Author: Bradley Castiglia

Bradley Castiglia is 17 years old and a Senior at the Nichols School. He is also a docent with Explore Buffalo, and has a deep interest in architecture, which he plans to study in college.

Edward Durell Stone, unlike many other International and Mid-Century Modern architects, has seen a lag in recognition. Though he died in 1978, he has seen no revival in reputation as Eero Saarinen, dead in 1961, or Walter Gropius, dead in 1969, or even like Marcel Breuer, dead in 1981. I make this aporetic remark only in that most people do not know of Edward Durell Stone, only to hate Edward Durell Stone. And maybe that is of good riddance. Oh, and by the way, he designed the Buffalo News Building downtown. Born in 1902 in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Stone saw no…

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The Albright-Knox’s present expansion plans are expected to be big, boisterous, and loud, and designed by the world-renowned firm of OMA (Office of Municipal Architecture). This firm has a past in which big, boisterous, and loud were the status quo, particularly exemplified in the lead architect, the Pritzker Prize winner, Rem Koolhaas. The firm’s designs have been praised for several decades, especially in the famous and easily recognizable CCTV Headquarters, Seattle Public Library, Guggenheim Las Vegas, Prada New York, and Casa da Musica just to name a few. Rem Koolhaas himself is not designing the project, but instead his protégé,…

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Since the highly anticipated release of the Albright-Knox’s addition plans on June 21st, the public has been able to digest the experience and provide a response. Here is a rundown of events… On June 21st, Shohei Shigematsu and Michael Van Valkenberg released the proposed plan for the revamping of the Albright-Knox campus. Shohei Shigematsu, leading the team from OMA New York, explained the addition design. The addition splits into two parts, one being the Park Gallery, and the other the Floating Gallery. The Park Gallery faces Elmwood and is designed to join into a common space designed by Michael Van…

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Although the most obvious of skeptics would say no, particularly as the Internationalist style was the natural ending of the anti-ornamental sentiment that derived from Germanic countries in the late nineteenth century. The progression of this style would have probably remained the same, even if Buffalo had not existed, the Internationalist style would have still progressed, even in America. Now, the Internationalist style is unremarkably tied to a certain collective of architects and theorists, and to these men, as women were so rarely architects until the late twentieth century, Buffalo inspired and altered their ideas and paths. These men were…

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In a flurry of discontent felt towards the era of urban renewal in Buffalo, many people forget about the fine builders and architects that came out to revive the urban landscape after years of sprawl and problematic design. One of these names is of the architect, Max Abramovitz, who spent 41 years practicing in the firm of Harrison and Abramovitz, and is often considered as one of the finest architects in New York State and East Coast in general. His most famous works include the CIA Headquarters (Langley,1961), Westinghouse Building (Pittsburgh,1970), Corning Glass Building (Corning,1957), Rockefeller Center (New York City,1960),…

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In 2017 with the oncoming addition to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, it is time for a look at who is arguably Buffalo’s most famous homegrown architect – Gordon Bunshaft. Now, Gordon Bunshaft is easily regarded as a key figure in American Mid-Century architecture. Designing from 1937 until 1979, he is noted for his work on the Lever House (1952), Manufacturer’s Trust Company Building (1954), Beinecke Rare Book Library (1963), Johnson Presidential Library (1971), and the Hishorn Museum (1974). He was born in Buffalo in 1909 and graduated from Lafayette High School and later from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1935.…

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