William J. Mitchell
Encyclopedia
William John Mitchell was an Australia
n-born architect
and urban design
er, who played a major role in planning a major expansion project at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
.
Mitchell was born on 15 December 1944, in Horsham, Victoria
, Australia
. He earned an undergraduate degree in 1967 from the University of Melbourne
with a major in architecture and was awarded master's degrees from both Yale University
(a Master of Environmental Design in environmental design
in 1969) and the University of Cambridge
(in 1977 with a major in architecture).
Mitchell headed the architecture and urban design program at the Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of California, Los Angeles
starting in 1970. He became a Professor of Architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design in 1986 and was named as Dean of the MIT School of Architecture and Planning
in 1992. His 1977 book Computer-Aided Architectural Design and his 1990 work The Logic of Architecture: Design, Computation and Cognition were credited by The New York Times
as having "profoundly changed the way architects approached building design".
At MIT, Mitchell served as an advisor to MIT President Charles Marstiller Vest
in guiding a decade-long, five-building expansion project at the university that included designs by Charles Correa
, Frank Gehry
, Steven Holl
, Fumihiko Maki
and Kevin Roche
, and added one million square feet of classroom, office and other spaces to the MIT campus. The building project became the subject of his 2007 book Imagining MIT: Designing a Campus for the 21st Century, which was written in a single weekend while he was at a Dublin hotel. At the dedication ceremonies for the Frank Gehry-designed Stata Center
in 2004, Mitchell said that schools like MIT "carry a particular responsibility to conceive of architectural projects not just as the rational allocation of resources to achieve quantifiable management goals, but also as inventive, critical contributions to our evolving culture" and that anything less would be "a betrayal of their advertised principles".
Starting in 2003, he created the Smart Cities program within the MIT Media Lab
. Projects that Mitchell developed as part of the Smart Cities program included GreenWheel
, a device that would add electric power to a bicycle; RoboScooter
, a foldable electric scooter; and the MIT Car
(also called the "CityCar"), which would be propelled by electric motors built in to its wheels. The car and scooter projects were envisioned as being made available for public use at locations in cities, with access and scheduling controlled by computer. The MIT Car was designed to fold up into a more compact shape while parked.
Mitchell was a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
and was awarded seven honorary degrees. He was a prolific author, writing almost a dozen notable books, plus assorted papers, articles, and speeches.
A resident of Cambridge, Massachusetts
, Mitchell died due to complications of cancer at age 65 on 11 June 2010. He was survived by his second wife, Jane Wolfson and their son, as well as by a daughter from his first marriage, to Elizabeth Asmis.
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-born 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...
and urban design
Urban design
Urban design concerns the arrangement, appearance and functionality of towns and cities, and in particular the shaping and uses of urban public space. It has traditionally been regarded as a disciplinary subset of urban planning, landscape architecture, or architecture and in more recent times has...
er, who played a major role in planning a major expansion project at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
.
Mitchell was born on 15 December 1944, in Horsham, Victoria
Horsham, Victoria
Horsham is the largest city by population and regional centre of the Wimmera region of Victoria, Australia and is approximately north-west of Melbourne via the Western Highway. At the 2006 census, Horsham had a population of 14,125. Horsham is in the federal Division of Mallee...
, 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...
. He earned an undergraduate degree in 1967 from the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
with a major in architecture and was awarded master's degrees from both Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
(a Master of Environmental Design in environmental design
Environmental design
Environmental design is the process of addressing surrounding environmental parameters when devising plans, programs, policies, buildings, or products...
in 1969) and the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
(in 1977 with a major in architecture).
Mitchell headed the architecture and urban design program at the Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
starting in 1970. He became a Professor of Architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design in 1986 and was named as Dean of the MIT School of Architecture and Planning
MIT School of Architecture and Planning
The MIT School of Architecture and Planning is one of the five schools of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA...
in 1992. His 1977 book Computer-Aided Architectural Design and his 1990 work The Logic of Architecture: Design, Computation and Cognition were credited by The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
as having "profoundly changed the way architects approached building design".
At MIT, Mitchell served as an advisor to MIT President Charles Marstiller Vest
Charles Marstiller Vest
Charles "Chuck" Marstiller Vest is a U.S. educator and engineer. He served as President of MIT from 1990 until December, 2004. He was succeeded as President by Susan Hockfield. On February 6, 2004, he was appointed to the Iraq Intelligence Commission by President George W. Bush...
in guiding a decade-long, five-building expansion project at the university that included designs by Charles Correa
Charles Correa
Charles Correa is an Indian architect, planner and activist.-Early life:Charles Correa was born in Hyderabad, India...
, 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...
, Steven Holl
Steven Holl
Steven Holl is an American architect and watercolorist, perhaps best known for the 1998 Kiasma Contemporary Art Museum in Helsinki, Finland, the 2003 Simmons Hall at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the celebrated 2007 Bloch Building addition to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City,...
, Fumihiko Maki
Fumihiko Maki
is a Japanese architect and currently teaching at Keio University SFC.- Biography :After studying at the University of Tokyo he moved to the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and then to Harvard Graduate School of Design. In 1956, he took a post as assistant professor of...
and Kevin Roche
Kevin Roche
Kevin Roche is an Irish-American architect known for his creative work with glass.Born in Dublin, Roche spent his formative years in Mitchelstown, Co. Cork before he graduated from University College Dublin in 1945. He then worked with Michael Scott from 1945-1946...
, and added one million square feet of classroom, office and other spaces to the MIT campus. The building project became the subject of his 2007 book Imagining MIT: Designing a Campus for the 21st Century, which was written in a single weekend while he was at a Dublin hotel. At the dedication ceremonies for the Frank Gehry-designed Stata Center
Stata Center
The Ray and Maria Stata Center or Building 32 is a academic complex designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Frank Gehry for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology . The building opened for initial occupancy on March 16, 2004...
in 2004, Mitchell said that schools like MIT "carry a particular responsibility to conceive of architectural projects not just as the rational allocation of resources to achieve quantifiable management goals, but also as inventive, critical contributions to our evolving culture" and that anything less would be "a betrayal of their advertised principles".
Starting in 2003, he created the Smart Cities program within the MIT Media Lab
MIT Media Lab
The MIT Media Lab is a laboratory of MIT School of Architecture and Planning. Devoted to research projects at the convergence of design, multimedia and technology, the Media Lab has been widely popularized since the 1990s by business and technology publications such as Wired and Red Herring for a...
. Projects that Mitchell developed as part of the Smart Cities program included GreenWheel
GreenWheel
The GreenWheel is a modular electronic assist device for bicycles that fits inside the wheel of any standard bicycle and provides additional power above and beyond the power provided by the person pedaling.Developed by William J...
, a device that would add electric power to a bicycle; RoboScooter
RoboScooter
The RoboScooter is a foldable electric scooter developed by William J. Mitchell of the Smart Cities program at the MIT Media Lab. The vehicle was designed in conjunction with Taiwan's SYM Motors and the Industrial Technology Research Institute....
, a foldable electric scooter; and the MIT Car
MIT Car
The MIT Car is a concept car project conceived at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States, for the purpose of exploring the idea of urban mobility. This intensive study on advanced human traveling has been in progress since 2003...
(also called the "CityCar"), which would be propelled by electric motors built in to its wheels. The car and scooter projects were envisioned as being made available for public use at locations in cities, with access and scheduling controlled by computer. The MIT Car was designed to fold up into a more compact shape while parked.
Mitchell was a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
and was awarded seven honorary degrees. He was a prolific author, writing almost a dozen notable books, plus assorted papers, articles, and speeches.
A resident of Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, Mitchell died due to complications of cancer at age 65 on 11 June 2010. He was survived by his second wife, Jane Wolfson and their son, as well as by a daughter from his first marriage, to Elizabeth Asmis.
Books
- World's Greatest Architect: Making, Meaning, and Network Culture (2008)
- Imagining MIT: Designing a Campus for the 21st Century (2007)
- Placing Words: Symbols, Space, and the City (2005)
- Me++: The Cyborg Self and the Networked City (2003)
- e-topia: Urban Life, Jim—But Not As We Know It (1999)
- High Technology and Low-Income Communities, with Donald A. Schön and Bish Sanyal (1998)
- City of Bits: Space, Place, and the Infobahn (1995)
- The Reconfigured Eye: Visual Truth in the Post-Photographic Era (1992)
- The Logic of Architecture: Design, Computation, and Cognition (1990)
- Computer-Aided Architectural Design (1977) — A seminal work on the use of Computer-Aided Design tools in architectural design
External links
- William J. Mitchell, profile at MIT Media LabMIT Media LabThe MIT Media Lab is a laboratory of MIT School of Architecture and Planning. Devoted to research projects at the convergence of design, multimedia and technology, the Media Lab has been widely popularized since the 1990s by business and technology publications such as Wired and Red Herring for a...
- Smart Cities main page at MIT Media Lab