Kevin Roche

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Kevin Roche
FAIA
Born
Eamonn Kevin Roche

(1922-06-14)June 14, 1922
DiedMarch 1, 2019(2019-03-01) (aged 96)
, U.S.
Nationality
  • Irish
  • American
Alma mater
OccupationArchitect
Awards
Practice
Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates
Buildings
WebsiteKevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates

Eamonn Kevin Roche

research facilities, performing arts centers, theaters, and campus buildings for six universities. In 1967 he created the master plan for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and thereafter designed all of the new wings and installation of many collections including the reopened American[1]
and Islamic wings.

Born in Dublin and a graduate from University College Dublin,[2] Roche went to the United States to study with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe at the Illinois Institute of Technology. In the U.S., he became the principal designer for Eero Saarinen, and opened his own architectural firm in 1967.

Among other awards, Roche received the Pritzker in 1982,[3] the Gold Medal Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1990, and the AIA Gold Medal in 1993.[4][5]

Biography

Born in

Yale, and the Illinois Institute of Technology and was accepted at all three institutions, and left Ireland in 1948 to study under Ludwig Mies van der Rohe at the Illinois Institute of Technology
.

Roche (right) with Eero Saarinen in the 1950s

In 1949, he worked at the planning office for the

John Dinkeloo
(1918-1991), joined the firm in 1951 and this was also where Roche met his wife Jane. In 1954, he became the Principal Design Associate to Saarinen and assisted him on all projects from that time until Saarinen's death in September 1961.

In 1966, Roche and Dinkeloo formed

Washington, DC, the strictly modern John Deere Headquarters in Moline, Illinois, and the CBS Headquarters building in New York City.[7]

Following this, Roche and Dinkeloo's first major commission was the Oakland Museum of California, a complex for the art, natural history, and cultural history of California with a design featuring interrelated terraces and roof gardens.[8] The city was planning a monumental building to house natural history, technology, and art, and Roche provided a unique concept: a building that is a series of low-level concrete structures covering a four block area, on three levels, the terrace of each level forming the roof of the one below, i.e. a museum (in three sections) with a park on its roof. This kind of innovative solution went on to become Roche's trademark.

This project was followed by the equally highly acclaimed

Ford Foundation Building in New York City, considered the first large-scale architectural building in the U.S. to devote a substantial portion of its space to horticultural pursuits. Its famous atrium was designed with the notion of having urban green-space accessible to all and is an early example of the application of environmental psychology in architecture. The building was recognized in 1968 by Architectural Record as "a new kind of urban space".[9]

The acclaim that greeted the

.

In 1982, Kevin Roche became one of the first recipients of the

Pritzker Prize, generally regarded as architecture's equivalent to the Nobel prize. Following this accolade, Roche's practice went global, receiving commissions for buildings in Paris, Madrid, Singapore, and Tokyo. He completed his first and only Irish project, The Convention Centre Dublin
, in 2010.

Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates has designed numerous corporate headquarters, office buildings, banks, museums, art centers, and even part of the

Roche died on March 1, 2019, at his home in Guilford, Connecticut, aged 96.[11]

Prizes and awards

The work of Kevin Roche has been the subject of special exhibitions at the

American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. A 2012 exhibition, Kevin Roche: Architecture as Environment, opened at the Yale School of Architecture in New Haven, Connecticut, and has been viewed at The Museum of the City of New York, the Building Museum in Washington, and the University of Toronto
.

In addition to the

Pritzker Prize, Roche was the recipient of numerous honors and awards including the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal Award, the American Academy of Arts and Letters
Gold Medal Award for Architecture, and the French Academie d'Architecture Grand Gold Medal.

Film

A feature documentary called Kevin Roche: The Quiet Architect was released in 2017. It was directed by Irish filmmaker (and former architecture student) Mark Noonan.

Buildings

The Head Office for Bouygues SA Holding company received the “Haute Qualité Environnementale (HQE)” which is the highest certification for environmental quality in building design in France.
Headquarters for Santander Central Hispano located in Madrid, Spain.
New American Wing for Twentieth Century Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The continuous glass wall at Lucent Technologies in Nuremberg, Germany wraps around the complex to create a unified street facade.
Ford Foundation Headquarters
The DN Tower 21 in Tokyo, Japan.

