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Benjamin Thompson | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1918-07-03)July 3, 1918 Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Died | August 17, 2002(2002-08-17) (aged 84) Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Yale School of ArchitectureBArch (1941) |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Spouses | |
| Awards | AIA Gold Medal |
| Practice | The Architects' Collaborative (TAC) Benjamin Thompson and Associates (BTA) Design Research (store) |
Benjamin C. Thompson (July 3, 1918 – August 17, 2002) was an Americanarchitect. He was one of eight architects who foundedThe Architects Collaborative (TAC) in 1945 inCambridge, Massachusetts, one of the most notable firms in post-war modernism, and then started his own firm, Benjamin Thompson and Associates (BTA), in 1967.[1]
Thompson was born inSaint Paul, Minnesota, to Benjamin C Thompson and Lillian Mudge. He spent early years on his family's farm, and received his early education at St. Paul Academy and atAvon Old Farms School, a progressive school founded by architectTheodate Pope Riddle inAvon, Connecticut. His interest in architecture was nurtured by travels in Europe with his mother, an artist and art collector. In the fall of 1938 he entered theYale School of Architecture, where he earned a Bachelor of Architecture degree in 1941. He served for four years in theUnited States Navy duringWorld War II as a Lieutenant aboard aDestroyer Escort in the North Atlantic and Pacific theaters. He completed his service in theOffice of Strategic Services, and provided design services at the United Nations founding conference in San Francisco.
Near the end of the war, Thompson's ship docked in Boston, and he was introduced toWalter Gropius, founder of theBauhaus School and then head of theHarvard Graduate School of Design.
Thompson began his architectural career in 1946 as one of seven founders ofThe Architects Collaborative (TAC) which also includedNorman C. Fletcher,Jean B. Fletcher,John C. Harkness,Sarah P. Harkness,Robert S. McMillan andLouis A. McMillen. The young architects persuaded the well-knownBauhaus founder,Walter Gropius, to join the firm and provide them with guidance.[2] Their first project was an innovative, modernist development inLexington, Massachusetts which they namedSix Moon Hill. All of the TAC founders settled there in houses they collaboratively designed, with the exception of Gropius who had already built his home,Gropius House inLincoln, Massachusetts.
TAC's philosophy led them to emphasize collaboration as opposed celebrating individual "stars."[3] They did however use the term "partner in charge" to identify the people with primary responsibility for a particular project. Thompson's first project for an educational institution was a set of new buildings for the historicPhillips Academy inAndover, Massachusetts[2] (begun in 1959). Thompson was partner in charge for three major building groups forBrandeis University inWaltham, Massachusetts during an 11-year period beginning 1961.[4] These were the Academic Quadrangle (1961), the Social Science Center (1961, three buildings), and the East Quadrangle (1964). On the occasion of the university's 50th anniversary in 1999, it was observed that "[no other architect] has contributed more to the overall campus image than Benjamin Thompson".[4] Thompson relied on a consistent vocabulary at Brandeis: low horizontal structures with heavy, flat overhanging roofs; structural concrete frames with non-bearing exterior walls; few visual tricks or trendiness; and an "almost Japanese attitude toward composition and siting".[4] Thompson's buildings for Brandeis include:
Other projects for which Thompson was primarily responsible while at TAC include Greylock Quadrangle (1964-1965)[5] atWilliams College inWilliamstown, Massachusetts.
In 1966 Thompson left TAC to form his own firm, Benjamin Thompson & Associates (BTA). As described by his son, Anthony Thompson, his strong entrepreneurial spirit and individualism were at cross purposes to TAC's focus on "communal housing and social responsibility."[6]Jane Thompson also noted a "divergence of convictions" with many partners not seeing the value to TAC of the Design Research line of work Thompson had initiated.[7]
In 1953, he foundedDesign Research in Cambridge, a company that provided interior furnishings and accessories.[8] His iconic five-story, all-glass showcase retail store for Design Research was opened inHarvard Square,Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1968.[8] Design Research was the first US importer and retailer of the Finnish clothing and textiles ofMarimekko. The firm eventually added stores in New York (1964) and San Francisco (1965). In 1969, he designed the company's revolutionary second Cambridge store, notable for its extreme openness and use of glass. In 1970, Thompson lost financial control and ownership of Design Research.
Thompson is probably best known for his creation of theFaneuil Hall Marketplace (1976) inBoston, Massachusetts which incorporated the historicFaneuil Hall andQuincy Market buildings. In this and other similar projects his firm worked in collaboration with the firm of developerJames W. Rouse. In this work, he also worked closely withJane Fiske Thompson,[9] who later became his second wife and frequent collaborator. The Marketplace epitomized Thompson's perspective that vital cities required people to interact with art directly, and that good food, lively design, and commerce can all be part of the experience.[10] This project was an early example of the now widely employed "adaptive reuse"[11] of historic buildings that have outlived their original purposes. Thompson & Rouse were likely inspired by an earlier Boston project featuring reuse of a historic building byCarl Koch. In 1973, Koch, functioning as both architect and developer, had transformed the beautiful but obsoleteLewis Wharf warehouses into luxury condominiums.
In the following decade, Thompson and Rouse worked together on other festival marketplaces includingHarborplace (Baltimore, 1980),South Street Seaport (New York, 1985),Bayside Marketplace (Miami, 1987), andJacksonville Landing (Jacksonville, 1987).
Thompson's interest in modernism was balanced by appreciation of older architecture. In the late 1950s, he renovatedHarvard Yard's historic dormitories by updating their interior arrangements without visible exterior effect. Shortly thereafter he persuaded Harvard to remodelBoylston Hall (built 1857) rather than demolish it.
During those years, Thompson taught architecture at theHarvard Graduate School of Design, and served as Chair of the Architecture Department 1964–1968. His 1966 essay, “Visual Squalor and Social Disorder”, argued for an urban architecture that would encourage, rather than discourage, joy and social life.[12] To this end, in 1967 he proposed reviving Boston's obsolescent, historic wholesale food markets with food stalls, cafes, restaurants, and pushcarts appealing to the general public.
Thompson received honorary doctorates fromColby College, theUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst, andMinneapolis College of Art and Design. In 1987, BTA received the AIA Firm Award and in 1992, Thompson received the highest honor in American architecture, theGold Medal of theAmerican Institute of Architects.[13]
Benjamin Thompson was first married to Mary Okes Thompson from 1942 to 1967. The Thompsons lived onSix Moon Hill, an innovative residential development inLexington, Massachusetts that was one ofTAC's earliest projects. She continued to live there until her death in 2004. They had five children. In 1959, they purchased a seven-acre waterfront property inBarnstable where the family spent summers together.
Thompson's second marriage was in 1969 toJane Fiske McCullough, a writer and design critic, who handled his public relations and later became a collaborator on certain of his planning projects.[14] He was Jane's fourth husband. They lived in Cambridge and Barnstable. Ben died in August 17, 2002 in his Cambridge home.[15]
