Pietro Belluschi (August 18, 1899 – February 14, 1994) was an Italian-American architect. A leading figure in

modern architecture Modern architecture, also called modernist architecture, or the modern movement, is an architectural movement and style that was prominent in the 20th century, between the earlier Art Deco and later postmodern movements. Modern architectur ...

, he was responsible for the design of over 1,000 buildings.Belluschi, Pietro. (2007). In ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved September 22, 2007, from
Encyclopædia Britannica Online
/ref> Born in

Ancona Ancona (, also ; ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region of central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona, homonymous province and of the region. The city is located northeast of Ro ...

, Italy, Belluschi began his architectural career as a draftsman in a

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

firm. He achieved a national reputation within about 20 years, largely for his 1947 aluminum-clad Equitable Building. In 1951, he was named the dean of the MIT School of Architecture and Planning, where he served until 1965, also working as collaborator and design consultant for many high-profile commissions, most famously the 1963 Pan Am Building. He won the American Institute of Architects' Gold Medal in 1972.

Early life

Pietro Belluschi was born in Ancona, Italy, in 1899.Gragg, Randy. "Belluschi revered as creative, 'spiritual' architect". '' The Oregonian'', February 15, 1994. He grew up in Italy and served in the Italian armed forces during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

when Italy was allied with

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and later the United States. Serving in the army he fought against the Austrians at the battles of Caporetto and Vittorio Veneto. After the war, Belluschi studied at the University of Rome, earning a degree in

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

in 1922. He moved to the United States in 1923, despite speaking no English, and finished his education—as an exchange student on a scholarship—at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

with a second degree in civil engineering. Instead of returning to Italy, he worked briefly as a mining engineer in

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

earning $5 per day, but he then joined the architectural office of A. E. Doyle in Portland, living in Goose Hollow. He remained in the U.S., as friends in Italy had cautioned him to not return home because of the rise to power of

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

and the

Fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...

government.

Career

At Doyle's office, Belluschi rose rapidly, soon becoming chief designer. After Doyle died in 1928, the firm took him into partnership in 1933. By 1943, Belluschi had assumed control of the firm by buying out all the other partners and was practicing under his own name. In 1951, Belluschi became Dean of the architecture and planning school at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

, a position he held until 1965. When he accepted the position of dean and moved to Massachusetts, he transferred his office in Portland to the architecture firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. The move reduced his annual income from $150,000 to a salary of $15,000, but was prompted by health concerns attributable to the long hours of managing his office while still designing buildings. Belluschi emerged as a leader in the development of American

Modern architecture Modern architecture, also called modernist architecture, or the modern movement, is an architectural movement and style that was prominent in the 20th century, between the earlier Art Deco and later postmodern movements. Modern architectur ...

, with the design of several buildings reflecting the influence of the

International Style The International Style is a major architectural style and movement that began in western Europe in the 1920s and dominated modern architecture until the 1970s. It is defined by strict adherence to Functionalism (architecture), functional and Fo ...

and his awareness of the technological opportunities of new materials. Most important was the Equitable Building (1944–47) in Portland, Oregon: a concrete frame office block clad in

aluminum Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

, and considered the first office building with a completely sealed air-conditioned environment. Belluschi's churches and residences differed from his commercial works. Although of Modern design, they fit within the development of the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

regional Modern idiom as they frequently used regional materials (particularly wood) and were often integrated with their suburban or rural sites.

Awards and honors

Belluschi was elected a Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

in 1952. In 1953, he was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Associate member, and became a full member in 1957. He served as a presidential appointee on the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts from 1950 to 1955. He was a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

in the American Institute of Architects (AIA), and was awarded the AIA Gold Medal, the highest award given by the institute, in 1972. He was awarded the

National Medal of Arts The National Medal of Arts is an award and title created by the United States Congress in 1984, for the purpose of honoring artists and Patronage, patrons of the arts. A prestigious American honor, it is the highest honor given to artists and ar ...

by the National Endowment for the Arts in 1991 for his lifetime achievements. Belluschi was on the jury that selected the winning design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.Clausen, Meredith L., ''Pietro Belluschi: Modern American Architect'',

MIT Press The MIT Press is the university press of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The MIT Press publishes a number of academic journals and has been a pioneer in the Open Ac ...