Awards and honors

Roche was the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including:

  • Pritzker Prize
  • American Institute of Architects – AIA Gold Medal
  • American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medals – Gold Medal Award for Architecture
  • Academie d'Architecture – Grand Gold Medal
  • Total Design Award, American Society of Interior Designers
  • Medal of Honor, New York Chapter of the AIA
  • American Institute of Architects Twenty-five Year Award
  • Classical America's Arthur Ross Award
  • Brendan Gill Prize of the Municipal Art Society of New York
  • R. S. Reynolds Memorial Award
  • New York State Award
  • California Governor's Award for Excellence in Design
  • Albert S. Bard First Honor Awards
    , City Club of New York
  • Brandeis University Creative Arts Award in Architecture
  • Brunner Award of the American Institute of Art and Letters
  • New York Chapter American Institute of Architects Award

Honorary Degrees:

Further reading

Articles
  • Currey, Mason. “Rediscovered Masterpiece: Ford Foundation”, Metropolis (December 2008), pp. 90–104
  • McMillan, Elizabeth. “Kevin Roche: Pritzker Prize Winner”, Veranda (October 2007), pp. 150–158, 241.
  • Lee, Sangleem. “Kevin Roche”, Space (July 2006); pp. 159–181.
  • Langan, Sheila. "Kevin Roche: America’s Irish Architect", Irish America Magazine (April/May 2012) pp.52-56, https://www.irishamerica.com/2012/03/kevin-roche-americas-irish-architect/.
Special magazine editions
  • Nakamura, Toshio. Kevin Roche, Architecture and Urbanism (A+U) Extra Edition, Tokyo, Japan: The Japan Architect Co. Ltd. Yoshio Yoshida, Publisher, 1987
  • Hozumi, Toshio et al. Latest Works of Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates, Architecture & Urbanism, (A+U), No. 211, Tokyo, Japan: The Japan Architect Co., Ltd., April, 1988, No.211.
  • Hara, Hiroshi and Nobutaka Ashira. America's New Architectural Wave: The Architect Kevin Roche's Appearance on The Scene, SD Space Design No. 63, A Monthly Journal of Art & Architecture, Tokyo, Japan: January 1970.
  • Miller, Nory. Roche Dinkeloo, General Foods Headquarters, Texas Christian University Visual Arts Center, One Summit Square, Deere Financial Services Hdqrs., & Kevin Roche Interview Global Architecture, GA Document 9, A.D.A. EDITA Tokyo Co., Ltd., February 1984.
  • Futagawa, Yukio. Roche Dinkeloo, 6 High Rise Projects Deutsche Bank, J. P. Morgan, Design for Two Buildings in Denver, Dallas Competition, High Rise Study in Houston]. Global Architecture, GA Document 12. Tokyo, Japan: A.D.A. EDITA Tokyo Co., Ltd., January 1985.
  • Miller, Nory. Roche Dinkeloo Cummins Engine Company Corporate Office Building, Columbus Indiana & Conoco Inc. Petroleum Headquarters, Global Architecture, GA Document 14, editing and publishing by Yukio Futagawa, A.D.A. EDITA Tokyo Co., Ltd., photographs, RETORIA: Y. Futagawa & Associated Photographers, December 1985.
  • Futagawa, Yukio. Roche Dinkeloo, Bouygues Headquarters,Global Architecture, GA Document 22. Tokyo, Japan: A.D.A. EDITA Tokyo Co., Ltd., January 1989.


References

  1. ^ Cotter, Holland (January 15, 2012). "The Met Reimagines the American Story". The New York Times. Retrieved February 23, 2012.
  2. ^ "In Memoriam Kevin Roche: 1922 - 2019". www.ucd.ie. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  3. ^ Goldberger, Paul (April 15, 1982). "Kevin Roche Wins Pritzker Prize in Architecture". The New York Times. Retrieved February 23, 2012.
  4. ^ Ayoubi, Ayda (March 4, 2019). "AIA Gold Medalist Kevin Roche Dies at 96". www.architectmagazine.com. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  5. ^ "Kevin Roche AIA Gold Medal Awarded In 1993". Edubilla.com. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  6. ^ "An Irish starchitect: the iconic buildings that have made Kevin Roche's reputation". The Irish Times. April 9, 2011.
  7. ^ "Architecture Award to Kevin Roche". The New York Times. December 14, 1992. Retrieved February 23, 2012.
  8. ^ "Museums". RocheDinkeloo. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  9. ^ Barnett, Jonathan (February 1968). "Innovation and Symbolism on 42nd Street" (PDF). Architectural Record. pp. 105–112.
  10. OCLC 768168746
    .
  11. ^ Goldberger, Paul (March 2, 2019). "Kevin Roche, Architect Who Melded Bold With Elegant, Dies at 96". The New York Times. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
  12. ^ "K of C Headquarters Stands Tall for Half a Century". Columbia. August 2019. p. 7.
  13. ^ Goldberger, Paul (November 29, 1987). "Kevin Roche Finishes a Trio And Changes His Tune". The New York Times. Retrieved February 23, 2012.
  14. ^ "Kevin Roche Honored For Redesign of Zoo". The New York Times. September 30, 1989. Retrieved February 23, 2012.
  15. ^ Vogel, Carol (January 5, 2012). "Grand Galleries for National Treasures". The New York Times. Retrieved February 23, 2012.
  16. ^ Yudell, Leslie (June 16, 2009). "Newsmakers: Kevin Roche and Morrison Heckscher". Architectural Record. Retrieved February 24, 2012.

External links