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| Robert Venturi, Architect Who Rejected Modernism, Dies at 93 | Robert Venturi, Architect Who Rejected Modernism, Dies at 93 |
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| Robert Venturi, the influential American architect and theorist whose buildings and best-selling books helped inspire the movement known as postmodernism, in which historic elements enliven contemporary forms, died on Tuesday at his home in Philadelphia. He was 93. | Robert Venturi, the influential American architect and theorist whose buildings and best-selling books helped inspire the movement known as postmodernism, in which historic elements enliven contemporary forms, died on Tuesday at his home in Philadelphia. He was 93. |
| The cause was complications of Alzheimer’s disease, his son, James Venturi, an urban planner, said. | The cause was complications of Alzheimer’s disease, his son, James Venturi, an urban planner, said. |
| For much of the 20th century, “serious” architects, led by Le Corbusier and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, favored unadorned surfaces and strictly geometric forms. But in his treatise “Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture,” published in 1966, Mr. Venturi argued that ornament, historical allusions and even humor had a place in modern architecture. The book was a retort to Mies’s assertion that “less is more.” | For much of the 20th century, “serious” architects, led by Le Corbusier and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, favored unadorned surfaces and strictly geometric forms. But in his treatise “Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture,” published in 1966, Mr. Venturi argued that ornament, historical allusions and even humor had a place in modern architecture. The book was a retort to Mies’s assertion that “less is more.” |
| “Less is a bore,” Mr. Venturi wrote. | “Less is a bore,” Mr. Venturi wrote. |
| “I am for richness of meaning rather than clarity of meaning,” he explained. His goal, he said, was to awaken architects “from prim dreams of pure order.” | “I am for richness of meaning rather than clarity of meaning,” he explained. His goal, he said, was to awaken architects “from prim dreams of pure order.” |
| The book, backed by the Museum of Modern Art and the Graham Foundation, became a perennial best seller translated into more than a dozen languages. In the introduction, the eminent architectural historian Vincent Scully called it “probably the most important writing on the making of architecture” since Le Corbusier’s “Towards a New Architecture,” published in 1923. He accused Mr. Venturi’s critics of “preoccupation with a rather prissily puristic aesthetic.” | The book, backed by the Museum of Modern Art and the Graham Foundation, became a perennial best seller translated into more than a dozen languages. In the introduction, the eminent architectural historian Vincent Scully called it “probably the most important writing on the making of architecture” since Le Corbusier’s “Towards a New Architecture,” published in 1923. He accused Mr. Venturi’s critics of “preoccupation with a rather prissily puristic aesthetic.” |
| Mr. Venturi was based in Philadelphia, where he and his wife of more than 50 years, the architect and planner Denise Scott Brown, ran a firm with international reach while living in a sprawling old house that they filled with an eclectic mix of furniture, some of which they designed. Their buildings were known for using familiar elements in unfamiliar combinations. | Mr. Venturi was based in Philadelphia, where he and his wife of more than 50 years, the architect and planner Denise Scott Brown, ran a firm with international reach while living in a sprawling old house that they filled with an eclectic mix of furniture, some of which they designed. Their buildings were known for using familiar elements in unfamiliar combinations. |
| In 1964, for example, Mr. Venturi completed a small house for his mother, Vanna Venturi, in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia. The building has a gabled roof that culminates in a deep slit instead of the expected peak. (In 2005 it was hailed as a masterwork on a United States postage stamp.) | In 1964, for example, Mr. Venturi completed a small house for his mother, Vanna Venturi, in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia. The building has a gabled roof that culminates in a deep slit instead of the expected peak. (In 2005 it was hailed as a masterwork on a United States postage stamp.) |
| His Guild House, a retirement home in Philadelphia completed in 1966, has a flat facade punctured by mismatched windows. Its central bay originally culminated in a gold and aluminum television antenna. | |
| In 1971 Ada Louise Huxtable, then the architecture critic of The New York Times, said Guild House contained “a perverse assortment of details that sets other architects’ teeth on edge.” | In 1971 Ada Louise Huxtable, then the architecture critic of The New York Times, said Guild House contained “a perverse assortment of details that sets other architects’ teeth on edge.” |
| But, she wrote, “It is meant to make the educated viewer look twice, to see why the ordinary is extraordinary.” | But, she wrote, “It is meant to make the educated viewer look twice, to see why the ordinary is extraordinary.” |
