On Oct. 13, The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, in New York, will present “Drawing Ambience: Alvin Boyarsky and the Architectural Association,” an exhibition featuring drawings by some of the most prominent architects practicing today, including Zaha Hadid, Hon. FAIA; Frank Gehry, FAIA; Daniel Libeskind, AIA; Rem Koolhaas, Hon. FAIA; and Bernard Tschumi, FAIA. Curated from the private collection of British professor Alvin Boyarsky, the exhibition displays the work of students and practitioners who passed through the Architectural Association School of Architecture (AA) in London during Boyarsky’s tenure as chairman from 1971 until his death in 1990. Boyarsky’s leadership emphasized the importance of drawing by hand and the need for architects to approach the profession as an artistic venture, a practice that included publication in design media, along with a project’s actual design and construction.
The exhibition was co-curated by Igor Marjanović, associate professor of architecture at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis, and Jan Howard, chief curator and curator of
prints, drawings, and photographs at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Museum in Providence.
It was on view at the Kemper Art Museum at Washington University last fall and at the RISD Museum this past spring.
The Cooper Union will host the exhibition from Oct. 13, 2015 to Nov. 25, 2015. The show will then end its tour around the U.S. and return to the U.K., to Nicholas Boyarsky, Alvin’s son, who owns the collection.
