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{{short description|American architect}}
'''Preston Scott Cohen''' is a [[Boston]] based designer and the Gerald M. McCue Professor in Architecture at [[Harvard Graduate School of Design]] (GSD). While Mr. Cohen is not a registered architect, he is a celebrated building designer and is Principal at Preston Scott Cohen, Inc. based in [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]].<ref> [http://www.archdaily.com/137639/ad-interviews-preston-scott-cohen/ Preston Scott Cohen Interview]</ref>


'''Preston Scott Cohen''' is a professor of [[Harvard Graduate School of Design]] (GSD).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/#/people/preston-scott-cohen.html |title = Home - Harvard Graduate School of Design}}</ref> In 2004, he established a partnership with two registered architects, Amit Nemlich and Gilles Quintal, and became the Design Principal of Preston Scott Cohen, Inc. based in Central Square [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]].<ref>[http://www.archdaily.com/137639/ad-interviews-preston-scott-cohen/ Preston Scott Cohen Interview]</ref> Preston Scott Cohen, Inc. is renowned for the design of cultural, educational, commercial buildings and urban design projects around the world. Projects include the Sarmiento Performing Arts Center in Bogota, Colombia; a new building for Taubman College at the University of Michigan; the Taiyuan Museum of Art in Taiyuan, China; the Datong City Library; the Amir Building, Tel Aviv Museum of Art; and the Goldman Sachs Canopy in New York. The firm is also well known for non-profit projects including the Cape Rep Theater, Temple Beth El in Springfield, MA, and the Detroit Chabad. Cohen has received numerous honors including induction as an academician at the National Academy of Art, five Progressive Architecture Awards, first prizes for seven international competitions and an Academy Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Cohen is the author of ''Lightfall'' (Skira Rizzoli, 2016), ''The Return of Nature'' (2015), ''Contested Symmetries'' (2001), and numerous theoretical essays on architecture. His work has been widely exhibited and is held in numerous museum collections.
⚫
==Academic Career==

⚫
He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Architecture degrees from the [[Rhode Island School of Design]] in 1982 and 1983 (respectively). In 1985, he received his Master of Architecture degree from the Harvard GSD. Gaining professorship there in 2003, he also served as the Director of the Architecture degree program. In 2008, he was appointed Chair of the GSD,<ref>[http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/people/faculty/cohen/index.html Harvard Faculty Profile], accessed 7 September 2009.</ref> a position held just prior by Toshiko Mori, and at one point by [[Walter Gropius]].<ref>Michael Silverberg, [http://www.metropolismag.com/pov/20080513/inside-job ''Inside Job''], Metropolis 13 May 2008</ref>
⚫
==Academic career==
⚫
Cohen received his Bachelor of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Architecture degrees from the [[Rhode Island School of Design]] in 1982 and 1983 (respectively). In 1985, he received his Master of Architecture degree from the Harvard GSD. Gaining professorship there in 2003, he also served as the Director of the Architecture degree program. In 2008, he was appointed Chair of the GSD,<ref>[http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/people/faculty/cohen/index.html Harvard Faculty Profile], accessed 7 September 2009.</ref> a position held previously by [[Rafael Moneo]], Mack Scogin, [[Henry N. Cobb]] and [[Walter Gropius]].<ref>Michael Silverberg, [http://www.metropolismag.com/pov/20080513/inside-job ''Inside Job''], Metropolis 13 May 2008</ref>


