Peter David Eisenman (born August 11, 1932) is an American architect. Considered one of the New York Five, Eisenman is known for his high modernist and deconstructive designs, as well as for his authorship of several architectural books. His work has won him several awards, including the Wolf Prize in Arts.

Early life and education

Peter Eisenman was born to Jewish parents on August 11, 1932, in Newark, New Jersey. As a child, he attended Columbia High School located in Maplewood, New Jersey.

Eisenman transferred into the architecture school as an undergraduate at Cornell University and gave up his position on the swimming team in order to commit full-time to his studies. He received a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Cornell, a Master of Architecture degree from Columbia University, and MA and PhD degrees from the University of Cambridge. He received an honorary degree from Syracuse University School of Architecture in 2007.

Career

Eisenman first rose to prominence as a member of the New York Five (also known as "the Whites"), along with fellow architects Charles Gwathmey, John Hejduk, Richard Meier, and Michael Graves. Some of their work was presented at a CASE Studies conference in 1969, catapulting their respective careers. Eisenman received a number of grants from the Graham Foundation for work done in this period. The New York Five began their careers by iterating on Le Corbusier's distinctive style, but they all subsequently developed unique styles and ideologies. Over time, the expansive, fragmentary, and disjointed aspects of Eisenman's work led to him being considered an early Deconstructivist, though he wished to distance himself from that label. Previously, he taught at the University of Cambridge, Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University School of Architecture, and the Ohio State University. He founded the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies in 1967 and served as its Executive Director until 1981.

thumb|200px|Another view of the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

His professional work is often referred to as formalist, deconstructive, late avant-garde, late and high modernist. The fragmenting of forms visible in some of his projects has been identified as characteristic of deconstructivism, and he has become one of the movement's flagbearers. In 1988, he was featured in the "Deconstructivists" exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

While well known for his single-family residences, particularly his "House" series, he has also worked on several large-scale non-residential projects as well. Some examples include the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin and the State Farm Stadium for the Arizona Cardinals in Glendale, Arizona. And, more recently, accusations have been made that Eisenman's work is "post-humanist". His apathy towards the recent "green" movement, too has been considered polarizing or "out-of-touch". Despite these claims of polarity and divisiveness, Eisenman has famously pursued dialogues with important cultural figures internationally. These include his English mentor Colin Rowe, the Italian historian Manfredo Tafuri, George Baird, Fredric Jameson, Laurie Olin, Rosalind Krauss and Jacques Derrida.

Another point of criticism over his work has been the state of some of his deconstructivist buildings. The Wexner Center, the first major public deconstructivist building, has required extensive and expensive retrofitting due to major design flaws, such as leaks, incompetent material specifications, and fine art exhibition space exposed to direct sunlight.

Notes

References

  • Interview: Peter Eisenman, Threshold, Rizzoli, 1983.
  • Kari Jormakka, Interview with Peter Eisenman, Datutop 14, 1991.
  • Pangalos P., Petridou V., The imprint of Eisenman, ed. Futura, Athens, 2013.
  • Meier A., Peter Eisenman: Machine Critique de l'Architecture , ed. Infolio, Gollion (CH), 2019, 252p.
  • Eisenman Architects official website
  • Finding aid for the Peter Eisenman fonds, Canadian Centre for Architecture (digitized items)
  • Video interview with Eisenman from 1996
  • Archinect.com interview
  • designboom.com interview
  • Eisenman's politics an interview with Robert Locke
  • Eisenman in conversation with Iman Ansari
  • "Contrasting Concepts of Harmony in Architecture: The 1982 Debate Between Christopher Alexander and Peter Eisenman"
  • Eisenmania
  • Finding aid for Peter Eisenman architectural drawings for House VI, 1972. Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles. Accession No. 920049. Sixty-three architectural drawings in pencil, pen and marker on paper document the design development of House VI, one of Peter Eisenman's most important early polemical designs.