The year 1920 in architecture involved some significant events.

Events

* Construction of

Welwyn Garden City Welwyn Garden City ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London. It was the second garden city in England (founded 1920) and one of the first new towns (designated 1948). It is unique in being both a garden city and a new town an ...

in England begins with

Louis de Soissons Louis Emanuel Jean Guy de Savoie-Carignan de Soissons CVO RA FRIBA (1890–1962) was the younger son of Charles de Savoie-Carignan , Count de Soissons ( with claimed descent, through an illegitimate son, from Thomas Francis of Savoy, Prince ...

as architect and town planner. * Edith Hughes establishes her own architectural practice, in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

, the first British woman to do so. * In the first issue of the

Purist Purism is an arts movement that took place between 1918 and 1925. Purism may also refer to: * Purism (Spanish architecture) (1530–1560), a phase of Renaissance architecture in Spain * Purism (company), company manufacturing Librem personal comp ...

art magazine ''L' Esprit Nouveau'' co-founded by him, Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris adopts the pseudonym

Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , , ), was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, writer, and one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture. He was ...

Buildings and structures

Buildings opened

November 11 Events Pre-1600 * 308 – At Carnuntum, Emperor ''emeritus'' Diocletian confers with Galerius, ''Augustus'' of the East, and Maximianus, the recently returned former ''Augustus'' of the West, in an attempt to end the civil wars of the T ...

–

The Cenotaph, Whitehall The Cenotaph is a war memorial on Whitehall in London, England. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, it was unveiled in 1920 as the United Kingdom's national memorial to the British and Commonwealth dead of the First World War, was rededicated in 19 ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, designed by Edwin Lutyens. Hartford Times Building with two cars

Buildings completed

Ajuria Enea The Palace of Ajuria Enea is a building in Vitoria-Gasteiz, northern Spain. It is the official residence of the Lehendakari (the President of the Basque Autonomous Community). The building, chosen to be official residence on the basis of its arc ...

Vitoria-Gasteiz es, vitoriano, vitoriana, , population_density_km2 = auto , blank_name_sec1 = Official language(s) , blank_info_sec1 = Spanish, Basque , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Spain, designed by Alfredo Baeschlin. *

Coliseum Theatre (Kuala Lumpur) The Coliseum Theatre is a cinema in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. One of the oldest cinemas in the country, it was built in 1920 by the Chua family led by Chua Cheng Bok. History The Art Deco-style building is capable of seating 900 people and a ...

, Malaysia. *

Hartford Times Building The Hartford Times Building is an historic Beaux-Arts building in downtown Hartford, Connecticut built as the headquarters of the now defunct Hartford Times. The newspaper commissioned architect Donn Barber, who had designed the nearby Traveler ...

, Hartford, Connecticut, designed by

Donn Barber Donn Barber FAIA (October 19, 1871 – May 29, 1925) was an American architect. Biography Barber was born on October 19, 1871 in Washington DC, the son of Charles Gibbs Barber, and the grandson of Hiram Barber. He studied at Holbrook Milita ...

Manitoba Legislative Building The Manitoba Legislative Building (french: Palais législatif du Manitoba), originally named the Manitoba Parliament Building, is the meeting place of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, located in central Winnipeg, as well as being the twelfth pr ...

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...

, Manitoba, Canada. *

Oak Tower Oak Tower, also called the Bell Telephone Building, is a 28-story skyscraper in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri. Hoit, Price & Barnes, a local firm that conceived many of Kansas City's landmark structures, designed the building in association wit ...

Downtown Kansas City, Missouri Downtown Kansas City is the central business district (CBD) of Kansas City, Missouri and the Kansas City metropolitan area. It is between the Missouri River in the north, to 31st Street in the south; and from the Kansas– Missouri state line ea ...

, USA. *

Oslo Synagogue The Oslo Synagogue ( no, Synagogen i Oslo) is a synagogue in Oslo, Norway. The congregation was established in 1892, but the present building was erected in 1920. Architectural historian Carol Herselle Krinsky describes the two-story tall, stuc ...

, Norway. *

Teatro Municipal (Lima) The Teatro Municipal de Lima (Municipal Theater of Lima) is a theatre and concert hall in Lima, Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal ...

