Paul Thiry (architect)
Encyclopedia
Paul Thiry was an American architect most active in Washington state, known as the father of architectural modernism
in the Pacific Northwest
. Thiry designed "some of the best period buildings around the state of Washington during the 1950, 60s and 70s."
, of French parents. He was a 1928 graduate of the architecture school at the University of Washington
and studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts
in France
traveled in Europe and met Le Corbusier
, before returning to Seattle in 1935.
He designed his own house upon his return but had few commissions in the 1930s. Those he built "showed a clear understanding of the European International Style
in his use of spare, geometric forms, clean lines, and new building technologies."
Thiry came to national attention in 1937 with a cement-based stucco
ed residence for a manager at Portland Cement
, Frank J. Barrett. The innovative house was published in The Modern House in America in 1940: the garage and house formed two rectangles, with a "smooth, undecorated exterior", its doors and windows flush with the surface. Steel window frames were painted blue-green, and glass-brick was used around the entry and along the walls of the partly sunken living room.
Thiry served as supervising architect for the Seattle World's Fair, responsible for the overall plan and coordinating the work of contributors like John Graham Jr.
(for the Space Needle
), Minoru Yamasaki
, and the landscape architect Lawrence Halprin
. Thiry's own designs for the fair included the Washington State Pavilion, now the KeyArena
.
Thiry has been compared to other modernists in the Northwest such as Pietro Belluschi
(1899–1994) and John Yeon
(1910–1994). Thiry is quoted as having said that "Buildings should be good neighbors." He is credited with being "instrumental" to introducing International Style
architecture in Seattle.
The Flanagan chapel is "a creatively designed 16-sided structure" with an 85-rank Casavant Frères
organ
and seating for 600 people. According to the Lewis and Clark website the building "serves as a meeting place for lecture
s, musical performances, and religious services. The entry is a bridge flanked by Northwest Coast Indian-style statues depicting the four evangelists (Matthew
, Mark
, Luke
, and John
) created by the native artist Chief Lelooska.
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
in the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
. Thiry designed "some of the best period buildings around the state of Washington during the 1950, 60s and 70s."
Life
Thiry was born in Nome, AlaskaNome, Alaska
Nome is a city in the Nome Census Area in the Unorganized Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska, located on the southern Seward Peninsula coast on Norton Sound of the Bering Sea. According to the 2010 Census, the city population was 3,598. Nome was incorporated on April 9, 1901, and was once the...
, of French parents. He was a 1928 graduate of the architecture school at the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
and studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The most famous is the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, now located on the left bank in Paris, across the Seine from the Louvre, in the 6th arrondissement. The school has a history spanning more than 350 years,...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
traveled in Europe and met Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
, before returning to Seattle in 1935.
He designed his own house upon his return but had few commissions in the 1930s. Those he built "showed a clear understanding of the European International Style
International style (architecture)
The International style is a major architectural style that emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, the formative decades of Modern architecture. The term originated from the name of a book by Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson, The International Style...
in his use of spare, geometric forms, clean lines, and new building technologies."
Thiry came to national attention in 1937 with a cement-based stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
ed residence for a manager at Portland Cement
Portland cement
Portland cement is the most common type of cement in general use around the world because it is a basic ingredient of concrete, mortar, stucco and most non-specialty grout...
, Frank J. Barrett. The innovative house was published in The Modern House in America in 1940: the garage and house formed two rectangles, with a "smooth, undecorated exterior", its doors and windows flush with the surface. Steel window frames were painted blue-green, and glass-brick was used around the entry and along the walls of the partly sunken living room.
Thiry served as supervising architect for the Seattle World's Fair, responsible for the overall plan and coordinating the work of contributors like John Graham Jr.
John Graham & Company
John Graham & Company, or John Graham & Associates was the name of an architectural firm, founded in 1900 in Seattle, Washington by English-born architect John Graham , and maintained by his son John Graham Jr. ....
(for the Space Needle
Space Needle
The Space Needle is a tower in Seattle, Washington and is a major landmark of the Pacific Northwest region of the United States and a symbol of Seattle. Located at the Seattle Center, it was built for the 1962 World's Fair, during which time nearly 20,000 people a day used the elevators, with over...
), Minoru Yamasaki
Minoru Yamasaki
was a Japanese-American architect, best known for his design of the twin towers of the World Trade Center, buildings 1 and 2. Yamasaki was one of the most prominent architects of the 20th century...
, and the landscape architect Lawrence Halprin
Lawrence Halprin
Lawrence Halprin was an influential American landscape architect, designer and teacher.Beginning his career in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, in 1949, Halprin often collaborated with a local circle of modernist architects on relatively modest projects. These figures included William...
. Thiry's own designs for the fair included the Washington State Pavilion, now the KeyArena
KeyArena
KeyArena at Seattle Center , is a multipurpose arena, in Seattle, Washington. It is located north of downtown in the entertainment complex known as Seattle Center, the site of the 1962 World's Fair, the Century 21 Exposition...
.
Thiry has been compared to other modernists in the Northwest such as Pietro Belluschi
Pietro Belluschi
Pietro Belluschi was an American architect, a leader of the Modern Movement in architecture, and was responsible for the design of over one thousand buildings....
(1899–1994) and John Yeon
John Yeon
John Yeon was an American architect in Portland, Oregon, in the twentieth century. He is regarded as one of the early practitioners of the Northwest Regionalist Style of Modernism...
(1910–1994). Thiry is quoted as having said that "Buildings should be good neighbors." He is credited with being "instrumental" to introducing International Style
International style (architecture)
The International style is a major architectural style that emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, the formative decades of Modern architecture. The term originated from the name of a book by Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson, The International Style...
architecture in Seattle.