| Her successor at The Times, Paul Goldberger, saw in Mr. Venturi’s work “a kind of 20th-century mannerism that soars over the heads of most laymen,” alluding to a late-Renaissance style characterized by the use of decorative arrangements in new, sometimes surprising combinations. | Her successor at The Times, Paul Goldberger, saw in Mr. Venturi’s work “a kind of 20th-century mannerism that soars over the heads of most laymen,” alluding to a late-Renaissance style characterized by the use of decorative arrangements in new, sometimes surprising combinations. |
| By the 1980s the Venturi firm was winning large commissions, including additions to the Harvard, Yale and Princeton campuses. (Mr. Venturi described William G. Bowen, then Princeton’s president, as “my Medici.”) By decorating his facades, sometimes using brick in jaunty patterns, he helped the colleges bridge the gap between their historic buildings (like Princeton’s Gothic dormitories) and the spare, stark, boxy forms that had become the 20th-century default. | By the 1980s the Venturi firm was winning large commissions, including additions to the Harvard, Yale and Princeton campuses. (Mr. Venturi described William G. Bowen, then Princeton’s president, as “my Medici.”) By decorating his facades, sometimes using brick in jaunty patterns, he helped the colleges bridge the gap between their historic buildings (like Princeton’s Gothic dormitories) and the spare, stark, boxy forms that had become the 20th-century default. |
| Outside the United States, he and Ms. Scott Brown were known for their addition to the National Gallery in London, which opened in 1991 and was acclaimed for eccentricity in a country where eccentricity is prized. The building featured Corinthian columns arranged at uneven intervals, like a jazz musician riffing on classical themes. | Outside the United States, he and Ms. Scott Brown were known for their addition to the National Gallery in London, which opened in 1991 and was acclaimed for eccentricity in a country where eccentricity is prized. The building featured Corinthian columns arranged at uneven intervals, like a jazz musician riffing on classical themes. |
| Other important projects included the Seattle Art Museum, which also opened in 1991 and was later incorporated into a larger building by Allied Works Architecture, and a government complex in Toulouse, France. In both projects, elements of classical architecture are rendered in exaggerated form as surface decoration. | Other important projects included the Seattle Art Museum, which also opened in 1991 and was later incorporated into a larger building by Allied Works Architecture, and a government complex in Toulouse, France. In both projects, elements of classical architecture are rendered in exaggerated form as surface decoration. |
| In New York, Mr. Venturi labored for years on a new Staten Island Ferry terminal, which was to be topped by a clock as tall as a 12-story building. An editorial in The Times praised the design, but others ridiculed it; the Staten Island borough president, Guy V. Molinari (who died in July), said the clock’s lone benefit “would be to remind people that they’re late for work — again.” | In New York, Mr. Venturi labored for years on a new Staten Island Ferry terminal, which was to be topped by a clock as tall as a 12-story building. An editorial in The Times praised the design, but others ridiculed it; the Staten Island borough president, Guy V. Molinari (who died in July), said the clock’s lone benefit “would be to remind people that they’re late for work — again.” |
| Peppered with demands for design changes, Mr. Venturi resigned from the project in 1996, saying his work had been compromised. The project was taken over by Anderson/Schwartz Architects. | Peppered with demands for design changes, Mr. Venturi resigned from the project in 1996, saying his work had been compromised. The project was taken over by Anderson/Schwartz Architects. |
| Though he disowned the title, Mr. Venturi was often called the father of postmodernism. Philip Johnson, who left his own large imprint on 20th-century architecture, said in a conversation with the architect and author Robert A. M. Stern in 1985 that Mr. Venturi’s “Complexity and Contradiction” had helped liberate him from modernism’s rigidity. | Though he disowned the title, Mr. Venturi was often called the father of postmodernism. Philip Johnson, who left his own large imprint on 20th-century architecture, said in a conversation with the architect and author Robert A. M. Stern in 1985 that Mr. Venturi’s “Complexity and Contradiction” had helped liberate him from modernism’s rigidity. |
| “It was such a relief that it appeared,” he said of the book. | “It was such a relief that it appeared,” he said of the book. |
| But others lamented the onslaught of postmodernism. Inga Saffron, the architecture critic of The Philadelphia Inquirer, wrote in 2009 that “as less talented architects appropriated” historical elements, America’s highways became lined with “a kitsch-scape of pediments, gables and arches.” | But others lamented the onslaught of postmodernism. Inga Saffron, the architecture critic of The Philadelphia Inquirer, wrote in 2009 that “as less talented architects appropriated” historical elements, America’s highways became lined with “a kitsch-scape of pediments, gables and arches.” |