, Peru. *

Bankstown Reservoir Bankstown Reservoir is a heritage-protected water tower and a local landmark situated in the suburb of Bankstown, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located west of Sydney CBD, the reservoir is elevated and was built on reinforced concrete ...

in Sydney, Australia

Awards

AIA Gold Medal The AIA Gold Medal is awarded by the American Institute of Architects conferred "by the national AIA Board of Directors in recognition of a significant body of work of lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture." It is the Ins ...

– Egerton Swartwout *

Olympic silver medal An Olympic medal is awarded to successful competitors at one of the Olympic Games. There are three classes of medal to be won: gold, silver, and bronze, awarded to first, second, and third place, respectively. The granting of awards is laid o ...

–

Holger Sinding-Larsen Peter Andreas Holger Sinding-Larsen (5 July 1869 – 12 December 1938) was a Norwegian architect. He is most associated with his work at Akershus Fortress, where he was a member of the restoration committee and architect from 1905 to 1 ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

for ''Project for a gymnastics school'' (no other medals awarded) *

RIBA The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

Royal Gold Medal The Royal Gold Medal for architecture is awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects on behalf of the British monarch, in recognition of an individual's or group's substantial contribution to international architecture. It is gi ...

–

Charles Louis Girault Charles-Louis Girault (27 December 1851 – 26 December 1932) was a French architect. Biography Born in Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire, he studied with Honoré Daumet at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He received the first P ...

Grand Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

, architecture:

Michel Roux-Spitz Michel Roux-Spitz (13 June 1888 – 15 July 1957) was a French architect. Life Roux-Spitz was born 13 June 1888 in Lyon. The son of an architect, he entered the École des Beaux-Arts, Lyon in the studio of Tony Garnier and then became a stud ...

Births

January 23 Events Pre-1600 * 393 – Roman emperor Theodosius I proclaims his eight-year-old son Honorius co-emperor. * 971 – Using crossbows, Song dynasty troops soundly defeat a war elephant corps of the Southern Han at Shao. * 1264 &n ...

–

Gottfried Böhm Gottfried Böhm (; 23 January 1920 – 9 June 2021) was a German architect and sculptor. His reputation is based on creating highly sculptural buildings made of concrete, steel, and glass. Böhm's first independent building was the Cologne ...

, German architect (died

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

) *

July 16 Events Pre-1600 * 622 – The beginning of the Islamic calendar. * 997 – Battle of Spercheios: Bulgarian forces of Tsar Samuel are defeated by a Byzantine army under general Nikephoros Ouranos at the Spercheios River in Greece. * ...

–

Peter Yates Peter James Yates (24 July 1929 – 9 January 2011) was an English film director and producer. Biography Early life Yates was born in Aldershot, Hampshire. The son of an army officer, he attended Charterhouse School as a boy, graduated from ...

, English architect (died

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C., Un ...

) *

August 21 Events Pre-1600 * 959 – Eraclus becomes the 25th bishop of Liège. *1140 – Song dynasty general Yue Fei defeats an army led by Jin dynasty general Wuzhu at the Battle of Yancheng during the Jin–Song Wars. *1169 – B ...

–

Vincent Scully Vincent Joseph Scully Jr. (August 21, 1920 – November 30, 2017) was an American art historian who was a Sterling Professor of the History of Art in Architecture at Yale University, and the author of several books on the subject. Architect Phi ...

, American architectural historian (died

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

) *

September 2 Events Pre-1600 * 44 BC – Pharaoh Cleopatra VII of Egypt declares her son co-ruler as Ptolemy XV Caesarion. * 44 BC – Cicero launches the first of his '' Philippicae'' (oratorical attacks) on Mark Antony. He will make 14 of th ...

–

Romaldo Giurgola Romaldo "Aldo" Giurgola AO (2 September 1920 – 16 May 2016) was an Italian academic, architect, professor, and author. Giurgola was born in Rome, Italy in 1920. After service in the Italian armed forces during World War II, he was educated ...

, Italian-American-Australian academic architect, professor and author (died 2016) *

October 21 Events Pre-1600 *1096 – A Seljuk Turkish army successfully fights off the People's Crusade. * 1097 – First Crusade: Crusaders led by Godfrey of Bouillon, Bohemund of Taranto, and Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse, begin the Siege o ...

