MARCEL BREUER
turned out different every time. His taste in food and wine was very. very simple.
I think he also expressed himself in the simplest terms possible; on the other hand. he was a very sophisticated man. His work at the Bauhaus attests to that. His furniture design is comparable to that of Mics. His architecture. on the other hand. is more in tune with that of Le (‘orbusier. Of course Breuer has two sides. and you do not find that in Le (‘orbusier. you do not find it in Mies van der Rohe. That peasant side of Breuer is very endearing. I should not use the word peasant. because peasant sounds like a person who is unsophisticated. ‘A sophisticated way of looking natural' is the better phrase. That side of him comes out in his architecture: it makes his work so variable. so very rich.
He was the most popular teacher at Harvard. This was. I believe. because of his personality. He was very easy-going and he always looked at architecture from a humanistic perspective: he designed architecture for people. and took into consideration how they lived and worked. His instinct for design. which as we all know was remarkable. followed this line of analysis.
I really regret that I didn't have the pleasure of studying under him at Harvard. As a graduate student I studied under (iropius. However. Breuer was a member of the design juries. and I remember his critique of my projects very well. I think as a teacher. he made a major contribution to architectural education.
And yet teaching was not what he wanted to do. So. he came to New York in l946. and in the ‘real' world of architectural practice. he had a chance to express his concepts of form and space. He had a great interest in the expressive possibilities of concrete. an interest we shared.
Because of his use of concrete. one could call Breuer a sculptor-architect. His auditorium for New York University at University Heights is a pure piece of sculpture. Some people did not like his sculptures but I liked them. I think he took his inspiration mainly from Cubism. 1 should not
forget to mention l.e ('orbusier in this connection. He started to use beton hrut. which
was very difficult for the public to accept. Ronchamps was a great success: Breuer nuist have admired it. as I do.
Breuer did a lot of fine buildings — for instance. his churches and monasteries. I very much admire his use of concrete. His lBM building in the south of l‘rance. for instance. is a very important work. better. in my opinion. than his l'NliSCO building in Paris. The IBM building seems to float on its pilotis above the irregular contours of the landscape. There. I think. he showed genius. It is a very fine building.
The Whitney Museum remains one of the best buildings in New York. despite the fact that it was selected as an object of scorn by the Post-
HE EXPRESSED HIMSELF IN SIMPLE TERMS, BUT HE WAS A SOPHISTICATED MAN
modernists. When Michael (iraves proposed to add on to the building. I was one of the few who were very vocal against the change. At (‘onnie Breuer's home a few of us met to try to find a way to save the Whitney. We protested — voices in the darkness. perhaps — but it did do some good. The community finally voted against the change. When I look at the building today. I still
think it is a brilliant piece of work. The wave of
Post-modernism lasted about ten years. but this fashion has faded. .»\rchitecture has indeed become like fashion: if you want your project to be successful. it has to be novel. has to be something new.
Breuer's work in the field of domestic architecture is also very important. Before he catne to America. he designed some important three storey apartment houses. which were widely copied in liurope. After he came to the
lKS. in l‘).‘~7. he designed a number of beautiful liouses. ()nc of the houses he built for himself Ill l.inco|n remains among my favourites. It is a split—level hotlse when you walk into that liv ing room it is a wonderful space that flows from one level to another. and seems to be much larger that it is. It is no longer the same now it has been remodelled. But it was a wonderful house.
The \CL'UHLT house he built in .\l;tssacltusclls Is the (‘hamberlain (‘ottage small. but important. The cantilever. the balloon frame. was done with wood. It is very much like his furniture simple and elegant.
He designed many houses after he came to New York. Later he did several mperimental houses for himself. My wife and I spent a lot ot time at his house in New ('anaan with the large cantilevered terrace. We met many of his friends from liuropc. for the Bauhaus Arp. Bay er and others and had dinner on that deck. He did a house in Williamstown. Massachusetts. which I particularly like.
Breuer‘s furniture remains a very important part of his work. \'itra Design Museum has many e\amples. Breuer used tubular steel in the simplest. most logical way. and it is here that you see his talent in design. The 'Wassily‘ is one of the most important chairs ever designed.
In retrospect. his fondness for natural material such as wood. stone. and even concrete. both enriched and limited his work. I cannot recall that he ever built a glass and steel curtain wall building. Perhaps that was because he had little opjmnunity to design high-rise buildings. By contrast. his reputation suffered a great setback from his proposed design for a tower over (irantl ('entral Station in New York. which was criticised and rejected. Still. when I look at his work in totality. it‘s my view that Breuer's position in the field of design and architecture is secure.
Marcel Breuer is at The Lighthouse, Glasgow from Fri 16 Jun-Sun 27 Aug. This text appears in the exhibition catalogue.
7*; 1/; g.’ THE LIST 21