| Explaining the philosophy behind his buildings, Mr. Venturi said, “I used history as a reference, but I never used it as inspiration directly.” But that distinction was lost on many. | Explaining the philosophy behind his buildings, Mr. Venturi said, “I used history as a reference, but I never used it as inspiration directly.” But that distinction was lost on many. |
| Mr. Venturi himself complained that his followers had sometimes “misapplied or exaggerated” his ideas. In the introduction to the second edition of “Complexity and Contradiction,” published 11 years after the original, he wrote, “I have sometimes felt more comfortable with my critics than with those who have agreed with me.” | Mr. Venturi himself complained that his followers had sometimes “misapplied or exaggerated” his ideas. In the introduction to the second edition of “Complexity and Contradiction,” published 11 years after the original, he wrote, “I have sometimes felt more comfortable with my critics than with those who have agreed with me.” |
| In 2001, in an effort to set the record straight, he appeared on the cover of Architecture magazine proclaiming, “I am not now and never have been a postmodernist.” | In 2001, in an effort to set the record straight, he appeared on the cover of Architecture magazine proclaiming, “I am not now and never have been a postmodernist.” |
| “It is one’s fate to be misunderstood,” he said in an interview for this obituary at his house in Philadelphia in 2009. | “It is one’s fate to be misunderstood,” he said in an interview for this obituary at his house in Philadelphia in 2009. |
| Robert Charles Venturi Jr. was born in Philadelphia on June 25, 1925. His father ran a produce business; his mother, Vanna (Luizi) Venturi, was active in socialist and feminist circles. Robert, their only child, attended the Episcopal Academy in Merion, Pa., and then enrolled at Princeton University. Raised as a Quaker, he said he registered as a conscientious objector during World War II. | Robert Charles Venturi Jr. was born in Philadelphia on June 25, 1925. His father ran a produce business; his mother, Vanna (Luizi) Venturi, was active in socialist and feminist circles. Robert, their only child, attended the Episcopal Academy in Merion, Pa., and then enrolled at Princeton University. Raised as a Quaker, he said he registered as a conscientious objector during World War II. |
| Mr. Venturi arrived at Princeton in 1944, when modernism had taken root at other architecture schools, particularly Harvard’s, then led by the Bauhaus master Walter Gropius. Princeton’s architecture program, however, was affiliated with its art and archaeology department, and Mr. Venturi became immersed in architectural history. Outside the classroom, the historical styles of the Princeton campus had him “walking on air,” he said. | Mr. Venturi arrived at Princeton in 1944, when modernism had taken root at other architecture schools, particularly Harvard’s, then led by the Bauhaus master Walter Gropius. Princeton’s architecture program, however, was affiliated with its art and archaeology department, and Mr. Venturi became immersed in architectural history. Outside the classroom, the historical styles of the Princeton campus had him “walking on air,” he said. |
| After receiving his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Princeton, he worked for Eero Saarinen and Louis Kahn, modernists with iconoclastic streaks, before winning a fellowship at the American Academy in Rome. He spent two years in Europe, studying buildings by the likes of Michelangelo, Bernini and, in Spain, Antoni Gaudi. | After receiving his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Princeton, he worked for Eero Saarinen and Louis Kahn, modernists with iconoclastic streaks, before winning a fellowship at the American Academy in Rome. He spent two years in Europe, studying buildings by the likes of Michelangelo, Bernini and, in Spain, Antoni Gaudi. |
| After returning to the United States, Mr. Venturi joined the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania, where he met Ms. Scott Brown, who was also teaching at Penn and who had recently been widowed. They married in 1967. | After returning to the United States, Mr. Venturi joined the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania, where he met Ms. Scott Brown, who was also teaching at Penn and who had recently been widowed. They married in 1967. |
| Mr. Venturi went into private practice in 1960, first in partnership with William H. Short and then, starting in 1964, with John Rauch. Ms. Scott Brown joined the Venturi Rauch firm in 1969 as partner in charge of planning. In 1989, when Mr. Rauch resigned, the firm was renamed Venturi, Scott Brown & Associates. At its peak it employed nearly 100 people. It is now known as VSBA Architects & Planners. | Mr. Venturi went into private practice in 1960, first in partnership with William H. Short and then, starting in 1964, with John Rauch. Ms. Scott Brown joined the Venturi Rauch firm in 1969 as partner in charge of planning. In 1989, when Mr. Rauch resigned, the firm was renamed Venturi, Scott Brown & Associates. At its peak it employed nearly 100 people. It is now known as VSBA Architects & Planners. |
