Professor of Architecture and Director of the Graduate Program in Urban Design at the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture, City College of New York, part of the City University of New York
(CUNY), and the founder of Michael Sorkin Studio in New York City
. Sorkin is Chair of the New York Institute for Urban Design
, a non-profit organization that provides a forum for debate over critical issues in contemporary urban planning, development, and design. He is a proponent of urban citizenship and sustainability
. In 2009, Sorkin was appointed a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.
in Kazakhstan
, a jury to choose a design for the headquarters of Genzyme
, a campus planning consultancy to the University of Cincinnati
, expert assessment for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture
, as well as juries for design magazines, architectural schools, and professional organizations.
Sorkin was founding co-chair of the Chrysler Design Award
and currently serves as a member of the boards of directors or advisors of a number of civic and academic bodies, including the Architectural League, Archeworks, the London Consortium
, and several institutes at CUNY.
for 10 years. He is currently a contributing editor for Architectural Record
, I.D.
, and Metropolis. He has published widely on both architure and urban design and his seminal books include Exquisite Corpse, Local Code, Giving Ground (edited with Joan Copjec), and Wiggle, a monograph of the Sorkin studio.
In Kenneth Frampton
's review of Sorkin's essay Brand Aid, Frampton asserts that Sorkin uses the character of Rem Koolhaas
to stalk cultural shade. Frampton claims Sorkin is hyper-aware of this ideological nemesis at every step, above all in his sardonic assessment of the Frank Gehry
-designed Guggenheim
motorcycle show of 1998:
In Against the Wall, edited in 2005, Sorkin compares Israel
to apartheid South Africa
.
City University of New York
The City University of New York is the public university system of New York City, with its administrative offices in Yorkville in Manhattan. It is the largest urban university in the United States, consisting of 23 institutions: 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, the William E...
(CUNY), and the founder of Michael Sorkin Studio in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Sorkin is Chair of the New York Institute for Urban Design
Institute for Urban Design
The Institute for Urban Design is a not-for-profit organization based in New York that promotes productive dialogue between architects, planners, policy-makers, developers, and academics within the city and around the world...
, a non-profit organization that provides a forum for debate over critical issues in contemporary urban planning, development, and design. He is a proponent of urban citizenship and sustainability
Sustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
. In 2009, Sorkin was appointed a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.
Design career
Sorkin is a consultant on urban design and participates in numerous architectural juries, seminars, and symposia. He has chaired a jury to choose two very large urban planning and architectural projects for the Municipality of Istanbul in the Republic of Turkey, a similar jury in AlmatyAlmaty
Almaty , also known by its former names Verny and Alma-Ata , is the former capital of Kazakhstan and the nation's largest city, with a population of 1,348,500...
in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, a jury to choose a design for the headquarters of Genzyme
Genzyme
Genzyme Corporation is a fully owned subsidiary of Sanofi-Aventis. Before its acquisition, Genzyme was an American biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 2010, Genzyme was the world’s third-largest biotechnology company, employing more than 11,000 people around the world...
, a campus planning consultancy to the University of Cincinnati
University of Cincinnati
The University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio....
, expert assessment for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture
Aga Khan Award for Architecture
The Aga Khan Award for Architecture is an architectural prize established by Aga Khan IV in 1977. It aims to identify and reward architectural concepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of Islamic societies in the fields of contemporary design, social housing, community...
, as well as juries for design magazines, architectural schools, and professional organizations.
Sorkin was founding co-chair of the Chrysler Design Award
Chrysler Design Award
The Chrysler Design Awards celebrate the achievements of individuals in innovative works of architecture and design which significantly influenced modern American culture.- 2002 :*Red Burns*Mildred Friedman*Steve Jobs*Phyllis Lambert*Murray Moss...
and currently serves as a member of the boards of directors or advisors of a number of civic and academic bodies, including the Architectural League, Archeworks, the London Consortium
London Consortium
The London Consortium is a graduate school in the UK offering multidisciplinary Masters and Doctoral programs in the humanities and cultural studies at the University of London. It is administered by Birkbeck, University of London, one of the constituent colleges of the University of London, and...
, and several institutes at CUNY.
Writings
Sorkin has written and edited many articles and books in a wide range of both professional and general publications. He was the architecture critic of The Village VoiceThe Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
for 10 years. He is currently a contributing editor for Architectural Record
Architectural Record
Architectural Record is an American monthly magazine dedicated to architecture and interior design, published by McGraw-Hill Construction in New York City. It is over 110 years old...
, I.D.
I.D. (magazine)
I.D. was a magazine covering the art, business and culture of design. It was published eight times a year by F+W Media....
, and Metropolis. He has published widely on both architure and urban design and his seminal books include Exquisite Corpse, Local Code, Giving Ground (edited with Joan Copjec), and Wiggle, a monograph of the Sorkin studio.
In Kenneth Frampton
Kenneth Frampton
Kenneth Frampton , is a British architect, critic, historian and the Ware Professor of Architecture at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation at Columbia University, New York....
's review of Sorkin's essay Brand Aid, Frampton asserts that Sorkin uses the character of Rem Koolhaas
Rem Koolhaas
Remment Lucas Koolhaas is a Dutch architect, architectural theorist, urbanist and "Professor in Practice of Architecture and Urban Design" at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, USA. Koolhaas studied at the Netherlands Film and Television Academy in Amsterdam, at the Architectural...
to stalk cultural shade. Frampton claims Sorkin is hyper-aware of this ideological nemesis at every step, above all in his sardonic assessment of the Frank Gehry
Frank Gehry
Frank Owen Gehry, is a Canadian American Pritzker Prize-winning architect based in Los Angeles, California.His buildings, including his private residence, have become tourist attractions...
-designed Guggenheim
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is a well-known museum located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. It is the permanent home to a renowned collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, early Modern, and contemporary art and also features special exhibitions...
motorcycle show of 1998:
"The match of Rem and Krens — the two tall men with flat affects — is a great one: both are selling the same product: products. “Shopping is arguably the last remaining form of public activity,” opines Koolhaas. And so we shop for Picassos and Kandinskys, for Harleys and Yamahas, for Prada shoes and Bulgari brooches, all under the aura of covetable pots of gold at the end of fleeting rainbows glistening about the roulette tables and the high-stakes slots. Just as the way out of the museum leads through the shop, the exit from the casino is lined with boutiques and museums. At the motorcycle exhibition, the stairway is painted in Prada's signature chartreuse to reinforce the point. The retina is the point of sale: to see is to buy. In contemporary “casino capitalism,” citizenship is a credit line, democracy is a crapshoot."
In Against the Wall, edited in 2005, Sorkin compares Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
to apartheid South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.