– William Whitfield, English architect (died

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

) *

December 28 Events Pre-1600 * 418 – A papal conclave begins, resulting in the election of Pope Boniface I. * 457 – Majorian is acclaimed as Western Roman emperor. * 484 – Alaric II succeeds his father Euric and becomes king of the Visig ...

–

Bruce McCarty Bruce McCarty, FAIA (December 28, 1920 – January 5, 2013) was an American architect, founder and senior designer (retired 2010) at McCarty Holsaple McCarty Architects of Knoxville, Tennessee. During a career that has spanned more than a ha ...

, American architect (died

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment ...

)

Deaths

March 12 Events Pre-1600 * 538 – Vitiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving the city to the victorious Byzantine general, Belisarius. *1088 – Election of Urban II as the 159th Pope of the C ...

–

Hermann Eggert Georg Peter Hermann Eggert (3 January 1844 – 12 March 1920) was a German architect. He designed important public buildings such as the Frankfurt Main Station and the New Town Hall in Hannover, often in the style of Neo-Renaissance. Career B ...

, German architect (born

1888 In Germany, 1888 is known as the Year of the Three Emperors. Currently, it is the year that, when written in Roman numerals, has the most digits (13). The next year that also has 13 digits is the year 2388. The record will be surpassed as late ...

) *

May 17 Events Pre-1600 * 1395 – Battle of Rovine: The Wallachians defeat an invading Ottoman army. *1521 – Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, is executed for treason. *1527 – Pánfilo de Narváez departs Spain to explore F ...

–

Jean-Louis Pascal Jean-Louis Pascal (4 June 1837 – 17 May 1920) was an academic French architect. Life Born in Paris, Pascal was taught at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts by Émile Gilbert and Charles-Auguste Questel. He won the Grand Pri ...

, academic French architect (born

1837 Events January–March * January 1 – The destructive Galilee earthquake causes 6,000–7,000 casualties in Ottoman Syria. * January 26 – Michigan becomes the 26th state admitted to the United States. * February – Charles Dickens ...

) *

May 18 Events Pre-1600 * 332 – Emperor Constantine the Great announces free distributions of food to the citizens in Constantinople. * 872 – Louis II of Italy is crowned for the second time as Holy Roman Emperor at Rome, at the age of 4 ...

–

Frank Matcham Francis Matcham (22 November 1854 – 17 May 1920)Mackintosh, Iain"Matcham, Frank" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, accessed 7 July 2019 was an English architect who specialised in the design o ...

, English theatrical architect and designer (born

1854 Events January–March * January 4 – The McDonald Islands are discovered by Captain William McDonald aboard the ''Samarang''. * January 6 – The fictional detective Sherlock Holmes is perhaps born. * January 9 – The Te ...

) *

July 31 Events Pre-1600 *30 BC – Battle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieves a minor victory over Octavian's forces, but most of his army subsequently deserts, leading to his suicide. * 781 – The oldest recorded eruption of Mount Fuji (Tr ...

–

Thomas Tryon Thomas Tryon (6 September 1634 – 21 August 1703) was an English sugar merchant, author of popular self-help books, and early advocate of animal rights and vegetarianism. Life Born in 1634 in Bibury near Cirencester, Gloucestershire, Engla ...

, American architect (born

1859 Events January–March * January 21 – José Mariano Salas (1797–1867) becomes Conservative interim President of Mexico. * January 24 ( O. S.) – Wallachia and Moldavia are united under Alexandru Ioan Cuza (Romania since 1866, final ...

) *

October 22 Events Pre-1600 * 451 – The Chalcedonian Creed, regarding the divine and human nature of Jesus, is adopted by the Council of Chalcedon, an ecumenical council. * 794 – Emperor Kanmu relocates the Japanese capital to Heian-kyō ...

–

Ruggero Berlam Ruggero Berlam (20 September 1854 – 22 October 1920) was an Austrian architect. Born in Trieste (then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire), he followed in the family tradition, as his father Giovanni Andrea had already stood out as architect ...

, Italian architect (born

)

References

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