, Cambridge, Massachusetts and London 1994,

Later life

After leaving MIT in 1965, he continued to work. Belluschi would design and consult on both buildings and issues surrounding

urban planning Urban planning (also called city planning in some contexts) is the process of developing and designing land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportatio ...

. Pietro Belluschi was married first to Helen Hemmila on December 1, 1934, the mother of his two sons, Peter and Anthony. His son Anthony Belluschi is an architect. After his wife's death in 1962, he married in 1965 to Marjorie Bruckner (1920–2009). Pietro Belluschi died in Portland on February 14, 1994.

Selected works

Commonwealth-Equitable Building - Portland Oregon

Belluschi's designs include: * Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company Building, southern addition, Portland, 1926 * Pacific Building, Portland, 1926 * Public Service Building, Portland, 1927 * Belluschi Building, Portland Art Museum ( NRHP), 1932 * Guardians' Lodge (1929), Kiwanis Lodge (1931), Uncle Toby's Story House (1932), and Blue Wing Lodge (1936), Camp Namanu, Sandy, Oregon * Northrup Library (now T. J. Day Hall) at Linfield University, McMinnville, 1936 * Library Building (now Smullin Hall) at Willamette University, Salem,Gregg, Robert D. 1970. ''Chronicles of Willamette, volume II: Those eventful years of the President Smith era''. Salem, Or: Willamette University. 1938 * St. Thomas More Catholic Church, Portland, 1940 * Peter Kerr House, Gearhart, Oregon, 1941 * Chapel, River View Cemetery, Portland, 1942 * Korten Music Store, Longview, Washington, 1946 * Sweeney, Straub and Dimm Printing Plant, Portland (NRHP), 1946 * Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Longview, Washington, 1946 * Burkes House, Portland, 1947 * Coats House, 3600 Whiskey Creek Rd, Netarts, 1942 * Oregonian Building, Portland, 1947 * Baxter Hall and Collins Hall, Willamette University, Salem, 1947 * Charles and Blanche Sprague Weekend House, also known as Thetford Lodge, Little North Santiam River, Oregon, 1947 * Psychology Building,

Reed College Reed College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus in the Eastmoreland, Portland, Oregon, E ...

, Portland, 1947–1948 * Breitenbush Hall, Oregon State Hospital, Salem (NRHP), 1948 (demolished 2017) * Equitable Building, Portland, 1948 * First Presbyterian Church, Cottage Grove, Oregon (NRHP), 1948 * Percy L. Menefee Ranch House, Yamhill, Oregon, 1948 * Sacred Heart Church, Lake Oswego, Oregon, 1949 * Zion Lutheran Church, Portland (NRHP), 1950 * Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Portland Branch, 1950 * Central Lutheran Church, Portland, 1951 * St. Philip Neri Catholic Church, Portland, 1952 * Tucker Maxon School, Portland, 1953 * YWCA building, Salem, 1954 * Marion County Courthouse and World War II Memorial, Salem, 1954 * Trinity Lutheran Church, Walnut Creek, California, 1954 * Temple Israel, Swampcott, Massachusetts, 1953-1956 * First Lutheran Church, Boston, 1954–1957 * Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church, Bethesda, Maryland, 1955 * Temple Adath Israel of the Main Line, with Charles Frederick Wise, Merion, Pennsylvania, 1956–1957 * Church of the Redeemer (Baltimore), 1958"Raising Baltimore's Skyline" Gunts, Edward. The Sun altimore, Md27 Dec 1987: T11. * Bennington College Library, Bennington, Vermont, 1957–1958 * Central Lutheran Church,

