MICHAEL SORKIN, 1948-2020

Posted on March 30th, 2020 by Nader Tehrani

Posted under: The Cooper Union, Urban Design

A tribute to Michael Sorkin requires words, the very instruments he crafted with meticulous discipline and mischievous delight—alas, something none of us can do justice to with any measure of parity.

I followed Sorkin’s thinking from his early days at The Village Voice, where he served as its architectural critic, the very same years he taught at The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture at The Cooper Union. I was still a student at the time, but his articles were an event to which we all looked forward, each taking on the canons and conventions of the discipline. For a decade, from 1983 to 1993, he taught alongside all the classic thinkers who we know to be The Cooper Union—among them Diana Agrest, Raimund Abraham, Diane Lewis, Anthony Candido, Richard Henderson, Michael Webb, Ricardo Scofidio and of course the dean, John Hejduk. While he taught in the second and fourth year studios, as well as Thesis, he was already beginning to build his intellectual arsenal around the theme of urbanism, the very topic that launched his first semester at our school—a seminar on Town Planning. His focus on the environment, sustainability, the politics of public space and urban culture, as well as his critique of modernist urban planning became the cornerstone of his efforts to come—both in teaching and his practice, Terreform and Michael Sorkin Studio.

A graduate of MIT in 1974, Sorkin’s thesis, titled “Some Impressions of the Department,” was a reflection not only on MIT pedagogy, but on architectural education in general. His interest in teaching methodologies led him eventually to The Cooper Union, where the “education of an architect” was the very preoccupation of the school. His continued emphasis on pedagogy led to his many academic appointments, among them at Harvard’s GSD, Yale, the Architectural Association and, of course, The City College of New York. The work of his own students was a testament to his legacy. With the new Cooper Union Student Work Collection database, some of it can fortunately be accessed here

An architect, critic, teacher and polemicist, Sorkin understood the delicate and complicated relationship between images and words. His practice displayed this dual commitment through a preoccupation with representation at large, both visual and literary. His architectural projects were composed as polemics, imagining projected worlds, visions and futures that defied the very conventions with which he was confronted in the profession. Still, it was his command of language and mastery of rhetoric that made him the eloquent architect he became. Words flowed seemingly effortlessly with incisive precision, belying the actual intellectual efforts that preceded his theoretical labor. He reminded us that ideas come in many forms, but moreover that they do not exist outside of the medium in which they are communicated. His words were the instruments of his ideas and he demonstrated that his ideas relied on the very lexicon he was able to manipulate. He made us love language and the allusive nature of meanings, references, and the worlds of associations they impart.

A champion of the city and the social vocation of architecture, Sorkin’s life was cut short, the result of complications from the Coronavirus; ironically, the very phenomenon that has taken our access away from the city, and our ability to congregate, is the very same thing that has led us back to language to unite us in communication. Both of these worlds belong to Michael Sorkin, and lamentably, we will not be able to enjoy his last words on the city, evacuated as we know it today.

Nader Tehrani

Also shared by The Cooper Union HERE. Also shared by Architectural Record HERE.

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OPENING AT COOPER: NIVOLA IN NEW YORK | FIGURE IN FIELD

Posted on January 14th, 2020 by Nicole Sakr

Posted under: The Cooper Union

Costantino Nivola (1911-1988)
Nivola in New York | Figure in Field
January 23–March 15, 2020

Opening Reception: January 23, 6:30–8:30pm
Nivola in New York Panel Discussion: March 9, 6:30–8pm, Featuring Giuliana Altea, President, Fondazione Costantino Nivola; Antonella Camarda, Director, Museo Nivola; and Michele Cohen, Curator, Architect of the Capitol
Italian Cultural Institute of New York

Arthur A. Houghton Jr. Gallery
The Cooper Union, New York
7 East 7th Street, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10002

