WIT City Hall Exhibit (Hours Vary, See Post)

briv

briv

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First-Time Exhibit of Original Architectural Drawings of Boston City Hall to be on Display at Wentworth

What
Exhibit of original architectural drawings of Boston City Hall by architects Kallmann, McKinnell & Knowles

When
May 15 ? May 31, 2008
Hours Vary (see below) ? free of charge

Where
 Wentworth Institute of Technology
550 Huntington Avenue
Watson Auditorium

Information
Drawn from the collection of Historic New England, this major exhibit will feature over 40 original design drawings of Boston City Hall by architects Kallmann, McKinnell & Knowles. These competition-winning drawings, most of which have never before been exhibited, chronicle the remarkable genesis of a building that instantly became the international symbol of Boston?s re-invention as a modern city in the 1960?s.
The exhibit offers viewers the rare opportunity to observe the origins of Boston City Hall?s innovative structure through sketches, design studies and presentation drawings. The drawings reveal the conceptual underpinnings of this ground-breaking building, demonstrating the imagination, inventiveness, and logic that shaped its design.
The pen and pencil drawings on display are of special interest because oversized hand-drawn perspectives have become a lost art, as technological innovations and the use of the computer have supplanted the drafting pencil in most architects? offices.
The opening of the exhibit coincides with the 2008 National Convention in Boston of the American Institute of Architects. DOCOMOMO?US/New England, an organization devoted to the conservation of modern architecture, is a co-sponsor of the exhibit.
On May 28, a reception open to the public will be held from 6:00 - 9:00 p.m., with speakers including architect Michael McKinnell; Carl Nold, president of Historic New England; and Gary Wolf, Wentworth architecture professor, vice president of Docomomo New England, architect, and organizer of the event.
For additional information regarding exhibition content, please contact Kerry Vautrot at Gary Wolf Architects at 617-742-7557.

Wentworth Institute of Technology
Founded in 1904, Wentworth Institute of Technology is an independent, co-educational nationally ranked institution offering career-focused education through 15 Bachelor degree programs in areas such as architecture, computer science and systems, construction management, design, engineering, engineering technology, environmental science, and management. For over a century, Wentworth has been a leader in technical education known for its academic excellence, community service, and support for the economic growth of the region. For more information, please visit www.wit.edu.

Boston City Hall Exhibit Hours:
  • May 15 (Thursday): 10-9 (official exhibit opening 5:30-9)
  • May 16 (Friday): 10-9
  • May 17 (Saturday): 10-5
  • May 18 (Sunday): 12-5
  • May 19 (Monday): Closed
  • May 20 (Tuesday): 11-6
  • May 21 (Wednesday): 11-6
  • May 22 (Thursday): 11-6
  • May 23 (Friday): 11-6
  • May 24 (Saturday): 11-5
  • May 25 (Sunday): 12-5
  • May 26 (Monday): Closed
  • May 27 (Tuesday): 11-6
  • May 28 (Wednesday): 11-6 (evening reception and presentation from 6-9)
  • May 29 (Thursday): 11-6
  • May 30 (Friday): 11-6
  • May 31 (Saturday): 11-5
 
Ooh, Michael McKinnell- this should be exciting. I hope they have wine and cheese
 
Are the drawings from this exhibit available online anywhere?
 
No wine :( Also, I was hoping McKinnell would've spoken more about the project itself than just the drawings...
 
^ No, no wine. And no bottle-opener for the sparkling cider.

But the craft of the drawings is truly astonishing. I got to shake hands and rap with McKinnell a bit. It was interesting to listen to him recount the all-nighters they pulled prior to their final submission to the jury.

And I met a prof from UMass Amherst who's writing a book on Paul Rudolph and is actively trying to save the Blue Cross Building.
 
I stopped in there a little after 5 yesterday, but I didnt stay very long. I left just as the hall was beginning to fill up. The weather was just too beautiful outside and I didn't feel like being cooped up indoors all night. But in retrospect, I do wish I stuck around to hear the speakers.

The exhibit was interesting with a lot of beautiful drawings I'd never seen before. I was also surprised to see a few drawings from the original competition from some of the other architects who entered. I found these fascinating. Does anyone know if all the entries were ever published anywhere?

I didn't see the posts here before I went. If I had I would have been sure to say hello to you guys that went. Maybe next time.
 
briv said:
Does anyone know if all the entries were ever published anywhere?
Click to expand...

I asked that of Gary Wolf, the architect who curated the exhibit, and it doesn't seem so. I think I may have seen a couple of them at the BPL when I was in high school -- maybe in an old issue of Architectural Forum. It would make a hell of a book. The finalists were fun to look at, one a Mies knockoff, one cribbed from Ed Stone, another like a lady's hatbox similar to Gordon Bunshaft's Hirshorn Museum, yet another like I.M. Pei's Dallas City Hall.

I love knowing that Peter Eisenman didn't make the cut.
 
briv: you really didn't miss anything with the speakers. It was a lot of patting each other on the back and talking about how important the drawings are. Not much talk about the building itself.

I wish they were selling prints of some of those drawings, though, they were gorgeous.
 
Beton Brut said:
I asked that of Gary Wolf, the architect who curated the exhibit, and it doesn't seem so. I think I may have seen a couple of them at the BPL when I was in high school -- maybe in an old issue of Architectural Forum. It would make a hell of a book. The finalists were fun to look at, one a Mies knockoff, one cribbed from Ed Stone, another like a lady's hatbox similar to Gordon Bunshaft's Hirshorn Museum, yet another like I.M. Pei's Dallas City Hall.

I love knowing that Peter Eisenman didn't make the cut.
Click to expand...
Ha, yeah, I don't think Peter Eisenman even thought he'd make the cut- that project looked about as unrealistic as any I've ever seen.

The other finalists were surprisingly tame, except for the Giurgola one (which was noted to be the official second place). Most of them just looked like boxes with courtyards...I guess it really shows how far ahead in their thinking KMK were.
 
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