Avery Hall Centennial Marked With Symposium

By
Nick Obourn
November 04, 2012

November 10, 2012 marks the first day of Avery Hall’s second century. Designed by Charles Follen McKim of the legendary architecture firm McKim, Mead, and White, Avery Hall is home to the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP) and the renowned Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, which support a culture of innovation and discovery in the fields of architectural practice and research.

To celebrate its next century, GSAPP and Avery Library will host a symposium, exhibition and celebratory reception to honor the Avery Hall’s storied history on November 10. The symposium, which will take place at 1 p.m. in Wood Auditorium, will examine life in Avery Hall through three panels featuring faculty and staff from GSAPP, Avery Library and the Art History Department.

Art History professor Barry Bergdoll, GSAPP associate professor Andrew Dolkart, Avery Library curator of drawings and archives Janet Parks and architect Sam White will discuss Avery's past. Its future will be the topic of conversation for director of Avery Library Carole Ann Fabian, GSAPP professor Bernard Tschumi and GSAPP Dean Mark Wigley. A third panel focusing on personal reflections will feature GSAPP professor Kenneth Frampton, architect Michael McKinnell, and GSAPP associate professor Mary McLeod.

Immediately following the panel all attendees are invited to the opening of "Unfolding Avery," an exhibition on the building's history curated by GSAPP master's student Jihoi Lee. The exhibition, which will be on view until Dec. 19 on GSAPP’s 200 level mezzanine, presents photo montages of Avery Hall. One chronicles the building's transformation over the past 100 years through original architectural drawings, including McKim, Mead, and White's plans from 1910. The exhibition includes an interactive screen where users are invited to browse course offerings between 1902-1912 and 2002-2012 in the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation.

The exhibition opening will be accompanied by a reception at Brownie's Café in GSAPP. For more information on the symposium and the exhibition please visit the GSAPP event website.