==Geometry in architecture==
==Geometry in architecture==
⚫
Cohen's design approach is based on the projective geometry of the 17th century, but he shows a novel application by using [[oblique projection]]s. <!--[[Perspective]] is also a projection which allows us to visualize certain forms. The simple volumes which we are used to seeing appear as different forms.--> This approach is supported by computer modelling. The calculations are rapid, sometimes preprogramed, and the transformation from two [[dimension]]s to three is a complex procedure. [[Geometry]] is returned to its independent status after having served primarily the needs of technology during the industrialization of the West. It is no longer a tool for the production of machinery. <!--Its use is freed from the constraints of technical representation, and recreates a link with certain periods of [[history]] such as [[Ancient Greece]], the Italian Renaissance and the [[Ming]] period in [[China]].-->
In the ''Wu House'' paper for the 2001 [[ArchiLab]] conference, Cohen gives a vision of his [[geometric transformation]]s which are used to define the movement in space of the building occupant. The transformation is only accessible on paper but the images show all the same that these forms are the apothesis of his research at a given moment.<!--To quote from [[Goethe]]:' Architecture is crystallized music'.-->


⚫
In the case of the Wu House, renderings of which have been collected by the [[San Francisco Museum of Modern Art]],<ref>[[San Francisco Museum of Modern Art]], [http://www.sfmoma.org/artwork/107939 ''Preston Scott Cohen in collaboration with Cameron Wu''], accessed 7 September 2009</ref> the curves are the intersections of cylindrical volumes. The spaces are three-dimensional images of geometrical operations. The vitality of the intersection lines reflects an idea of [[design]] which is far from the preconceived rules of the [[aesthetics]] that usually arise from these geometric forms.
⚫
His approach is based on the descriptive geometry of the 17th century, but he shows a novel application by using [[oblique projection]]s. <!--[[Perspective]] is also a projection which allows us to visualize certain forms. The simple volumes which we are used to seeing appear as different forms.--> This approach is supported by computer modelling. The calculations are rapid, sometimes preprogrammed, and the transformation from two [[dimension]]s to three is a simplified by the software. [[Geometry]] is returned to its independent status after having served primarily the needs of technology during the industrialization of the West. It is no longer a tool for the production of machinery. <!--Its use is freed from the constraits of technical representation, and recreates a link with certain periods of [[history]] such as [[Ancient Greece]] or the [[Ming]] period in [[China]].-->

⚫
In the case of the Wu House, photographs of which have been collected by the [[San Francisco Museum of Modern Art]],<ref>[[San Francisco Museum of Modern Art]], [http://www.sfmoma.org/artwork/107939 ''Preston Scott Cohen in collaboration with Cameron Wu''], accessed 7 September 2009</ref> the curves are the intersections of cylindrical volumes. The spaces are three-dimensional images of geometrical operations. The vitality of the lines reflects an idea of [[design]] which is far from the preconceived rules of [[aesthetics]].


==Tel Aviv Museum of Art==
==Tel Aviv Museum of Art==
[[File:Tel_Aviv-Yafo_(12275871006).jpg|thumb|Herta and Paul Amir Building]]
He is the winner of the Herta and Paul Amir Competition<ref>For information on the competition see: Esther Zandberg, [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=315132 ''Design contest for Tel Aviv Museum annex reaches finals''], Haaretz, 7 July 2003</ref> (awarded January, 2004) to design a new building for the [[Tel Aviv Museum of Art]] (estimated $45 million budget to build flexible gallery spaces, concessions, as well as the restoration of labs and offices).<ref>Nicolai Ouroussoff, [http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/12/arts/design/12nicolai.html?_r=1&ref=design ''Optimism Breeds Opportunity''], New York Times, 9 September 2010</ref> It is noted for its [[hyperboloid]] form, and is to be finished with Israeli stone.<ref>Haim Handwerker, [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/824569.html ''Hyperboloids among the rectangles''] Haaretz, 13 February 2007</ref> Renderings of the project were shown at the [[Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles]] in a 2006-2007 exhibition entitled ''Skin + Bones: parallel practices in fashion and architecture''.<ref>[[Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles]], [http://www.moca.org/media/gal_guides/sb_galleryguide.pdf ''Skin + Bones: parallel practices in fashion and architecture''], accessed 7 September 2009</ref>
In January 2004, Cohen was the winner of the Herta and Paul Amir Competition<ref>For information on the competition see: Esther Zandberg, [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=315132 ''Design contest for Tel Aviv Museum annex reaches finals''], Haaretz, 7 July 2003</ref> to design a new building for the [[Tel Aviv Museum of Art]] (estimated $45 million budget to build flexible gallery spaces, concessions, as well as the restoration of labs and offices).<ref>Nicolai Ouroussoff, [https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/12/arts/design/12nicolai.html?_r=1&ref=design ''Optimism Breeds Opportunity''], New York Times, 9 September 2010</ref> The building is noted for its [[hyperboloid]] form, and is to be finished with Israeli stone.<ref>Haim Handwerker, [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/824569.html ''Hyperboloids among the rectangles''] Haaretz, 13 February 2007</ref> Renderings of the project were shown at the [[Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles]] in a 2006-2007 exhibition entitled ''Skin + Bones: parallel practices in fashion and architecture''.<ref>[[Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles]], [http://www.moca.org/media/gal_guides/sb_galleryguide.pdf ''Skin + Bones: parallel practices in fashion and architecture''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716090022/http://www.moca.org/media/gal_guides/sb_galleryguide.pdf |date=2011-07-16 }}, accessed 7 September 2009</ref>


