Kenneth Frampton facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kenneth Frampton
Kenneth Frampton at GSAPP (2014)
Born	Kenneth Brian Frampton (1930-11-20) 20 November 1930 (age 94) Woking, Surrey, England
Occupation	Architect critic historian
Notable work	Modern Architecture: A Critical History Towards a Critical Regionalism

Kenneth Brian Frampton (born November 20, 1930) is a British architect, critic, and historian. He is known as one of the world's top experts on modern and current architecture. He was a professor at Columbia University in New York for over 50 years. He is a citizen of both Britain and the United States.

Kenneth Frampton's Life

Kenneth Frampton studied architecture in London at the Guildford School of Art and the Architectural Association School of Architecture. After his studies, he worked in Israel. He also worked in London for the Middlesex County Council and Douglas Stephen and Partners.

Early Career and Teaching

From 1961 to 1966, while working for Douglas Stephen and Partners, he designed the Corringham Building. This is an 8-story apartment building in London. Its design is very modern. In 1998, it became a listed building, meaning it is protected for its special historical or architectural interest.

During this time, he also taught at the Royal College of Art. He was a tutor at the Architectural Association. He also worked as a technical editor for the Architectural Design magazine.

Teaching at Columbia University

Frampton taught at Princeton University School of Architecture from 1966 to 1971. He also taught at the Bartlett School of Architecture in London in 1980. He joined the faculty at Columbia University in 1972. That same year, he became a member of the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies in New York. He also helped start its magazine, Oppositions.

In 2017, the Canadian Centre for Architecture held an exhibition about his teaching. It was called Educating Architects: Four Courses by Kenneth Frampton. This show looked at how his teaching at Columbia University shaped his important books.

In 2021, Kenneth Frampton was given the title of Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). This award was for his great contributions to architecture. In 2015, his large collection of books was bought by The University of Hong Kong.

Kenneth Frampton's Writings on Architecture

Frampton is very famous for his writings about architecture from the 1900s and 2000s. He played a big part in developing a way of thinking about architecture called "architectural phenomenology." This idea looks at how people experience buildings.

Key Books and Ideas

Some of his important books include Modern Architecture: A Critical History. This book was first published in 1980 and has been updated many times. Another key book is Studies in Tectonic Culture from 1995.

Frampton became very well-known for his essay "Towards a Critical Regionalism: Six Points for an Architecture of Resistance." This essay was written in 1983. The term "critical regionalism" was first used by Alexander Tzonis and Liane Lefaivre.

What is Critical Regionalism?

In his essay, Frampton criticized how globalization and mass consumer culture affect architecture. He believed these trends made buildings look too similar and less special. He felt they lacked cultural meaning.

To fix this, Frampton suggested a "critical regionalist" approach. This means architecture should consider its specific place. It should think about the land, climate, and local culture. It should also create new types of local architecture. This way, buildings can be unique and fit their surroundings.

Views on Postmodernism

Frampton's essay was in a book called The Anti-Aesthetic. Essays on Postmodern Culture. However, Frampton himself was critical of postmodernism in architecture. He wanted to defend a type of modern architecture. This architecture would focus on how buildings are made and how they fit their place. He believed architecture should not just be about economics. He also thought architecture had a social responsibility.

He explained that architecture has two main parts. One part is about how a building is built and its physical form. The other part is about what the building represents. He believed these two parts should always work together. He thought it was too simple to break architecture down into tiny pieces. For example, saying "a door is a sign of a door" misses the deeper meaning of why people create buildings.

In 2002, a collection of Frampton's writings from 35 years was published. It was called Labour, Work, and Architecture. An English version of his 2015 book, The Other Modern Movement, was released in 2021. Frampton has also written introductions for many other books on architecture.

Select List of Frampton's Writings

• "Towards a Critical Regionalism: Six Points for an Architecture of Resistance", in The Anti-Aesthetic: Essays on Postmodern Culture, edited by Hal Foster, Bay Press, Port Townsen, 1983.
• (with David Larkin, ed.) The Twentieth Century American House. Masterworks of Residential Architecture, Thames and Hudson, London, 1995.
• Studies in Tectonic Culture: The Poetics of Construction in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Architecture, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1995.
• Álvaro Siza. Complete Works, Phaidon, London, 2000 ISBN: 9780714840048
• Le Corbusier (World of Art). Thames & Hudson, London, 2001.
• Labour, Work and Architecture. Phaidon Press, London, 2002.
• "Ando at the Millennium", in Tadao Ando: Light and Water, Book Design by Massimo Vignelli, The Monacelli Press, New York, 2003.
• The Evolution of 20th-Century Architecture: A Synoptic Account, Springer, New York, 2006.
• (with Strauven F., Gübler J., Verpoest L.) Georges Baines, Ludion, Gent, 2006.
• Modern Architecture: A Critical History (World of Art), Thames & Hudson, London, 1985; fifth edition 2020.
• (with David Larkin, ed.) American Masterworks: Houses of the Twentieth & Twenty-First Centuries, Rizzoli, New York, 2008.
• Five North American Architects: An Anthology by Kenneth Frampton, Lars Muller, Zurich, 2012.
• Genealogy of Modern Architecture: A Comparative Critical Analysis of Built Form, Lars Muller, Zurich, 2014.
• (with Ludovica Molo, ed.) L'altro Movimento Moderno, Mendrisio Academy Press/Silvana Editoriale, Mendrisio-Milan, 2015.

Awards and Honors

Kenneth Frampton has received many important awards for his work in architecture:

• 2022 Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal in Architecture
• 2019 Soane Medal
• 2018 Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, Venice Biennale of Architecture
• 2021 Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE); 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours
• 2014 Lisbon Triennale Millennium BCP Lifetime Achievement Award
• 2012 Schelling Architecture Theory Prize
• 2005 Architectural League of New York President's Medal

See also

In Spanish: Kenneth Frampton para niños