This event is presented as part of the Getty Conservation Institute’s Conserving Modern Architecture Initiative, which seeks to advance the practice of conserving twentieth-century heritage.
Located in the heart of New York City, the Seagram Building epitomizes the principles of sleek modernism in architecture. Designed by famed architect Mies van der Rohe and completed in 1958, the 38-story building on Park Avenue set a standard for the modern skyscraper. The Seagram building’s lighting, Four Seasons Restaurant, and Seagram Company executive offices were designed by architect Philip Johnson.
Join Phyllis Lambert as she provides an unprecedented personal history of her experience managing the Seagram Building project, as well as of the working relationship between Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson. Lambert’s lecture also will focus on the ongoing stewardship and conservation of the Seagram building.
Lambert’s recently published book, Building Seagram (Yale University Press, 2013), delves into the history of the Seagram Building (1954–58), as well as the culture of post-WWII design, including the significant role corporate patronage played in the era’s real estate development, and of the Seagram project’s substantial role in shaping landmark legislation and zoning laws in New York City.
#About the Speaker
Phyllis Lambert, architect, is Founding Director Emeritus of the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) in Montréal, Québec, an international research center and museum founded in 1979. She is recognized internationally for her contribution in advancing contemporary architecture, together with her concern for the social issues of urban conservation and the role of architecture in the public realm. Lambert holds an M.S. in Architecture from the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago. She also is an Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and of the Royal Institute of British Architects, and a Fellow of the Society of Architectural Historians.
Building Seagram is presented at 7pm on Tuesday, April 8, 2014, in the Museum Lecture Hall at the Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles. Tickets are free; reservations are recommended. Make reservations online or by calling (310) 440-7300. Parking is $10 after 5pm.