The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, the Fondazione Costantino Nivola, and the Italian Cultural Institute of New York present Nivola in New York | Figure in Field, an exhibition of the work of Italian sculptor Costantino Nivola (1911-1988), known for his large-scale bas-reliefs, murals, and free-standing sculptural installations created in collaboration with architects. On view January 23 through March 15 in the Arthur A. Houghton Jr. Gallery, the exhibition is the first-ever to tell the story of Nivola’s built New York City projects through maquettes and sculptures, original drawings, site-specific photographs, and related ephemera. The exhibition also features a timeline outlining 62 projects that Nivola made in collaboration with architects over approximately 40 years. New York is home to the largest gathering of Nivola’s public artworks — 21 pieces across all five boroughs, at least 17 of which still exist. A free pocket guide will be produced for Nivola in New York: Figure in Field to encourage visitors to learn more about all of these works and see them in situ.

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Nader named among most admired Architecture Educators

Posted on November 8th, 2019 by Nicole Sakr

Posted under: Academic, The Cooper Union

“Scholarly, intellectual, great teacher, thoughtful administrator, good person”

See Design Intelligence’s list of top architecture educators HERE!

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Helmuth Rosales and Steven Holl honored!

Posted on October 25th, 2019 by Nicole Sakr

Posted under: Events, The Cooper Union

photo by Samuel Lahoz Photography

The Cooper Union’s Helmuth Rosales and Stephen Holl Architects were both honored last night at the Center for Architecture’s Heritage Ball. Congrats!

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Cooper ranked #4!

Posted on October 2nd, 2019 by Nicole Sakr

Posted under: Academic, The Cooper Union

The Cooper Union has ranked as #4 undergraduate architecture program for 2020 in Architectural Record’s list of America’s Top Architecture Schools. Last year they were #5 and the year before #15. Details and breakdowns HERE.

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Next Thursday – Diana Agrest: Architecture of Nature / Nature of Architecture

Posted on September 25th, 2019 by Nicole Sakr

Posted under: Academic, The Cooper Union

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“How to Build a House: Architectural Research in the Digital Age,” opening at the Cooper Union

Posted on September 10th, 2019 by Nicole Sakr

Posted under: Events, The Cooper Union

DFAB HOUSE on the NEST building, Switzerland, 2019. Photo by Roman Keller, via The Cooper Union

A new exhibition at The Cooper Union showcases the conception and making of the DFAB HOUSE, the world’s first fully inhabited building to have been digitally planned and largely built with the help of robots and 3D printers.  The Opening Panel Discussion and Reception will be this Thursday, September 12, 2019 at 6:30pm in the Frederick P. Rose Auditorium at 41 Cooper Square. More info HERE.   

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Adam Silverman at The Cooper Union

Posted on September 4th, 2019 by Nicole Sakr

Posted under: The Cooper Union, Things We Like

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SOLO EXHIBITION BY SEONHEE SUNNY KIM AT GOVERNORS ISLAND

Posted on August 1st, 2019 by Dara Lin

Posted under: Events, The Cooper Union

The opening is this Saturday, August 3rd, 2-6 pm. The exhibit is part of the ongoing Imagination of Space event presented by The Cooper Union and curated by Ceren Bingol. Learn more HERE, and see HERE for detailed visiting information and ferry schedule.

“The Light Lights | Space is about the intangible and varying experiences from the reflection and shadow of light in space. With a thin layer of paper, light defines the shape itself and draws its boundary with the shadow in space. Reflections and shadows shown through the surface of the paper break down the boundaries of dimensional space, creating smooth and firm connections within it.

Seonhee Sunny Kim is a visual creator who deals with tangible and intangible materials originally from Korea and based in Detroit and New York now. She recently earned her MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, MI, USA. This year she was selected as a recipient of New Beginning Award by Merced Benz and during 2019 NYC design week, she won NYCxDesign Award of emerging designer and Wanted design launch pad. Recently, she is collaborating with City of Detroit with her lighting project for Detroit Community Center.”

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Opening Tomorrow at Cooper

Posted on May 29th, 2019 by Nicole Sakr

Posted under: Events, The Cooper Union

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