OU Architecture Professors Khosrow Bozorgi and Keith Gåddie recently announced the release of their new book, The Philadelphia House: Organic Architecture and Placemaking in Chestnut Hill, published by Rowman & Littlefield. The official release date is July 15, 2023, from Philadelphia House, but Amazon and Barnes & Noble have already announced the pre-ordering of the book.
The book explores the very beginning of the interwar period, where a small collection of formally trained architects created a distinctive residential type that is now recognized as a Philadelphia landmark. These architects surpassed the conventional pseudo-classic and eclectic neo-Gothic solutions through a unique adaptation of design principles to suit the exclusive cultural tradition of the clients and respond to the natural environment.
Bozorgi and Gåddie analyzed the works of three Philadelphia architectural firms to explore this proposition: Mellor, Meigs & Howe, McGoodwin, and Willing & Sims. As a basis, they used six houses constructed between 1917 and 1928 in the historic Chestnut Hill neighborhood. While these homes are aesthetically pleasing, they also represent the emergence of a new ‘type’ of architectural design, generally conceived as ‘organic’ architecture.
This work, which contains over 200 photographs and drawings, considers the houses, the training and development of the architects, the creation and development of Chestnut Hill itself, and the larger, distinct culture of Philadelphia in contributing to the emergence of this distinctive and lasting style.
Pre-order the book from Amazon or Barnes & Noble here.
Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture congratulates Thinh "Henry" Duong, a master's student in the Division of Interior Design, for earning first place in the 2026 Robert Bruce Thompson Annual Student Light Fixture Design Competition.
Gibbs College of Architecture Institute for Quality Communities (IQC) Director and Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture, and Design (PLAD) faculty member Amber N. Wiley, Ph.D., recently published a new book, Collective Yearning: Black Women Artists from the Zimmerli Art Museum.
In May, students from the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture's Architecture, Environmental Design, and Interior Design programs participated in an intensive five-day Studio in Residence at Taliesin West, the iconic winter home and desert laboratory of Frank Lloyd Wright.
