The year 1957 in architecture involved some significant architectural events and new buildings.

Events

July 20 Events Pre-1600 * 70 – Siege of Jerusalem: Titus, son of emperor Vespasian, storms the Fortress of Antonia north of the Temple Mount. The Roman army is drawn into street fights with the Zealots. * 792 – Kardam of Bulgaria defea ...

–

Civic Trust (England) The Civic Trust of England was a charitable organisation founded in 1957. It ceased operations in 2009 and went into administration due to lack of funds. The Civic Society Initiative was set up in 2009 with the support of The National Trust, C ...

, founded by

Duncan Sandys Edwin Duncan Sandys, Baron Duncan-Sandys (; 24 January 1908 – 26 November 1987), was a British politician and minister in successive Conservative governments in the 1950s and 1960s. He was a son-in-law of Winston Churchill and played a key r ...

to promote improvement of the built environment, holds its inaugural conference. *

Byrd Station The Byrd Station is a former research station established by the United States during the International Geophysical Year by U.S. Navy Seabees during Operation Deep Freeze II in West Antarctica. History A joint Army, Navy, Air Force, and Mar ...

commissioned in

West Antarctica West Antarctica, or Lesser Antarctica, one of the two major regions of Antarctica, is the part of that continent that lies within the Western Hemisphere, and includes the Antarctic Peninsula. It is separated from East Antarctica by the Transant ...

Buildings and structures

Buildings opened

July 22 Events Pre-1600 * 838 – Battle of Anzen: The Byzantine emperor Theophilos suffers a heavy defeat by the Abbasids. *1099 – First Crusade: Godfrey of Bouillon is elected the first Defender of the Holy Sepulchre of The Kingdom of J ...

–

Fazle Omar Mosque The Fazl-e-Omar Mosque in Hamburg is the second purpose-built mosque in Germany. The mosque is named after the Second Caliph Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad and is located at the street of Wieckstraße in Eimsbüttel Eimsbüttel () is one ...

, Hamburg, Germany. *

September 19 Events Pre-1600 * 85 – Nerva, suspected of complicity of the death of Domitian, is declared emperor by Senate. The Senate then annuls laws passed by Domitian and orders his statues to be destroyed. * 634 – Siege of Damascus: The ...

– The Congress Hall Berlin, Germany is opened. *

October 15 Events Pre-1600 *1066 – Following the death of Harold II at the Battle of Hastings, Edgar the Ætheling is proclaimed King of England by the Witan; he is never crowned, and concedes power to William the Conqueror two months later. *1211 ...

** Torre de Madrid, one of the tallest buildings in Spain, designed by Julián and José María Otamendi Machimbarrena. **

Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge The Wuhan Yangtze Great Bridge (), commonly known as Wuhan First Yangtze Bridge, is a double-deck road and rail bridge across the Yangtze River in Wuhan, in Central China. At its completion in 1957, the bridge was the easternmost crossing of t ...

in China, with Wang Juqian as chief engineer. *

Otaniemi Chapel Otaniemi Chapel ( fi, Otaniemen kappeli, sv, Otnäs kapell) is a Lutheran chapel located in the Otaniemi campus of Aalto University in Espoo, Finland. History The chapel was designed by the architect couple Heikki and Kaija Siren for a 1954 ar ...

Aalto University Aalto University ( fi, Aalto-yliopisto; sv, Aalto-universitetet) is a public research university located in Espoo, Finland. It was established in 2010 as a merger of three major Finnish universities: the Helsinki University of Technology, the H ...

Espoo Espoo (, ; sv, Esbo) is a city and municipality in the region of Uusimaa in the Republic of Finland. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordering the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, Kirkkonummi, Vihti and Nurmijärvi ...

, Finland, designed by Heikki and Kaija Siren. * Church of

St. Bonifatius, Kassel St. Bonifatius is a Catholic church and parish in Kassel, Hesse, Germany. It was completed in 1956, designed by Josef Bieling. The parish is dedicated to Saint Boniface, and belongs to the Diocese of Fulda. It is now part of a merged parish St. E ...