| Almost as influential as his “Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture” was Mr. Venturi’s second book, “Learning From Las Vegas,” written with Ms. Scott Brown and Steven Izenour, then a principal in the couple’s firm. Published in 1972, it grew from a course that Mr. Venturi and Ms. Scott Brown taught at Yale. | Almost as influential as his “Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture” was Mr. Venturi’s second book, “Learning From Las Vegas,” written with Ms. Scott Brown and Steven Izenour, then a principal in the couple’s firm. Published in 1972, it grew from a course that Mr. Venturi and Ms. Scott Brown taught at Yale. |
| The book’s focus was on the aesthetic virtues of the Las Vegas Strip, the kind of lowbrow environment that most academic architects derided. The book popularized the terms “ducks,” for buildings that were representational in their shapes, and “decorated sheds,” for containers that depended on applied ornament to convey meaning. It also helped establish the influence on architecture of Pop Art, with its surprising plays of scale. | The book’s focus was on the aesthetic virtues of the Las Vegas Strip, the kind of lowbrow environment that most academic architects derided. The book popularized the terms “ducks,” for buildings that were representational in their shapes, and “decorated sheds,” for containers that depended on applied ornament to convey meaning. It also helped establish the influence on architecture of Pop Art, with its surprising plays of scale. |
| Mr. Scully, the architectural historian, wrote that Mr. Venturi was “one of the very few architects whose thought parallels that of the Pop painters — and probably the first architect to perceive the usefulness and meaning of their forms.” | Mr. Scully, the architectural historian, wrote that Mr. Venturi was “one of the very few architects whose thought parallels that of the Pop painters — and probably the first architect to perceive the usefulness and meaning of their forms.” |
| Mr. Venturi won the Pritzker Prize, considered architecture’s highest honor, in 1991. In his acceptance speech, he acknowledged the role his wife had played in his success, making a point of using “we” instead of “I.” | Mr. Venturi won the Pritzker Prize, considered architecture’s highest honor, in 1991. In his acceptance speech, he acknowledged the role his wife had played in his success, making a point of using “we” instead of “I.” |
| “Denise’s input, creative and critical, is crucial,” he said. Ms. Brown had refused to attend the ceremony, in Mexico City, where she said she would have been treated as an adjunct. In 2013, speaking at an awards ceremony for women in architecture, Ms. Scott Brown said she deserved to share the prize with her husband; that prompted a petition drive to gain her the honor retroactively. | “Denise’s input, creative and critical, is crucial,” he said. Ms. Brown had refused to attend the ceremony, in Mexico City, where she said she would have been treated as an adjunct. In 2013, speaking at an awards ceremony for women in architecture, Ms. Scott Brown said she deserved to share the prize with her husband; that prompted a petition drive to gain her the honor retroactively. |
| In addition to his son — who said his father was listening to Beethoven’s piano sonatas when he died — Mr. Venturi is survived by Ms. Scott Brown. | In addition to his son — who said his father was listening to Beethoven’s piano sonatas when he died — Mr. Venturi is survived by Ms. Scott Brown. |
| As he entered his 80s, Mr. Venturi was as concerned with preserving his existing buildings as he was with designing new ones. In early 2009, a beach house he had designed on the Jersey Shore, built in the 1960s, was threatened with demolition. The architect Frederic Schwartz and other supporters arranged to move it to a new site, in Glen Cove on Long Island. That entailed sailing it up the East River — a spectacle that Mr. Venturi, Ms. Scott Brown and dozens of their supporters watched from shore. | As he entered his 80s, Mr. Venturi was as concerned with preserving his existing buildings as he was with designing new ones. In early 2009, a beach house he had designed on the Jersey Shore, built in the 1960s, was threatened with demolition. The architect Frederic Schwartz and other supporters arranged to move it to a new site, in Glen Cove on Long Island. That entailed sailing it up the East River — a spectacle that Mr. Venturi, Ms. Scott Brown and dozens of their supporters watched from shore. |
| In recent months, Ms. Scott Brown and others have been fighting to save the couple’s Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego in La Jolla from a renovation that they say would eliminate many of the building’s most distinctive elements. | In recent months, Ms. Scott Brown and others have been fighting to save the couple’s Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego in La Jolla from a renovation that they say would eliminate many of the building’s most distinctive elements. |
| “He was aware of the situation,” James Venturi said, “and he was very saddened.” | “He was aware of the situation,” James Venturi said, “and he was very saddened.” |