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

, 1959 * Temple B'rith Kodesh, Rochester, New York, 1959–1963 * Goucher College Center, Towson, Maryland, 1960 * Trinity Episcopal Church, Concord, Massachusetts, dedicated October 6, 1963 * First Methodist Church, Duluth, Minnesota, 1962–1969 * The

Alice Tully Hall Alice Tully Hall is a concert hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The hall is named for Alice Tully, a New York performer and Philanthropy, philanthropist whose donations assis ...

at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

within the Lincoln Center, New York City, 1963–1969 * Pan Am Building, Belluschi and

Walter Gropius Walter Adolph Georg Gropius (; 18 May 1883 – 5 July 1969) was a German-born American architect and founder of the Bauhaus, Bauhaus School, who is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modernist architecture. He was a founder of ...

as design consultants to Emery Roth & Sons, New York City, 1963 * Rohm and Haas Corporate Headquarters, with George M. Ewing Co., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1964 * Church of the Christian Union, Rockford, Illinois, 1964-1965 * Hoffman Columbia Plaza, now Unitus Plaza, Portland, 1966 * Immanuel Lutheran Church, Silverton, Oregon, 1966 * Saint Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, Roseburg, Oregon, 1968 * 555 California Street, as consultant to Wurster, Benardi and Emmons and Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, San Francisco, 1969 * One Boston Place, with Emery Roth & Sons, Boston, 1970 * Tower Square, also known as BayState West, with Eduardo Catalano,

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

, 1970 * University of Virginia School of Architecture, 1970 * Woodbrook Baptist Church, Towson, Maryland, 1970 * Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption, San Francisco (collaborating with Pier Luigi Nervi and others), 1971 * Clark Art Institute, with The Architects Collaborative, Williamstown, Massachusetts, 1973 * 100 East Pratt Street, with Emery Roth & Sons, Baltimore, 1975 * Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, Baltimore, 1978–1982 * Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall, with Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, San Francisco, 1980 *

One Financial Center One Financial Center is a modern skyscraper adjacent to Dewey Square in the Financial District of Boston, Massachusetts. Built in 1983 by Rose Associates, it is Boston's 11th-tallest building, standing tall, and housing 46 floors. An unusu ...

, Boston, 1983 * US Bancorp Tower, as consultant to Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, Portland, 1983 * Chapel of Christ the Teacher,

University of Portland The University of Portland (UP) is a private Catholic university in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1901 and is affiliated with the Congregation of Holy Cross, which also founded UP's sister school, the University of Notre Da ...

, 1986 * United Hebrew Congregation, Chesterfield, Missouri, 1986–1989 * Murray Hills Christian Church, Beaverton, Oregon (1987–89) * Centennial Tower and Wheeler Sports Center,

George Fox University George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

, Newberg, Oregon, 1991 and 1977 *

Portsmouth Abbey School Portsmouth Abbey School is a coeducational Catholic, Benedictine boarding and day school for students in grades 9 to 12. Founded in 1926 by the English Benedictines, the school is located on a 525-acre campus in Portsmouth, along Rhode Island's N ...

campus, Portsmouth, Rhode Island; Belluschi designed 14 of the 27 buildings on campus between 1960 and 1991

References

External links

Oregon Encyclopedia biography

from the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art
Photographs of Pietro Belluschi's works from the Phyllis and Robert Massar Photograph Collection of Pacific Northwest Architecture
- University of Washington Digital Collections {{DEFAULTSORT:Belluschi, Pietro 1899 births 1994 deaths 20th-century American architects Cornell University College of Engineering alumni Fellows of the American Institute of Architects United States National Medal of Arts recipients Architects from Portland, Oregon Modernist architects from the United States Italian emigrants to the United States Italian military personnel of World War I American ecclesiastical architects People from Ancona Architects of Roman Catholic churches Architects of cathedrals Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences MIT School of Architecture and Planning faculty Recipients of the AIA Gold Medal Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters