back to resourcesGlossary of Terms
Architectural office, Project team
architects rarely work by themselves, especially not on larger projects. They work through an architectural office. Offices have different ways of working ? some as teams, some as disciples of a single particular person, trying to achieve their vision.
For larger projects, the project team as a whole may include other disciplines, such as engineers, programmers, and construction experts. Keeping this all organized and on-track is a major part of a project managers role. Once done by architects, This activity is now typically done by the developer. For most of BGA?s work, they were in charge of the entire project. For the larger projects, this involvement was quite complex, and BGA strove to maintain control over the project in order to assure good results.
Atwood, Leland
Leland Atwood (19__- 19__) was a colleague of Bertrand Goldberg. As the firm of Goldberg and Atwood, the firm focused on residential, industrial and some commercial projects during the early 1950?s. The partnership started in 19 __ and was completed in 195_. Atwood’s father had been a partner in the firm of Burnham and Atwood, many years earlier.
Bauhaus
The Bauhaus was a school for art and design in Germany. It was started in 1919 (? Confirm all dates) by Walter Gropius, and was located first in Weimar, then Dessau, and finally Berlin. The last years of the Bauhaus were headed by Mies van der Rohe, who came to Chicago in 1937, along with some other Bauhaus faculty. BG attended the Berlin Bauhaus in 1932 and 1933.
BGA
Bertrand Goldberg Associates, founded in 195_ by BG. His practice was from this office, which remained active until his decease in 1997. BGA included architects, engineers, and planners, and at its height was had over 125 staff. The office provided the full range of architectural services, including programming, all design activities, structural, mechanical electrical and civil engineering, and construction management. It also included in-house pringting operations as well as sophisticated computer programming for engineering and project scheduling.
Chicago School
a school of architectural thought, with strong beliefs in straightforward expression of structural and engineering principles in the building design. The first Chicago School is understood to have been in the late 1800?s, with jenny, Sullivan and Adler, and Holabird and Root?s work in steel-frame construction in Chicago. The second Chicago School often refers to the work of Mies and others at IIT from the late 1930?s through the 1960?s. Goldberg?s work is an outgrowth of this second school, and while his use of materials and forms are quite different, he believed himself to be operating within the framework of the Chicago School. For more on this, refer to Carl Condit?s ?____?, as well as Colin Rowe?s essay on the Chicago Frame.
Concrete
a building material, typically used for building structures, made of cement, aggregate(stone) sand, and water. Once mixed together, a chemical reaction takes place and it hardens to a formed shape. For architectural work, it can be cast in place, or cast off site and shipped to the site (precast). BGA typically used cast in place concrete, with precast used only for a few projects (St. Mary?s hospital and Wright College). BGA was recognized as world leaders in their knowledge and experience in concrete engineering and construction.
Design
activities associated with creating solutions to overlapping problems of space allocation, building form, and engineering and construction requirements. Designers work in many fields, including product or industrial design, buildings, and landscape. They work with drawings and models, going from concepts to details. Their drawings and models may start as sketches, with general outlines, and develop over time to being more specific. Thus they traverse from the abstract to the specific, and attempt to form an idea that solves the needs of the project, They then strive to carry that idea forward throughout the more detailed stages of project definition. Designers can be characterized by how they handle the different stages of project development. Goldberg, and his office, were noteworthy for both having very clear and strong ideas of the project as well as being informed and involved with how the project would be engineered and constructed.
Development (finance)
a real-estate based activity, whereby a piece of land or a building is subjected to a change (construction) to produce a new project with higher value.
Drawings
architects and engineers translate requirements into two forms of documents: specifications and drawings. The specifications are written documents, defining the work and how it will be done. The drawings outline what and where work will be done. Specifications and drawings are meant to work together.
The drawings are typically done to scale, with specific dimensions in mind. They serve as a fundamental means to communicate intention to those who are going to build. Drawings are done at many scales ? from the very big (the overall site) to the very detailed, to define how a window, door or cabinet is to be built or installed. Drawings are done with different views, including plan view (looking down from above), a sectional view (a cut across, looking typically at a side) and an elevational view (from a front or outside view).
Engineering
activities associated with the determination nad design of building requirements associated with specific calculable requirements. Areas include structure, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, and civil (site) work. In contrast to the architectural design work in building projects, engineering work uses more quantitative approaches to determine requirements . Using the sizing requirements developed in the programming stages, and refined through the design process, particular engineering solutions are developed and integrated into the building project. Integration of the engineering and the architectural work is often seen as beneficial, but not necessarily typical in the industry. BGA focused on an integrated approach, where engineering and architectural solutions were developed in concert with each other, facilitated by in-house staff in both disciplines. Goldberg himself was an engineer and an architect.
Housing
a building type, focusing on people?s residential needs. Housing Houses, apartment buildings, condominiums are all considered housing. Housing is often sub-divided into different types, based on its size and financial structure: such as single unit and multiple unit housing , and public housing (assisted with government funding) and private sector housing. Marina City was an example of multi-unit, private sector rental housing when designed and built.
IIT
Illinois Institute of Technology, formerly the Armour Institute of Technology. From 1937 through 1960?s, the architecture department was headed by Mies van der Rohe. Other Bauhaus faculty were also prominent at IIT. The school provided a rigorous architectural training in modern design, and its graduates permeated most of the Chicago architectural offices, including BGA.
Master plan
a plan document produced for institutions and larger developments, considering their long term needs . It suggests a plan of action for their growth, development and transformation over time, typically for the next ten to thirty years. Addressing issues of growth and physical development, the master plan primarily considers long-term land-use planning. It can also address other transformations of the institution over time.
Modernism
A cultural period of history, typically understood to be in the 20th century. Most commonly used in architectural discussions, its start and end dates are not easily defined. Possible start dates include c. 1920 (start of the Bauhaus), or possibly even earlier, with work of Perret and Maillart in France and Switzerland around 1900. For Chicagoans, it may well start with Sullivan and Wright?s work in Chicago from 1890.
Goldberg believed its roots were deeper and older, considering it to have started with the French Revolution.
The end dates for Modernism are also unclear ? some may end it in the 1960?s and 1970?s, when Post-modernism started up.
Plans
one of the types of drawings used, plans include floor plans, site plans, as well as the plan view of a specific detail. Commonly, ?architectural plans? is used to describe the entire set of drawings for a specific project.
Program
an outline of use activites for a particular space or building. Typically, general and specific requirements are outlined, both in narrative, and in a room by room description. Square footages, particular requirements and adjacencies are described. For complex building types (such as hospitals) there are typically done by specialized consulting firms. BGA historically did all of its own programming in-house.
Steel
a building material also used for construction in a wide variety of applications. Typically used for structure and building exteriors by the Miesian school, it was used by BGA only in a few instances ? most notably the structure at Stony Brook, and for the theater building at Marina City.
Van Beuren, Michael
Michael van Beuren (19?d. 2004?) was a Bauhaus classmate of Bertrand?s, and they remained close friends for the rest of their lives. After early collaboration on furniture design in 1937, Van Beuren moved to Mexico, where he designed and made furniture among other activities. As a former Bauhaus student, he was involved in the recruitment of Mies to IIT in the 1930?s. In his later years, he designed and operated the first industrial plant to manufacture chip board in Mexico.
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