Lewis and Clark College
Thiry designed the Agnes Flanagan Chapel, the Watzek Library, and the Biology-Psychology Building at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon.The Flanagan chapel is "a creatively designed 16-sided structure" with an 85-rank Casavant Frères
Casavant Frères
Casavant Frères is a prominent Canadian company in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, which has been building fine pipe organs since 1879. As of 2008, they have produced over 3800 organs.- Company history :...
organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
and seating for 600 people. According to the Lewis and Clark website the building "serves as a meeting place for lecture
Lecture
thumb|A lecture on [[linear algebra]] at the [[Helsinki University of Technology]]A lecture is an oral presentation intended to present information or teach people about a particular subject, for example by a university or college teacher. Lectures are used to convey critical information, history,...
s, musical performances, and religious services. The entry is a bridge flanked by Northwest Coast Indian-style statues depicting the four evangelists (Matthew
Matthew the Evangelist
Matthew the Evangelist was, according to the Bible, one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the four Evangelists.-Identity:...
, Mark
Mark the Evangelist
Mark the Evangelist is the traditional author of the Gospel of Mark. He is one of the Seventy Disciples of Christ, and the founder of the Church of Alexandria, one of the original four main sees of Christianity....
, Luke
Luke
Luke is a male given name, and less commonly, a surname.The name Luke is derived from the Latin name , from an Ancient Greek , meaning "man from Lucania". The earliest known recording of the name is from the Bible, The Gospel of Luke, which was written around AD 70 to 90, and it is from here...
, and John
John the Evangelist
Saint John the Evangelist is the conventional name for the author of the Gospel of John...
) created by the native artist Chief Lelooska.
Projects
- Paul Thiry residence (1935-1936)
- Frank J. Barrett residence (1937)
- Thiry architectural office, 800 Columbia Street (1946)
- Museum of History and IndustryMuseum of History and IndustryThe Museum of History and Industry is a museum located in the Montlake neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States.Accredited by the American Association of Museums, MOHAI is "dedicated to enriching lives by preserving, sharing and teaching the diverse history of Seattle, the Puget Sound...
(MOHAI) (1952) at 2700 24th Avenue East in Seattle, Washington - Frye Art MuseumFrye Art MuseumThe Frye Art Museum is an art museum located in the First Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, USA . The museum emphasizes painting and sculpture from the nineteenth century to the present. Its holdings originate in the private collection of Charles and Emma Frye...
(1952) at 704 Terry Avenue in Seattle (later remodeled and expanded) - Washington State Library, Olympia, WashingtonOlympia, WashingtonOlympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat of Thurston County. It was incorporated on January 28, 1859. The population was 46,478 at the 2010 census...
, 1959 - U.S. Embassy Residence, Santiago, ChileSantiago, ChileSantiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...
, 1961 - Nalley's Fine Food pavilion (1961)
- supervising architect for Seattle's Century 21 ExpositionCentury 21 ExpositionThe Century 21 Exposition was a World's Fair held April 21, 1962, to October 21, 1962 in Seattle, Washington.Nearly 10 million people attended the fair...
, along with his own design for the Washington State Pavilion, now the KeyArenaKeyArenaKeyArena at Seattle Center , is a multipurpose arena, in Seattle, Washington. It is located north of downtown in the entertainment complex known as Seattle Center, the site of the 1962 World's Fair, the Century 21 Exposition...
(1961) - Watzek Library (1968) and the Agnes Flanagan Chapel (1969) at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon
- concrete sanctuary addition to the North Slope section, Christ Episcopal Church, Tacoma, WashingtonTacoma, WashingtonTacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
(1970) - consulting architect for the Libby DamLibby DamLibby Dam is a dam on the Kootenai River in the U.S. state of Montana.Dedicated on August 24, 1975, Libby Dam spans the Kootenai River upstream from the town of Libby, Montana. Libby Dam is tall and long. Lake Koocanusa is the name of the reservoir behind the dam; it extends upriver from...
project, Libby, MontanaLibby, MontanaLibby is a city in and the county seat of Lincoln County, Montana, United States. The population was 2,626 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Libby is located at , along U.S. Route 2....
(1975)
External links
- Biography at HistoryLinkHistoryLinkHistoryLink is a website that is an encyclopedia of Washington State history. The site has more than 4,500 stories. There are 500 biographies and more than 14,000 images....
- http://boundless.uoregon.edu/cdm4/results.php?CISORESTMP=results.php&CISOVIEWTMP=item_viewer.php&CISOMODE=thumb&CISOGRID=thumbnail,A,1;title,A,1;creato,A,0;subjec,200,0;donor,A,0;20;title,none,none,none,none&CISOBIB=title,A,1,N;descra,A,0,N;sourca,200,0,N;none,A,0,N;none,A,0,N;20;title,none,none,none,none&CISOTHUMB=20%20%285x4%29;title,none,none,none,none&CISOTITLE=20;title,none,none,none,none&CISOHIERA=20;descra,title,none,none,none&CISOSUPPRESS=1&CISOTYPE=link&CISOOP1=exact&CISOFIELD1=creata&CISOBOX1=Thiry%2C+Paul&c=exact&CISOROOT=%2FarchpnwUniversity of Oregon Libraries photographs] of the Agnes Flanagan Chapel and Watzek Library at Lewis and Clark College and the Museum of History and IndustryMuseum of History and IndustryThe Museum of History and Industry is a museum located in the Montlake neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States.Accredited by the American Association of Museums, MOHAI is "dedicated to enriching lives by preserving, sharing and teaching the diverse history of Seattle, the Puget Sound...
(Seattle, Washington)