The Burchfield Penney Art Center announced that the inaugural Charles E. Burchfield Award will be presented posthumously to renowned architect Charles Gwathmey (1938-2009) at a recognition dinner at The Center Wednesday, May 28, 2014.
The Charles E. Burchfield Award recognizes outstanding achievements in the arts expressing a commitment to environmental sustainability.
The 84,000 square foot Burchfield Penney was designed by Gwathmey Siegel and Associates Architects LLC founded in 1967 by Charles Gwathmey and Robert Siegel. The Center is respected worldwide for its sustainable values. Gwathmey served as lead architect on the construction of the new museum, the last of his works completed prior to his death in June 2009 after a long battle with cancer.
The Burchfield Penney was the first art museum in New York State to be certified by the U.S. Green Building Council’s (LEED) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program, having received a silver rating.
“In creating this Center for arts and culture, its board of trustees and staff made a commitment grounded in Charles Burchfield’s work. The building’s sustainable values with an environmental awareness fulfill the Trustees’ pledge through architectural excellence to educate and do the right thing for our city and the world,” said Anthony Bannon, Ph.D., Burchfield Penney executive director. “Because of this enormously significant commitment, we must continue to do whatever we can to lead and educate through a variety of presentations about the culture of the environment, a wisdom that emerges from our mission.”
Robert Siegel will be on-hand to accept the award. “Inasmuch as this building is our grounding, we must look to Charles Gwathmey, the lead architect for posthumous recognition,” added Bannon. “The international world of architecture recognizes his achievement in designing this building. Architects worldwide applaud our efforts to honor him and insist we publish and distribute a interview with Bob Siegel reflecting significantly on his part, their career together and inspiration in creating the Burchfield Penney Art Center.”
Robert Siegel will also honor Charles Gwathmey in a special lecture Tuesday, May 27, 2014, 6 -7 pm. The presentation, free and open to the public, will cover their work beginning with the iconic residence which Gwathmey designed for his parents in Amagansett, NY, as well as other notable residences. In addition to the Burchfield Penney, the presentation will include the expansion of the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, their work throughout the SUNY system, Crocker Museum in Sacramento and Henry Art Gallery in Seattle.
Siegel will highlight university-related projects including the renovation of the Yale School of Architecture and the new art history department and arts library building expansion. The talk will include their work on the celebrated Nanyang Polytechnic which involved the creation of a new 75-acre campus in Singapore, the U.S. Embassy building to the United Nations Center in New York City, Morgan Stanley World Headquarters Tower in Times Square New York City as well as several high rise hospitality and residential projects.
The firm completed more than 400 projects ranging in scale and type including private residences, museums, libraries, government and corporate use, university buildings of all types throughout the United States and abroad as well as high-rise housing and hotel buildings.
The Burchfield Penney commissioned Elizabeth Lyons of More Fire Glass Studio in Rochester, NY to create the blown glass Charles E. Burchfield Award. The structure’s unique, contemporary design was inspired by the comforts of home in Burchfield’s paintings and museum designed by Charles Gwathmey. “I share an affinity with both Burchfield and Gwathmey for the beauty and mystery found in nature,” said Lyons. “It has been an honor to create this sculptural work, the first Charles E. Burchfield
Award.” Lyons work has been featured in Architectural Design, House Beautiful, House and Garden, New York Spaces, New York Times Magazine and Vogue as a leading example of sculpture for the home.
Tickets to the Inaugural Charles E. Burchfield Annual Award Ceremony & Dinner can be purchased by contacting Jim Wyman, director of development at (716) 878-3739.
About Charles Gwathmey
Charles Gwathmey (June 19, 1938 – August 3, 2009) was the principal at Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects, as well as one of the five architects identified as The New York Five in 1969. One of Gwathmey's most famous designs is the 1992 renovation of Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim Museum in New York City.
Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, Gwathmey attended the University of Pennsylvania and received his Master of Architecture degree in 1962 from Yale School of Architecture, where he won both the William Wirt Winchester Fellowship as the outstanding graduate and a Fulbright Grant. While at Yale, he studied under Paul Rudolph.
Gwathmey served as president of the board of trustees for the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies and was elected a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 1981.
Gwathmey was the recipient of the Brunner Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1970, and in 1976 he was elected to the Academy. In 1983, he won the Medal of Honor from the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects and in 1985, he received the first Yale Alumni Arts Award from the Yale School of Architecture. In 1988 the Guild Hall Academy of Arts awarded Gwathmey its Lifetime Achievement Medal in Visual Arts, followed in 1990 by a Lifetime Achievement Award from the New York State Society of Architects.
About Robert Siegel, FAIA
Robert Siegel along with Charles Gwathmey, founded the architectural firm of Gwathmey Siegel & Associates. He graduated from Pratt Institute with a Bachelor of Architecture degree in 1962 and received his Master of Architecture degree from Harvard University in 1963.
Prior to joining with Charles Gwathmey to form the partnership Mr. Siegel was the senior associate in the office of Edward Larrabee Barnes responsible for major projects including the Crown Center Development in Kansas City and the New England Merchants Bank Tower in Boston. Mr. Siegel was also responsible for the overall management of the Barnes office.
Since the inception of the firm in 1968, Mr. Siegel & Mr. Gwathmey have worked in a collaborative fashion with the Associates to develop the design direction for the varied building types completed by the office.
Throughout his professional career, Mr. Siegel has served as a design critic, juror, and lecturer at schools of architecture and professional organizations. In 1983, he organized the Pratt Institute Student Intern Program within the Gwathmey Siegel office-part of his continuing interest in nurturing the skills of talented young architects.
In 1983, the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects recognized Mr. Siegel's skill and leadership as an architect with its Medal of Honor. He received the Pratt Institute Centennial Alumni Award in Architecture in 1988 and in 1990 accepted a Lifetime Achievement Award from the New York State Society of Architects. He was elected a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 1991.
Robert Siegel is the vice chairman and former chairman of the board of trustees and is a member of the executive and nominating committees of Pratt Institute in New York City. Previously he served as a member of the Harvard University Graduate School of Design Alumni Advisory Committee.