You're invited to the BAA Final Exhibition!

Mark your calendars for the Beaux-Arts Atelier Final Exhibition on Thursday, May 30 from 6-8pm here at ICAA Headquarters in Midtown Manhattan!

The event will be a capstone celebration of the work of 2012-2013 Atelier students; sculpture, wash rendering, figure drawing, and completed Design Studio projects all will be on display. 

The event will also provide an opportunity to purchase the work of some of our students! Some of the displayed items will be available for purchase to adorn the walls of your home, office, or (if you're a nonconformist) automobile. 

Light refreshment and fare will be served. Though the event is free and open to the public, we ask that you RSVP.

Location: 20 West 44th Street, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10036

Register here. 

The desk of BAA student Marileny Peralta

The desk of BAA student Marileny Peralta

Join us for the BAA End-of-Term Exhibition this Thursday!

You are cordially invited to a celebration of BAA student work this Thursday, April 11th, from 6-8pm! Figure drawings, wash renderings, and Design Studio projects from the fourth academic term will all be on display. Students will be present to discuss their experience and guide guests through the studio. As always, light refreshments and riveting conversation will be provided! 

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at education@classicist.org or by calling (212) 730-9646 ext. 100. We look forward to seeing you there!

Location: ICAA Headquarters - 20 West 44th Street, 3rd Floor

Student Work: January - March, 2013

Because we find ourselves frequently (and happily!) fielding requests for glimpses at student work, we are excited to present works produced between January and March! Check out the selection of images below, and to view many more, please visit our gallery page. 

Congratulations to Richard Cameron!

A big congratulations to the BAA's very own founder and Director, Richard Cameron, who was recently named the recipient of the Board of Directors Honor at the 2013 Arthur Ross Awards! Each year, the awards honor those whose work to advance the ideals of classicism in architecture invigorates the classical conversation nationwide. 

We feel so very fortunate to have Richard's talented influence guiding our everyday pursuits here in the Atelier studios! 

Academic Lecture: Dr. Nikos Salingaros Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Culture, Tradition, and Modernity in Architecture and Urbanism

Reception at 6pm; Lecture at 6:30pm

"Culture and tradition are tied into a complex system that has evolved for millennia. Most of its components are based on human physiology and evolved culture as a binding force of human society. Complex connections determine traditional typologies for architecture and urbanism, and cannot be tampered with."

Dr. Nikos A. Salingaros is regarded as one of the world’s leading urbanists and architectural theorists. His books Principles of Urban Structure and A Theory of Architecture provide the foundation for a completely new approach to the built environment. A mathematician and polymath known for his work on urban theory, architectural theory, complexity theory, and design philosophy, Salingaros published substantive research on Algebras, Mathematical Physics, Electromagnetic Fields, and Thermonuclear Fusion before turning his attention to Architecture and Urbanism. He is Professor of Mathematics at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Read more about Dr. Salingaros online.

Location: Institute of Classical Architecture & Art, 20 W 44th St, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10036

FREE for ICAA members and employees of professional member firms; FREE for full-time students with valid ID (please present your ID at the door for admission); $10 for the general public. Space is limited and reservations are required.

REGISTER ONLINE

Beaux-Arts Atelier End-of-Term Exhibition: February 21, 2013, 6-8pm

The students are already busy gearing up for the next BAA End-of-Term Exhibition, which will be held on Thursday, February 21 from 6-8pm. As always, the exhibition will showcase work from the most recent term, including egg-and-dart mouldings, wash rendering, and designs from the Bowling Green project. This term has been a particularly work-heavy one, and we look forward to sharing the many beautiful pieces that have resulted. 

The event is free of charge and open to the general public. Refreshments will be served, RSVP requested.

Location: 20 West 44th Street, 3rd Floor, New York, NY  10036

Comment

BAA Open House & Information Session

The Beaux-Arts Atelier will host an open house and information session on Thursday, February 21st from 6--8pm. The open house will be held in conjunction with the End-of-Term Exhibition and the BAA's sister school, the Grand Central Academy of Art.

The event will offer applicants the opportunity to speak with current students and professors, tour the studios, view student work, and ask any questions they may have regarding financial assistance and the application process. 

All prospective students who check in upon arrival to the open house will have their application fees waived.

To RSVP, click here. 

Comment

Winterim Design Challenge 2013

The 2013 Winterim Professional Intensive is off to a dynamic start, as this year's students have delved head-first into the challenge of redesigning one of Grand Central Terminal's most storied spaces.