, Germany, designed by Architekturbüro Josef Bieling, consecrated. * St Luke's Church,

Pinner Pinner is a London suburb in the London borough of Harrow, Greater London, England, northwest of Charing Cross, close to the border with Hillingdon, historically in the county of Middlesex. The population was 31,130 in 2011. Originally a me ...

, England, designed by

F. X. Velarde Francis Xavier Velarde (1897 – 28 December 1960) was an English architect who practised in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. Biography Velarde was trained at the Liverpool School of Architecture from 1920, and from 1928 taught at the school. I ...

. * First stage of

Golden Lane Estate The Golden Lane Estate is a 1950s council housing complex in the City of London. It was built on the northern edge of the City, on a site devastated by bombing during the Second World War. Since 1997, the estate has been protected as a group o ...

in Finsbury, designed by

Chamberlin, Powell and Bon Chamberlin, Powell and Bon was a British firm of architects whose work involved designing the Barbican Estate. They are considered one of the most important modernist architectural firms in post-war England. Formation The practice was founded ...

, officially opened. Great Arthur House is (briefly) the tallest residential building in Britain at the time of construction.

Buildings completed

Matenadaran, Ereván, Armenia, 2016-10-03, DD 22

Connecticut General Life Insurance Company Headquarters The Connecticut General Life Insurance Company Headquarters is a commercial office complex at 900 Cottage Grove Road in Bloomfield, Connecticut. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 27, 2010. Built between 1954 and ...

building designed by Gordon Bunshaft of

Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) is an American architectural, urban planning and engineering firm. It was founded in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings in Chicago, Illinois. In 1939, they were joined by engineer John Merrill. The firm ...

Bloomfield, Connecticut Bloomfield is a suburb of Hartford in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The town's population was 21,535 at the 2020 census. Bloomfield is best known as the headquarters of healthcare services company Cigna. History Originally l ...

, USA. *

Friedrich-Engelhorn-Hochhaus The Friedrich-Engelhorn-Hochhaus was a 28-storey, skyscraper in Ludwigshafen am Rhein Ludwigshafen, officially Ludwigshafen am Rhein (; meaning " Ludwig's Port upon Rhine"), is a city in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, on the river ...

Ludwigshafen am Rhein Ludwigshafen, officially Ludwigshafen am Rhein (; meaning "Ludwig's Port upon Rhine"), is a city in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, on the river Rhine, opposite Mannheim. With Mannheim, Heidelberg, and the surrounding region, it forms ...

, at this time the tallest building in Germany. * The

Interbau Interbau was a housing development, constructed as part of the 1957 International Building Exhibition in the Hansaviertel area of West Berlin. The overall plan was managed by Otto Bartning, and the urban design competition was won by Gerhard Jo ...

project in

Hansaviertel The Hansaviertel () is the smallest ''Ortsteil'' (district) of Berlin and is between Großer Tiergarten and the Spree River, within the central Mitte borough of Berlin. The district was almost completely destroyed during World War II but was ...

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under m ...

, with buildings designed by forty-eight architects. *

Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts The Matenadaran ( hy, Մատենադարան), officially the Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts, is a museum, repository of manuscripts, and a research institute in Yerevan, Armenia. It is the world's largest repository of Armen ...

Yerevan, Armenia Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and in ...

, designed by

Mark Grigorian Mark Grigorian ( hy, Մարկ Գրիգորյան, russian: Марк Владимирович Григорян; April 29, 1900 – January 10, 1978) was a Soviet Armenian neoclassical architect. Life Born in Nakhichevan-on-Don, southern Russia, ...

in 1945. *

Munkegaard School Munkegaard School ( da, Munkegårdsskolen) is a school in Gentofte, just north of Copenhagen, designed by the Danish architect Arne Jacobsen and completed in 1957. The complex is considered to be one of Jacobsen's most important architectural wo ...

near Copenhagen, Denmark, designed by

Arne Jacobsen Arne Emil Jacobsen, Hon. FAIA () 11 February 1902 – 24 March 1971) was a Danish architect and furniture designer. He is remembered for his contribution to architectural functionalism and for the worldwide success he enjoyed with simple wel ...

