Test your design IQ
MANILA, Philippines - Who is the Italian-American architect best known for designing Fifth Avenue and Park Avenue apartment buildings, and is credited with defining New York City’s terraced setbacks and signature penthouses in the boom years of the 1920s?
He was born in Palermo, Italy in 1890, and came to the United States in 1909 to join his father, a plasterer. He studied architecture in Columbia University and began work around 1920. His reputation grew quickly.
His first major commission was for an apartment house at West 92nd Street and Broadway. Shortly afterwards, he received his first commission for an East Side apartment at 1105 Park Avenue.
During the next five years, he designed a number of residential buildings on the Upper West Side, which was undergoing an intense transformation from an area of primarily single-family homes to one characterized by apartment buildings.
His greatest work would occur in the latter half of the 1920s when he designed numerous apartment buildings on the Upper East Side, primarily Park Avenue and Fifth Avenue, as well as Sutton Place.
In 1927 and 1928, he designed 19 apartment buildings, including 960 Fifth Avenue and 720 Park Avenue. He had more commissions in 1929, but of the 27 designs only 12 were completed because of the looming stock market crash. These included 740, 770, 778, and 1280 Park Avenue and 834 and 1040 Fifth Avenue.
The exteriors of his buildings tended to be understated, particularly in view of some of the more exuberant styles popular during the period. However, he was considered a master of design when it came to the interiors. Many apartments were constructed as duplex residences with grand entry foyers; curved freestanding stairways; and dramatic public rooms.
Some of the designs, including that of the John D. Rockefeller Jr. triplex at 740 Park Avenue were palatial even by the considerable standards of the day. That triplex, of more than 20,000 square feet, “had, depending on who was counting, anywhere from 23 to 37 rooms, the discrepancy caused by such questions as whether one included hallways and foyers the size of ballrooms, servants quarters, and the 14 bathrooms.”
During the Great Depression, work fell off dramatically and he only received sporadic commissions. While the quantity declined considerably the quality of his designs rarely suffered.
During this time, he expressed his interest in codes and ciphers, and wrote two books: The Military Cipher of Commandant Bazeries-An Essay in Decrypting in 1938, about the decrypted messages of the commandant of the French Army in 1898; as well as Isomorphism and Its Applications in Cryptanalytics in 1946.
He continued his practice until his death in 1953.
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Last week’s question: Who is the renowned French chef who served as a personal chef for Charles de Gaulle and two other French premieres, and who starred in an Emmy winning PBS series with Julia Child in 1999?
Answer: Jacques Pepin
Winner: Susana Alday of San Juan City
Text your answer to 0905-3142614 with your name and address. One winner will be chosen through a raffle of texts with the correct answer. The winner will receive P2,000 worth of SM gift certificates for use at Our Home, SM Department Store, or SM Supermarket. They can claim their prize at Our Home in SM Megamall. Call the store manager at 634-1950, 634-1943. Bring photocopies of two valid IDs and a clipping of the Design Quiz issue in which you appear as winner.