==Publications==
==Publications==
* Several publications, including the 1997 monograph ''Preston Scott Cohen''
* The 2001 monograph ''Contested Symmetries, The Architecture and Writings of Preston Scott Cohen'', Princeton Architectural Press
* ''The Return of Nature'', with Erika Naginski, 2014, Routledge
* ''Wu House'' paper for the ArchiLab conference 2001
* ''Lightfall'', 2016, Skira Rizzoli
* Forthcoming book ''Permutations of Descriptive Geometry''
* Peter Eisenman, Preston Scott Cohen et al., ''Peter Eisenman: In dialogue with architects and philosopher''([[Vladan Djokić]] and [[Petar Bojanić]] (eds.)), Mimesis International. 2017, {{ISBN|9788869771132}}


==Notes==
==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}
{{Reflist|2}}


==External links==
==External links==
* [http://www.pscohen.com/ Preston Scott Cohen Inc.]
* [http://www.pscohen.com/ Preston Scott Cohen Inc.]
* [http://www.thomaserben.com/artists/cohen/ Preston Scott Cohen at Thomas Erben Gallery]
* [http://www.moma.org/collection/artist.php?artist_id=23253 Preston Scott Cohen at the Museum of Modern Art]
* [http://www.moma.org/collection/artist.php?artist_id=23253 Preston Scott Cohen at the Museum of Modern Art]
* [http://klaustoon.wordpress.com/category/scott-cohen/ Preston Scott Cohen at Klaustoons]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110509051526/http://www.jbwphoto.com/architects/preston-scott-cohen Preston Scott Cohen photographed by Jeff Barnett-Winsby for Mark Magazine]
* [https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/05/arts/design/architectural-canopy-shines-in-battery-park-city.html]
* [http://www.jbwphoto.com/architects/preston-scott-cohen/ Preston Scott Cohen photographed by Jeff Barnett-Winsby for Mark Magazine]
* [http://www.tamuseum.org.il/new-building]
* [https://www.gsd.harvard.edu/2019/07/talking-practice-preston-scott-cohen/ Talking Practice Podcast], Interview of Scott Cohen by [[Grace La]]

{{Authority control}}

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[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:American architects]]
[[Category:20th-century American architects]]
[[Category:Rhode Island School of Design alumni]]
[[Category:Rhode Island School of Design alumni]]
[[Category:Harvard University alumni]]
[[Category:Harvard Graduate School of Design alumni]]
[[Category:Harvard University faculty]]
[[Category:Harvard Graduate School of Design faculty]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:21st-century American architects]]