. * Spaarbank,

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

, designed by

J. J. P. Oud Jacobus Johannes Pieter Oud (9 February 1890 – 5 April 1963) was a Dutch architect. His fame began as a follower of the '' De Stijl'' movement. Oud was born in Purmerend, the son of a tobacco and wine merchant. As a young architect, he was ...

in 1942. * St James's House, Birmingham, England, by

John Madin John Hardcastle Dalton Madin (23 March 1924 – 8 January 2012) was an English architect. His company, known as John H D Madin & Partners from 1962 and the John Madin Design Group from 1968, was active in Birmingham for over 30 years. Bio ...

. *

Richards Medical Research Laboratories The Richards Medical Research Laboratories, located on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, were designed by architect Louis Kahn and are considered to have been a breakthrough in his career. The building is configured as ...

by architect

Louis Kahn Louis Isadore Kahn (born Itze-Leib Schmuilowsky; – March 17, 1974) was an Estonian-born American architect based in Philadelphia. After working in various capacities for several firms in Philadelphia, he founded his own atelier in 1935. Whi ...

, on the campus of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universit ...

, USA. *

Unité d'Habitation {{Infobox company , name = Moldtelecom , logo = , type = JSC , foundation = 1 April 1993 , location = Chişinău, Moldova , key_people = Alexandru Ciubuc CEO interim , num_employees = 2,750 employees As of 2019 , industry = Telecommunicat ...

at Marseille, by

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 ...

. *

Josep Lluís Sert Josep Lluís Sert i López (; 1 July 190215 March 1983) was a Spanish architect and city planner. Biography Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Sert showed keen interest in the works of his uncle, the painter Josep Maria Sert, and of Gaudí. He ...

's house for himself at 64 Francis Avenue,

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most ...

, USA. *

Dr. Robert Hohf House The Dr. Robert Hohf House is an International Style residence near Kenilworth, Illinois, United States. Built in 1957, it was designed by George Fred Keck and William Keck, Architects, in collaboration with Evanston Hospital surgeon Dr. Rober ...

near

Kenilworth, Illinois Kenilworth is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, north of downtown Chicago. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 2,514. It is the newest of the nine suburban North Shore communities bordering Lake Michigan, and is one of ...

, USA, designed by Keck & Keck. *

High Sunderland High Sunderland is a Modernist house built in woodland in the grounds of the 19th-century Sunderland Hall, between Selkirk and Galashiels in the Scottish Borders. It was designed in 1957 by Peter Womersley for the textile artist Bernat Klein ...

(house for Bernat Klein),

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders ( sco, the Mairches, 'the Marches'; gd, Crìochan na h-Alba) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Midlothian, South Lanarkshire, West Lot ...

, designed by

Peter Womersley Peter Womersley (24 June 1923 – 1993) was a British architect, best known for his work in the modernist style. He lived in the Scottish Borders, where a number of his buildings are located, although he worked on projects throughout the UK. Infl ...

. * The Pediment, Aynho, Northamptonshire, England, designed by

Raymond Erith Raymond Charles Erith RA FRIBA (7 August 1904 – 30 November 1973) was a leading classical architect in England during the period dominated by the modern movement after the Second World War. His work demonstrates his continual interest in expand ...

. * Church of Our Lady and St Columba,

Wallsend Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of Segedunum. This ...

, England, designed by Vincente G. Stienlet of Pascal J. Stienlet & Sons. * Norms Restaurant, La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles, USA by Armét & Davis.

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 ...

– Ralph Walker,

Louis Skidmore Louis Skidmore (April 8, 1897 – September 27, 1962) was an American architect, co-founder of the architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and recipient of the AIA Gold Medal. Biography Louis Skidmore was born in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. H ...

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 ...

–

Alvar Aalto Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (; 3 February 1898 – 11 May 1976) was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware, as well as sculptures and paintings. He never regarded himself as an artist, s ...

Births

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 ...

