Architecture of Atlanta
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The Architecture of Atlanta has seen works by most major U.S. firms and some of the more prominent architects of the 20th century, including Michael Graves, Richard Meier, Renzo Piano, and soon, Santiago Calatrava and David Chipperfield. Atlanta's most notable hometown architect may be John Portman whose creation of the atrium hotel beginning with the Hyatt Regency Atlanta (1968) made a significant mark on the hospitality sector. A graduate of Georgia Tech's College of Architecture, Portman's work reshaped downtown Atlanta with his designs for the Atlanta Merchandise Mart, Peachtree Center, the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel, and SunTrust Plaza.
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[edit] Specific buildings
Arts facilities have led the way for modernists in Atlanta architecture with the sleek white High Museum designed by Richard Meier with a 2005 addition by Renzo Piano. Also on the horizon is a new home for the Atlanta Symphony Center, to be designed by Santiago Calatrava, as soon as fundraising can be completed for the projected 300 million dollar cost. Michael Graves' post-modern style is exhibited in the Ten Peachtree Place office building in Midtown and the Michael C. Carlos Museum on the campus of Emory University. The 50 story One Atlantic Center was designed by Philip Johnson in association with John Burgee. Now under construction is One Museum Place, a new residential high-rise across Peachtree Street from the Graves / Piano buildings of the High, designed by London-based David Chipperfield.
Atlanta also has its own Flatiron Building, built in 1897, five years before the more famous Flatiron Building in New York City (1902). Another historic building of architectural importance to Atlanta is the Fox Theatre, which was saved from the threat of demolition in 1974.
[edit] Building(s) currently threatened with demolition
The Buckhead Branch Library, designed by Scogin, Elam and Bray, completed in 1989, and recipient of state and national design awards, is currently threatened with demolition. A local developer has offered $24m for the site, while a Fulton County Commissioner Tom Lowe has called the building an "abortion". Op-ed pieces in the local paper have been written, rallies and petitions have taken place, and the Library Board meets on February 27, 2008 to decide the building's fate.[1]
[edit] Atlanta Architectural Scene
Atlanta is home to a number of progressive architecture firms, including the award-winning, internationally acclaimed Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects (formerly Scogin, Elam and Bray). Major commercial commissions are typically dominated by large corporate firms such as Heery International, Stevens and Wilkinson, Perkins and Will, Smallwood Reynolds and Associates, and TVS (Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback & Associates). Smaller, contemporary practices include Carlos Tardio Architecture, BLDGS, G+G Architects, Houser Walker Architecture, Plexus R+D, Alloy Projects, and Dencity Design.
The Georgia Institute of Technology College of Architecture, located just west of midtown Atlanta offers both pre-professional undergraduate and professional graduate degrees in architecture, and hosts regular lectures and symposia of interest to students and professionals. Southern Polytechnic State University in Marietta, a suburb of Atlanta, offers a five-year professional undergraduate degree.[citation needed] and also hosts lectures and exhibits works in the new architecture building's gallery space.
The Young Architects Forum of the local American Institute of Architects is an active sponsor of meet-ups, competitions, and exhibitions. Atlanta Pecha Kucha [[1]], a public forum for creative work across a wide range of artistic disciplines, often features the work some of Atlanta's young architects.
[edit] Skyscrapers
The 1980s represented a real estate boom period for Atlanta and the beginning of significant development in the Midtown area of Atlanta.[citation needed] Consequently, most of the largest buildings in Atlanta were completed in the late 80's and early 90's. The ten tallest buildings in Atlanta are:
- Bank of America Plaza
- SunTrust Plaza
- One Atlantic Center (the "IBM Tower")
- 191 Peachtree Tower
- Westin Peachtree Plaza
- Georgia Pacific Tower
- Promenade II
- AT&T Midtown Center
- 1180 Peachtree
- Four Seasons Hotel
The Marriott Marquis Hotel by John Portman is also notable for its bulging base, and is therefore often jokingly known as the "pregnant building" for its odd shape.
After a lull caused by the 2001 recession, Atlanta's building boom has started again. 1180 Peachtree Street, also known as the Symphony Tower was completed in early 2006.[2] There has been extensive development in the Midtown area, especially the residential high-rise sector.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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