Charles Jencks
Charles Alexander Jencks (born June 21, 1939 in Baltimore , Maryland , † October 13, 2019 in London ) was an American architect and architectural theorist.
Life
Charles Jencks studied English literature at Harvard University , then he received his master's degree in architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design in 1965 . He graduated with a PhD from University College London .
Act
He took up the term postmodern, which was circulating in the humanities and literary studies , and applied it to architecture .
Jencks processed his theories on cosmogenesis and chaos theory in his Garden of Cosmic Speculation near Dumfries in southern Scotland. Together with his wife Maggie Keswick , a renowned expert in the history of Chinese horticulture , Charles Jencks developed an approximately 120 hectare garden landscape with earth formations that are reminiscent of works of American Land Art . Maggie Keswick died of cancer in 1995 ; the Garden of Cosmic Speculation evolves under Jencks' direction. After the death of his wife, Jencks, following one of her ideas, founded a chain of advice and support centers for cancer patients (Maggie's Center), each with a different architecture.
His most influential book is The Language of Post-Modern Architecture , published in 1977 by Andreas Papadakis . The German title is: The language of postmodern architecture. The emergence of an alternative tradition , Stuttgart 1978.
literature
- The Garden of Cosmic Speculation. London 2003 (English) ISBN 0711222169
- The Architecture of the Jumping Universe. Wiley-Academy 2001 (English) ISBN 0471977489
-
The Language of Postmodern Architecture . New York: Rizzoli, 1977
- The language of postmodern architecture Origin and development of an alternative tradition . Translation of Nora von Mühlendahl-Krehl. Stuttgart, 1988 ISBN 3-421-02940-7
- Udo Weilacher : "A cosmogenic park landscape. Garden of Cosmic Speculation near Dumfries" in: Udo Weilacher: In Gardens. Profiles of current European landscape architecture. Basel Berlin Boston 2005; Pp. 22-27 ISBN 376437084X
Web links
- Literature by and about Charles Jencks in the catalog of the German National Library
- In the cosmos of Charles Jencks , arte TV
- Literature by and about Charles Jencks in the Karlsruhe Virtual Catalog
- Hugh Pearman: The remarkable Charles Jencks and his Highlands Maggie's Center
Footnotes
- ↑ Hugh Pearman wrote: Each is different and some are extraordinary ( Memento of the original from July 15, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ also DVA 1992, ISBN 978-3421029409
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Jencks, Charles |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Jencks, Charles Alexander |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American architect and architectural theorist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 21, 1939 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Baltimore , Maryland |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 13, 2019 |
| Place of death | London |