Hailing from all over the nation, 14 students have joined the ICAA for an immersive 10 days of study. Each year, intensive courses are structured around a central design project. This year, in conjunction with the building's centennial anniversary, students have been tasked with reconceptualizing GCT's Vanderbilt Hall. Once a waiting area for travelers, the hall is now clear of benches and stands empty, save for the occasional promotional or seasonal event. 

The students' challenge is to restructure the hall as a secure waiting area for ticketed passengers. In doing so, they will each design partitions that serve to bifurcate the space into limited-access spaces. Both a nod to the past and a practical solution to the Terminal's current lack of available seating, the designs will be presented on January 12 at the end-of-intensive vernissage and reception. 

Saturday, January 5, saw an exploration of the space in Vanderbilt Hall. Students worked behind the velvet ropes to measure and gain a better physical understanding of the structure and personality of the area. Snapshots of the process can be found below.

BAA End-of-Term Exhibition

The evening of Wednesday, December 19, 2012 proved an eventful one, as the students of the Beaux-Arts Atelier presented their most recent works to the attendees of the End-of-Term Exhibition. The works on display included renderings for the Bowling Green project, for which students are re-imagining the base of the George Washington monument at Continental Army Plaza in Brooklyn. By the project's completion, they will have readied a new, full-scale design of the monument for a new location -- lower Manhattan's Bowling Green (the oldest public park in New York City). 

As always, we are gratified to have had all of you join us for the exhibition and look forward to meeting more new classical enthusiasts at our next event! If you weren't able to join us, be sure to take a peek at the photos below.

Measured Drawing at Continental Army Plaza

What would send our architecture students rappelling down the side of a historic monument, you ask? Why, the pursuit of good design, of course!

The students of the Beaux-Arts Atelier have embarked upon a design project steeped in history -- to redesign the base of the George Washington at Valley Forge monument at Continental Army Plaza in Williamsburg, Brooklyn for a new location at Bowling Green at the tip of Manhattan. The preliminary preparation for this task requires them to execute measured drawings, or architectural representations drawn to the scale of an existing structure. And in order to do so, they must first obtain said measurements. 

The Williamsburg monument was completed in 1906 by life-long New Yorker Henry Merwin Shrady, who won a design competition in 1901 for the commission. Washington at Valley Forge was his first major foray into public works design. Subsequent to the Williamsburg monument, he went on to execute such major works as the Grant Memorial on the Capital Grounds in Washington, DC and the Robert E. Lee equestrian statue in Charlottesville, Virginia. 

The statue depicts our nation's first president during the six month period from December 1777 to June 1778 when the Continental Army was stationed at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The site was chosen for its location between Philadelphia, where the British Army was camped, and York, the temporary seat of the Continental Congress. Despite the fact that a fourth of the army's 10,000 soldiers perished due to a harsh winter, they departed their encampment at Valley Forge in the spring intact, due in large part to Washington's capacity to lead. Unlike the regal, proud posture depicted in Henry Kirke Brown's monument of Washington in Union Square, Shrady represents Washington at his most humble -- cloaked against the cold, head slightly bowed, and willing to acknowledge the trying times both behind and ahead. 

Much work has already emerged from the back studio based upon the measurements. We hope all you will join us here at ICAA headquarters next Wednesday, December 19 from 6--8pm to view this and other works in our End-of-Term Exhibition. We're amazed every day by our student's work, and we look forward to sharing this amazement with all of you!

For more photos of the outing, click here.

Philadelphia Trip

The first year students of the Beaux-Arts Atelier traveled to Philadelphia on November 15 to tour the city and attend a conversation with John Blatteau and Alvin Holm hosted by the ICAA's Philadelphia Chapter. Upon arrival at 30th Street Station, a masterwork of classical architecture in itself, they headed straight for the Philadelphia Museum of Art, housed in an astounding architectural collaboration between the firm of Horace Trumbauer and detail savant Julian Abele. 

The remainder of the day was occupied by a trip to the Rodin Museum, perusal of Beaux-Arts interiors and exteriors downtown, and visits to the memorials of Benjamin Franklin and George Washington (also know as Eakins Oval). The students wrapped up the day at the historic Franklin inn Club, where they enjoyed a discussion between John Blatteau and Alvin Holm that revealed the depth of their experience in the world of classical building and design.  

Despite a late arrival back in New York City that same night, all expressed desire to return to the City of Brotherly Love in the coming months to further explore the city's wealth of classical riches.

Drawing (Live): The Recovery of the Beaux-Arts

After the wonderful turnout we had on Friday for our Archtober event, The Beaux-Arts Atelier: A Classical Journey, we're turning around and doing it again! We hope you'll join us tomorrow night for Drawing (Live): The Recovery of the Beaux-Arts. Richard Cameron, co-founder of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art, will give an illustrated talk in association with Archtober 2012.

