04.28.20

On Friday, February 28, 2020, members of the H+U+D Colloquium visited the Athenaeum of Philadelphia’s exhibition, Structure & Purpose: The Legacy of Engineering at Keast & Hood. Curated by architectural historian, Izzy Kornblatt, the exhibition explores the role of the firm’s founding engineers, Carl A. Baumert Jr., Nicholas L. Gianopulos, and Thomas J. Leidigh, longtime principals at the firm of Keast & Hood Co. from the years 1953 – 2007 and examines the scope and importance of their work. Their collaborations with such renowned architects as Louis I. Kahn and Venturi, Scott Brown, and Associates spanned decades and their structural solutions underlie numerous landmark buildings of the 20^th century. Bruce Laverty, the Gladys Brooks Curator of Architecture at the Athenaeum, gave the group a tour of the retrospective exhibition, which includes an array of never-before exhibited drawings, models, and documents related to projects ranging from Louis Kahn’s National Capital of Bangladesh to the restoration of Philadelphia City Hall and Robert Venturi’s Vanna Venturi House in Chestnut Hill.

 

 

Photos: Bruce Laverty, Bruce Laverty, the Gladys Brooks Curator of Architecture at the Athenaeum of Philadelphia, gives a tour to H+U+D Colloquium members