Thom Mayne
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Thom Mayne (b. January 19, 1942 in Waterbury, Connecticut) is a widely recognized Los Angeles based architect. Educated at University of Southern California (1969)[1] and the Harvard University Graduate School of Design in 1978, Mayne helped found the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-ARC) in 1972. Since then he has held teaching positions at SCI-ARC, Cal Poly Pomona[1] and UCLA. He is principal of Morphosis, a renowned architectural office located in Santa Monica, California. Mayne received the Pritzker Prize in March 2005.
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[edit] Firm
Thom Mayne, with Michael Rotondi, founded Morphosis in 1972 to develop an architecture that would eschew the normal bounds of traditional forms. Beginning as an informal collaboration of designers that survived on non-architectural projects, its first official commission was a school in Pasadena, attended by Mayne's son. Publicity from this project led to a number of residential commissions, including the Lawrence Residence.
Since then, Morphosis has grown into prominent design practice, with completed projects worldwide. Under the Design Excellence program of the United States government's General Service Administration, Thom Mayne has become a primary architect for federal projects. Recent commissions include: graduate housing at the University of Toronto; the San Francisco Federal Building; the University of Cincinnati Student Recreation Center; the Science Center School in Los Angeles, Diamond Ranch High School in Pomona, California; and the Wayne L. Morse United States Courthouse in Eugene, Oregon.
[edit] Design Philosophy
Morphosis’s design philosophy arises from an interest in producing work with a meaning that can be understood by absorbing the culture for which it was made. This is in opposition to typical architectural philosophies which overlay meaning from outside influences and are distant from the question at hand.
The word “metamorphosis” (from which the name Morphosis is derived) means a “change in form or transformation.” For Morphosis this reflects a design process intuitively embedded within an increasingly groundless modern society that is exemplified by the shifting landscape of Los Angeles (the firm’s home). Their working method values contradiction, conflict, and change, and understands each project as a dynamic entity,
The work of Morphosis has a layered quality. The designs often include multiple organizational systems which find unique expression while contributing to a coherent whole. Visually, the firm’s architecture includes sculptural forms which often appear to arise effortlessly from the landscape. In recent years this has been increasingly made possible through the use of computational design techniques which simplify the construction of complex forms.
[edit] Criticism
People who work in Mayne's Georgia H. W. Bush Federal Building in San Francisco claim the building fails to provide an environment conducive to actual office work.[2] The building has limited internal climate controls (heat and air conditioning), and elevators that skip floors in an attempt to socially-engineer interaction and exercise among workers. Despite delays and cost overruns, the building failed to secure LEED certification.
[edit] Awards and honors
- Top Ten Green Project Award, American Institute of Architects Committee on the Environment / 2007
- Pritzker Prize, 2005
- Chrysler Design Award of Excellence / 2001
- Los Angeles Gold Medal, American Institute of Architects / 2000
- The Edward MacDowell Medal / 2008
- Alumni of the Year, University of Southern California / 1995
- Brunner Prize or Award in Architecture, American Academy of Arts and Letters / 1992
- Member Elect, American Academy of Design / 1992
- Eliel Saarinen Chair, Yale School of Architecture, Yale University / 1991
- Elliot Noyes Chair, Harvard University Graduate School of Design / 1988
- Rome Prize Fellowship, American Academy in Rome, Italy / 1987
[edit] Major Projects
[edit] Completed
- Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, 2009
- San Francisco Federal Building, San Francisco, California, 2006
- Wayne L. Morse United States Courthouse, Eugene, Oregon, 2006
- University of Cincinnati Student Recreation Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, 2006
- Science Center School, Los Angeles, California, 2004
- Caltrans District 7 Headquarters, Los Angeles, California, 2004
- Hypo Alpe-Adria Center, Klagenfurt, Austria, 2002
- University of Toronto Graduate House, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2000
- Diamond Ranch High School, Pomona, California, 1999
- Sun Tower, Seoul, Korea 1997
- Blades Residence, Santa Barbara, California, 1995
- Salick Healthcare Office Building, Los Angeles, CA, 1991
- Crawford Residence, Montecito, CA, 1990
- Cedar Sinai Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, CA, 1988
- 6th Street Residence / Santa Monica, CA, 1988
- Kate Mantilini / Beverly Hills, CA, 1986
[edit] In Progress
- New Academic Building, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, New York, New York, 2009
- National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Satellite Operation Facility, Suitland, Maryland, 2007
- Phare Tower (Tour Phare), also known as "Le Phare" and "The Lighthouse", "green" wind-powered office building, La Défense, Paris, France, 2012
- Museum of Nature & Science Building, Victory Park, development, Dallas, Texas, 2013
[edit] Articles
- Orlandoni, Alessandra ""Interview with Thom Mayne" - The Plan 014, May2006
- Ayyuce, Orhan ""Thom Mayne in Coffee Break" - Archinect, July, 2007
[edit] References
- ^ "Mayne to get Pritzker" (HTML). The San Diego Union-Tribune. http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050321/news_1c21prize.html. Retrieved on 2008-09-11.
- ^ http://www.beyondchron.org/articles/San_Francisco_s_Green_Building_Nightmare_5428.html
[edit] External links
- Morphosis.com - Official Website
- Morphopedia.com - Official Directory of Projects
- Online profile of Thom Mayne as principal of Morphosis
- American Maverick Wins Pritzker Prize New York Times, March 21, 2005
- Metropolis article on Mayne
- ARCH'IT article on NewCity Park
- ARCH'IT article on Caltrans District Headquarters
- Thom Mayne, Prizker Prize Winner
- Pritzker Prize Media Kit
- Thom Mayne's Guest DJ Project on KCRW KCRW Guest DJ set
- TED Talks: Thom Mayne on architecture as connection at TED in 2005
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