Goldberg, Bertrand
GOLDBERG, BERTRAND
GOLDBERG, BERTRAND (1913–1997), U.S. architect. Born in Chicago, Goldberg studied at Harvard, at the Bauhaus in Berlin, and at the Armour Institute of Technology (now Illinois Institute of Technology) in Chicago. He specialized in industrial design and city planning. The acting principal of Bertrand Goldberg Associates in Chicago from 1937, Goldberg established a branch office of the company in Boston in 1964.
He believed that the modern rectilinear style of architecture had been superseded by the new structural shapes made possible through the recent development in reinforced concrete. To that end, he created circular designs in concrete shell structures, which he believed would serve activity better and help create community. He also maintained that circular buildings provide more efficient wind resistance, more direct mechanical distribution, and more usable footage. Over the years, he developed a theory of kinetic space based on non-parallel walls that set a space in motion. Goldberg introduced several shapes to skyscraper architecture, many of which can be recognized by their rounded lobes and oval windows.
Among his chief works in Chicago are the Astor Tower (1962); Marina City (1963), featuring round, 60-story residential towers; the Raymond Hilliard Homes (1966); the Prentice-Stone Pavilion (1975); St. Joseph's Hospital (1975); suny Hospital and suny Basic Science and Clinical Science Towers (1976); and River City (1986).
Goldberg was elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects in 1966 and was awarded the Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the French government in 1985.
In 2002, Goldberg's family donated his entire architectural archive to the Art Institute of Chicago. It includes his architectural plans, drawings, photos, and models, as well as lectures, articles, and construction photos.
bibliography:
J. and K. Cook, Conversations with Architects (1973).
[Ruth Beloff (2nd ed.)]