Romaldo Giurgola
Encyclopedia
Romaldo Giurgola AO (born 2 September 1920) is an Italian
-American
-Australia
n academic architect
, professor, and author. Giurgola was born in Galatina
, in the south of Italy in 1920. After service in the Italian armed forces during World War II
, he was educated at the Sapienza University of Rome. He received a master's degree in architecture from Columbia University
, and has been a partner in Philadelphia firm Mitchell/Giurgola Architects since 1958.
and at the University of Pennsylvania
, then at Columbia, before becoming chair of the Columbia architectural department in 1966. He is presently Ware Professor Emeritus of Architecture at Columbia. He was awarded the AIA Gold Medal
in 1982.
Visitor Center (1957) for the US National Park Service
, a building that brought them national attention for three reasons. It was one of the first NPS visitors' centers that became a building type unto itself. The design was consonant with a certain aesthetic preoccupation with aviation, flight, technology and space travel of the time, the same zeitgeist
that produced Saarinen
's TWA Terminal
at John F. Kennedy International Airport
. And it was seen as a break with strict modernist tenets in its respect for the site and the program, as opposed to what Giurgola called "the imposition of abstract forms".
In Philadelphia, Giurgola had formed a relationship with Louis Kahn
, who held similar views. In April 1961 the architectural critic Jan Rowan grouped Giurgola, Kahn, Robert Venturi
, George Qualls, Robert Geddes and others into "The Philadelphia School". Giurgola has published several books on Kahn's work and philosophy.
n Parliament House
in Canberra
. Instead, he preferred to be an entrant himself. After winning the competition, Giurgola moved to Australia and practises there. He adopted Australian citizenship in January 2000.
by the Royal Australian Institute of Architects in 1988.
In January 1989 he was appointed an Honorary Officer of the Order of Australia
, "for service to architecture, particularly the new Parliament House, Canberra". The award became substantive when he adopted Australian citizenship in 2000.
In 1990 Giurgola's second notable Canberra building, the modest St Thomas Aquinas Church in Charnwood
, won the RAIA's Canberra Medallion.
In 2001, he was awarded the Australian Centenary Medal, "for service as Principal Architect of the new and permanent Parliament House".
In 2004 his St Patrick's Cathedral, Parramatta
, won him Australia's highest architectural award, the RAIA's Sir Zelman Cowen
Award for Public Buildings, which he was first awarded in 1989 for the Parliament House.
In 2003 he was awarded an honorary doctorate
from the University of Sydney
.
A resident of Canberra since the 1980s, Giurgola recently completed work on his own house at Lake Bathurst
near Goulburn
.
The portrait of Romaldo Giurgola painted by Mandy Martin, was gifted by the RAIA to the National Portrait Gallery
in Canberra
in 2005.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n academic architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
, professor, and author. Giurgola was born in Galatina
Galatina
Galatina , known before the unification of Italy as San Pietro in Galatina, is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in Apulia.Among the most important cities in Salento, it is situated some 21 km south of the city of Lecce....
, in the south of Italy in 1920. After service in the Italian armed forces during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he was educated at the Sapienza University of Rome. He received a master's degree in architecture from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, and has been a partner in Philadelphia firm Mitchell/Giurgola Architects since 1958.
Professor
He has been a professor at CornellCornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
and at the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, then at Columbia, before becoming chair of the Columbia architectural department in 1966. He is presently Ware Professor Emeritus of Architecture at Columbia. He was awarded the AIA Gold Medal
AIA Gold Medal
The 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."...
in 1982.
Architect
The first important building of Mitchell/Giurgola was the Wright Brothers National MemorialWright Brothers National Memorial
Wright Brothers National Memorial, located in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, commemorates the first successful, sustained, powered flights in a heavier-than-air machine. From 1900 to 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright came here from Dayton, Ohio, based on information from the U.S. Weather Bureau...
Visitor Center (1957) for the US National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
, a building that brought them national attention for three reasons. It was one of the first NPS visitors' centers that became a building type unto itself. The design was consonant with a certain aesthetic preoccupation with aviation, flight, technology and space travel of the time, the same zeitgeist
Zeitgeist
Zeitgeist is "the spirit of the times" or "the spirit of the age."Zeitgeist is the general cultural, intellectual, ethical, spiritual or political climate within a nation or even specific groups, along with the general ambiance, morals, sociocultural direction, and mood associated with an era.The...
that produced Saarinen
Eero Saarinen
Eero Saarinen was a Finnish American architect and industrial designer of the 20th century famous for varying his style according to the demands of the project: simple, sweeping, arching structural curves or machine-like rationalism.-Biography:Eero Saarinen shared the same birthday as his father,...
's TWA Terminal
TWA Flight Center
The TWA Flight Center or Trans World Flight Center, opened in 1962 as a standalone terminal at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport .for Trans World Airlines...
at John F. Kennedy International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport is an international airport located in the borough of Queens in New York City, about southeast of Lower Manhattan. It is the busiest international air passenger gateway to the United States, handling more international traffic than any other airport in North...
. And it was seen as a break with strict modernist tenets in its respect for the site and the program, as opposed to what Giurgola called "the imposition of abstract forms".
In Philadelphia, Giurgola had formed a relationship with Louis Kahn
Louis Kahn
Louis Isadore Kahn was an American architect, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. After working in various capacities for several firms in Philadelphia, he founded his own atelier in 1935...