Latest revision as of 10:20, 16 April 2023

Preston Scott Cohen is a professor of Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD).[1] In 2004, he established a partnership with two registered architects, Amit Nemlich and Gilles Quintal, and became the Design Principal of Preston Scott Cohen, Inc. based in Central Square Cambridge, Massachusetts.[2] Preston Scott Cohen, Inc. is renowned for the design of cultural, educational, commercial buildings and urban design projects around the world. Projects include the Sarmiento Performing Arts Center in Bogota, Colombia; a new building for Taubman College at the University of Michigan; the Taiyuan Museum of Art in Taiyuan, China; the Datong City Library; the Amir Building, Tel Aviv Museum of Art; and the Goldman Sachs Canopy in New York. The firm is also well known for non-profit projects including the Cape Rep Theater, Temple Beth El in Springfield, MA, and the Detroit Chabad. Cohen has received numerous honors including induction as an academician at the National Academy of Art, five Progressive Architecture Awards, first prizes for seven international competitions and an Academy Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Cohen is the author of Lightfall (Skira Rizzoli, 2016), The Return of Nature (2015), Contested Symmetries (2001), and numerous theoretical essays on architecture. His work has been widely exhibited and is held in numerous museum collections.

Academic career[edit]

Cohen received his Bachelor of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Architecture degrees from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1982 and 1983 (respectively). In 1985, he received his Master of Architecture degree from the Harvard GSD. Gaining professorship there in 2003, he also served as the Director of the Architecture degree program. In 2008, he was appointed Chair of the GSD,[3] a position held previously by Rafael Moneo, Mack Scogin, Henry N. Cobb and Walter Gropius.[4]

Geometry in architecture[edit]

Cohen's design approach is based on the projective geometry of the 17th century, but he shows a novel application by using oblique projections. This approach is supported by computer modelling. The calculations are rapid, sometimes preprogramed, and the transformation from two dimensions to three is a complex procedure. Geometry is returned to its independent status after having served primarily the needs of technology during the industrialization of the West. It is no longer a tool for the production of machinery.

In the case of the Wu House, renderings of which have been collected by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art,[5] the curves are the intersections of cylindrical volumes. The spaces are three-dimensional images of geometrical operations. The vitality of the intersection lines reflects an idea of design which is far from the preconceived rules of the aesthetics that usually arise from these geometric forms.

Tel Aviv Museum of Art[edit]

Herta and Paul Amir Building

In January 2004, Cohen was the winner of the Herta and Paul Amir Competition[6] to design a new building for the Tel Aviv Museum of Art (estimated $45 million budget to build flexible gallery spaces, concessions, as well as the restoration of labs and offices).[7] The building is noted for its hyperboloid form, and is to be finished with Israeli stone.[8] Renderings of the project were shown at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles in a 2006-2007 exhibition entitled Skin + Bones: parallel practices in fashion and architecture.[9]

Publications[edit]

  • The 2001 monograph Contested Symmetries, The Architecture and Writings of Preston Scott Cohen, Princeton Architectural Press
  • The Return of Nature, with Erika Naginski, 2014, Routledge
  • Lightfall, 2016, Skira Rizzoli
  • Peter Eisenman, Preston Scott Cohen et al., Peter Eisenman: In dialogue with architects and philosopher(Vladan Djokić and Petar Bojanić (eds.)), Mimesis International. 2017, ISBN 9788869771132

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ "Home - Harvard Graduate School of Design".
  2. ^ Preston Scott Cohen Interview
  3. ^ Harvard Faculty Profile, accessed 7 September 2009.
  4. ^ Michael Silverberg, Inside Job, Metropolis 13 May 2008
  5. ^ San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Preston Scott Cohen in collaboration with Cameron Wu, accessed 7 September 2009
  6. ^ For information on the competition see: Esther Zandberg, Design contest for Tel Aviv Museum annex reaches finals, Haaretz, 7 July 2003
  7. ^ Nicolai Ouroussoff, Optimism Breeds Opportunity, New York Times, 9 September 2010
  8. ^ Haim Handwerker, Hyperboloids among the rectangles Haaretz, 13 February 2007
  9. ^ Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, Skin + Bones: parallel practices in fashion and architecture Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 7 September 2009

External links[edit]

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