Location: The John M. Mossman Lock Museum at the General Society, 20 West 44th Street, New York, NY. Space is limited and reservations are recommended. To reserve, call the ICAA at (212) 730-9646, ext. 108 or register online here.

Cost/Continuing Education Hours: FREE for ICAA members and employees or professional member firms; FREE for full-time students with current ID, $10 for the general public. One AIA/CES CEH is available.

 

The Beaux-Arts Atelier: A Classical Journey

Please join us this Friday, October 19 for a reception and exhibition showcasing the work of current students, alumni, and instructors of the Beaux-Arts Atelier, as well as works from the permanent collection of the Institute of Architecture and Art. Light refreshments will be served, and students and instructors of the Atelier will be on hand to discuss their works and inspirations. The exhibition is free and open to the public, though reservations are requested. Sponsored by Atelier Meriguet-Carrer, the event is part of Archtober 2012 - the second annual month-long festival of architectural programs, activities, and exhibitions. Striving to raise awareness about the central role of design in New York City, participating organizations help to build a lasting interest in the city's spectacular built environment. The complete calendar of Archtober events can be found here.

Location: The Institute of Classical Architecture & Art, 20 West 44th Street, 3rd floor, New York, NY. To reserve, call: (212) 730-9646, ext. 108, or register online.

Reading Architecture: Masterpieces of New York

Those of you who have taken a look at the "students" tab lately will have noticed that we have welcomed a new class comprising the second year of the Beaux-Arts Atelier. These eight talented individuals have already delved head-first into the foundations of form with instructor Mason Sullivan, are exploring the history of the classical orders with Michael Djordjevitch, and are immersing themselves in the fundamentals of drafting with Seth Weine. In addition to these hands-on seminars, students also spend Saturday afternoons roving the city, cultivating their abilities to read the details of structure and ornament. Recently, Michael Djordjevitch led them on a mission to deconstruct various buildings in midtown, the most grand of which was the New York Public Library.

As the group stood craning their necks in awe of the classical details resplendent in the library's public catalogue room, Djordjevitch guided their eyes to the various understated details that evidence thoughtful nods to classicicism. By recognizing the lack of preordained blueprint for large-scale classical construction, students were better able to appreciate the complexity of inspiration and planning that goes into erecting such monuments.

"There are no rules for a creating masterpiece such as this, just as there were no rules for Mozart or Beethoven when they sat down to write a piece of music, no rules for Titian when he took up a paintbrush. There is no checklist for creating this kind of composition," emphasized Djordjevitch. "But that doesn't make it any less intelligible or readable."

Fall 2012 Continuing Education Course Offering:

BASIC ARCHITECTURAL LITERACY2 EVENING SESSIONS: SEPTEMBER 5 & 6, 2012; 6—7PM & 7:30—8:30PM

The Education Department of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art is pleased to announce a four-part, two-day lecture course on Basic Architectural Literacy by Senior Architectural Historian for the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, and a member of the ICAA’s Advisory Council, Calder Loth. In addition to being the recipient of the 2010 Board of Directors Honor, as well as serving on the jury of the upcoming inaugural edition of the Stanford White Awards, friends of the Institute are likely familiar with Mr. Loth’s much-loved monthly feature on the Classicist Blog, Classical Comments.

An ideal opening to the Fall Education term, this course will be an introduction to interpreting our built environment through an in-depth but digestible understanding of architectural works both great and small, and will appeal to architects, interior designers, contractors, old-house buffs, remodelers, realtors, and just about anybody who likes to look at buildings. Click here for details and course description. 

Instructor: Calder Loth, Architectural Historian Location: ICAA, 20 West 44th Street, Room 404, New York, NY Cost/Continuing Education Hours: $160 ($110 Members); 4 AIA/CES CEHs

FOR FULL COURSE DESCRIPTION AND TO REGISTER

Desk layout, Term 4 Exhibition

[caption id="attachment_1040" align="aligncenter" width="2000"] Mark Hendricks[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1041" align="aligncenter" width="2000"] Mark Hendricks[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1038" align="aligncenter" width="2000"] Syreeta Brooks[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1039" align="aligncenter" width="2000"] Ryan Hughes[/caption]

Student Exhibition, Term 4 (round 2)

[caption id="attachment_1030" align="aligncenter" width="2000"] Model by Peter Spalding[/caption] Cartoon Analytique 1, Federal Hall Project by the BAA class of 2012:

Syreeta Brooks Mark Hendricks Ryan Hughes David Markel Nina Roefaro Susanne Smith Peter Spalding