, who held similar views. In April 1961 the architectural critic Jan Rowan grouped Giurgola, Kahn, Robert Venturi
Robert Venturi
Robert Charles Venturi, Jr. is an American architect, founding principal of the firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates, and one of the major figures in the architecture of the twentieth century...
, George Qualls, Robert Geddes and others into "The Philadelphia School". Giurgola has published several books on Kahn's work and philosophy.
Parliament House competition
He was invited to join the panel of judges for the 1980 international competition for the landmark AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n Parliament House
Parliament House, Canberra
Parliament House is the meeting facility of the Parliament of Australia located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. The building was designed by Mitchell/Giurgola Architects and opened on 1988 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia...
in Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
. Instead, he preferred to be an entrant himself. After winning the competition, Giurgola moved to Australia and practises there. He adopted Australian citizenship in January 2000.
Honours and awards
He was awarded the RAIA Gold MedalRoyal Australian Institute of Architects Gold Medal
The 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;...
by the Royal Australian Institute of Architects in 1988.
In January 1989 he was appointed an Honorary Officer of the Order of Australia
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
, "for service to architecture, particularly the new Parliament House, Canberra". The award became substantive when he adopted Australian citizenship in 2000.
In 1990 Giurgola's second notable Canberra building, the modest St Thomas Aquinas Church in Charnwood
Charnwood, Australian Capital Territory
Charnwood is a suburb in the Belconnen district of Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory.-Design:Charnwood's design was based on the Radburn town planning principle. Under this design, houses were to face common parkland, with the suburb's streets servicing garages situated at the rear of...
, won the RAIA's Canberra Medallion.
In 2001, he was awarded the Australian Centenary Medal, "for service as Principal Architect of the new and permanent Parliament House".
In 2004 his St Patrick's Cathedral, Parramatta
St Patrick's Cathedral, Parramatta
St Patrick's Cathedral, Parramatta is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Parramatta and the seat of the Catholic Bishop of Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia.-History:...
, won him Australia's highest architectural award, the RAIA's Sir Zelman Cowen
Zelman Cowen
Sir Zelman Cowen, was the 19th Governor-General of Australia. He is currently the oldest living former Governor-General of Australia.-Early life:...
Award for Public Buildings, which he was first awarded in 1989 for the Parliament House.
In 2003 he was awarded an honorary doctorate
Honorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
from the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
.
A resident of Canberra since the 1980s, Giurgola recently completed work on his own house at Lake Bathurst
Lake Bathurst (New South Wales)
Lake Bathurst is a lake 27 km south-east of Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia. The Aboriginal name for the lake was Bundong. It is a shallow lake that can vary in area from a few square kilometers to up to ten square kilometres, depending on the inflow and evaporation rates...
near Goulburn
Goulburn, New South Wales
Goulburn is a provincial city in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia in Goulburn Mulwaree Council Local Government Area. It is located south-west of Sydney on the Hume Highway and above sea-level. On Census night 2006, Goulburn had a population of 20,127 people...
.
The portrait of Romaldo Giurgola painted by Mandy Martin, was gifted by the RAIA to the National Portrait Gallery
National Portrait Gallery (Australia)
The National Portrait Gallery of Australia is a collection of portraits of prominent Australians that are important in their field of endeavour or whose life sets them apart as an individual of long-term public interest...
in Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
in 2005.
Major projects
- United Fund Headquarters Building, Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
(1971) - Columbus East High School, Columbus, IndianaColumbus, IndianaColumbus is a city in and the county seat of Bartholomew County, Indiana, United States. The population was 44,061 at the 2010 census, and the current mayor is Fred Armstrong. Located approximately 40 miles south of Indianapolis, on the east fork of the White River, it is the state's 20th largest...
(1972) - Lang Music Building, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PennsylvaniaSwarthmore, PennsylvaniaSwarthmore is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Swarthmore was originally named Westdale in honor of noted painter Benjamin West, who was one of the early residents of the town. The name was changed to Swarthmore after the establishment of Swarthmore College...
(1973) - Tredyffrin Public Library, Strafford, PennsylvaniaStrafford, PennsylvaniaStrafford is an unincorporated community in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, located partly in Tredyffrin Township, Chester County, and partly in Radnor Township, Delaware County. It is served by its own stop on the SEPTA Paoli/Thorndale Line regional rail train. It is also...
(1976) - Sherman Fairchild Center for the Life Sciences, on the campus of Columbia UniversityColumbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
(1977) - Parliament HouseParliament House, CanberraParliament House is the meeting facility of the Parliament of Australia located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. The building was designed by Mitchell/Giurgola Architects and opened on 1988 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia...
, CanberraCanberraCanberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
(1981-1988) - INA Tower, Philadelphia
- Layfayette Place (now Swissotel), Boston, Massachusetts (1985)
- Casa Thomas Jefferson, BrasíliaBrasíliaBrasília is the capital city of Brazil. The name is commonly spelled Brasilia in English. The city and its District are located in the Central-West region of the country, along a plateau known as Planalto Central. It has a population of about 2,557,000 as of the 2008 IBGE estimate, making it the...
, BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people... - Penn Mutual Tower, Philadelphia
- Wright Brothers National MemorialWright Brothers National MemorialWright Brothers National Memorial, located in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, commemorates the first successful, sustained, powered flights in a heavier-than-air machine. From 1900 to 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright came here from Dayton, Ohio, based on information from the U.S. Weather Bureau...
Visitor Center