–

Ai Weiwei Ai Weiwei (, ; born 28 August 1957) is a Chinese contemporary artist, documentarian, and activist. Ai grew up in the far northwest of China, where he lived under harsh conditions due to his father's exile. As an activist, he has been openly ...

, Chinese contemporary artist, active in sculpture, installation, architecture, curating, photography, film, and social, political and cultural criticism *

August 5 Events Pre-1600 * AD 25 – Guangwu claims the throne as Emperor of China, restoring the Han dynasty after the collapse of the short-lived Xin dynasty. * 70 – Fires resulting from the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem are ...

–

Shigeru Ban Biography
, The Hyatt Foundation, retrieved 26 March 2014 is a Japanese architect, known for his i ...

, Japanese architect known for use of paper and cardboard *

August 8 Events Pre-1600 * 685 BC – Spring and Autumn period: Battle of Qianshi: Upon the death of the previous Duke of Qi, Gongsun Wuzhi, Duke Zhuang of Lu sends an army into the Duchy of Qi to install the exiled Qi prince Gongzi Jiu as ...

– Gion A. Caminada, Swiss architect *

September 18 Events Pre-1600 * 96 – Domitian, who has been conducting a reign of terror for the past three years, is assassinated as a result of a plot by his wife Domitia and two Praetorian prefects. * 96 – Nerva is proclaimed Roman emperor ...

– Tom Wright, English architect known for

Burj Al Arab The Burj Al Arab ( ar, برج العرب, ''Arab Tower'') is a luxury hotel located in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Managed by Jumeirah hotel group, it is one of the tallest hotels in the world, although 39% of its total height ...

Deaths

Jože Plečnik (1943), Zbirka upodobitev znanih Slovencev NUK

* January 7 – Joze Plecnik, Slovene architect (born

1872 Events January–March * January 12 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first ruler crowned in that city in over 500 years. * February 2 – The government of the United Kingdom buys a number of forts o ...

) * February 2 –

Julia Morgan Julia Morgan (January 20, 1872 – February 2, 1957) was an American architect and engineer. She designed more than 700 buildings in California during a long and prolific career.Erica Reder"Julia Morgan was a local in ''The New Fillmore'', 1 Febr ...

, first woman to be admitted to the architecture program at l'École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, and the first woman architect licensed in California (born 1872) *

August 22 Events Pre-1600 * 392 – Arbogast has Eugenius elected Western Roman Emperor. * 851 – Battle of Jengland: Erispoe defeats Charles the Bald near the Breton town of Jengland. * 1138 – Battle of the Standard between Scotlan ...

–

Beverly Loraine Greene Beverly Lorraine Greene (October 4, 1915 – August 22, 1957), was an American architect. According to architectural editor Dreck Spurlock Wilson, she was "believed to have been the first African-American female licensed as an architect in the Un ...

, first African American woman architect to be licensed (born

1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January *January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 ...

) *

October 3 Events Pre-1600 *2457 BC – Gaecheonjeol, Hwanung (환웅) purportedly descended from heaven. South Korea's National Foundation Day. * 52 BC – Gallic Wars: Vercingetorix, leader of the Gauls, surrenders to the Romans under Julius ...

–

Bernard Maybeck Bernard Ralph Maybeck (February 7, 1862 – October 3, 1957) was an American architect in the Arts and Crafts Movement of the early 20th century. He was an instructor at University of California, Berkeley. Most of his major buildings were in ...

, American architect of the Arts and Crafts Movement (born

1862 Events January–March * January 1 – The United Kingdom annexes Lagos Island, in modern-day Nigeria. * January 6 – French intervention in Mexico: French, Spanish and British forces arrive in Veracruz, Mexico. * January ...

) *

–

Henry Van de Velde Henry Clemens van de Velde (; 3 April 1863 – 15 October 1957) was a Belgian painter, architect, interior designer, and art theorist. Together with Victor Horta and Paul Hankar, he is considered one of the founders of Art Nouveau in Belgium. ...

, Belgian Flemish painter, architect and interior designer (born

1863 Events January–March * January 1 – Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation during the third year of the American Civil War, making the abolition of slavery in the Confederate states an official war goal. It proclaim ...

)

References

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