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Building Brain Buster AnswersFind out if your Architecture I.Q. is as high as you thought!
July 2010 National Building Museum OnlineQ: What is the origin of the name LEGO? A: Ole Kirk Christiansen, the Danish carpenter who founded the LEGO® company in 1932, came up with the name as an acronym for leg godt, which means “play well” in Danish. Coincidentally, lego is also a Latin word meaning “I read,” “I gather,” or “I assemble,” the last translation seemingly a very appropriate one given the nature of the company’s primary product, but Christiansen claimed that he was unaware of the term’s Latin translation. May 2010 National Building Museum OnlineQ: In 1934, the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts approved plans for a drastic remodeling of one of Washington, DC’s historic buildings. Endorsing the proposed changes, the chairman of the commission at the time, Charles Moore, called the building “one of the three or four eyesores of the city,” and noted that it had been “ridiculed both by the public and by the architectural profession” since it was built. The proposed renovation was never carried out. Which famous DC building narrowly escaped such a comprehensive transformation? A: The Pension Building, which is now, of course, the National Building Museum, and widely considered to be one of Washington’s most beautiful landmarks. Tastes change. March 2010 National Building Museum OnlineQ: What does the new Modern Wing of the Art Institute of Chicago have in common with the Dome nightclub on board the cruise ship Pacific Dawn? A: They were both designed by architect Renzo Piano. Admittedly, the interior of the ship’s nightclub has been completely redone and bears little resemblance to Piano’s vision, but the basic, dome-like shape of the enclosure is clearly his design. The Pacific Dawn was built by Italy’s famed Fincantieri shipyard, and launched in 1991 as the Regal Princess. In 2007, the ship was sold to P&O Cruises Australia and given its current name. January 2010 National Building Museum Online
Q: A. James Speyer (1913-86) was a man of exceptionally diverse talents. A practicing architect and professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology and other universities, he also served for 25 years as curator of twentieth-century painting and sculpture at the Art Institute of Chicago, a role in which he became highly influential in the museum world. Despite these lofty credentials, however, his most widely recognized work is a detached garage belonging to a single-family house in Highland Park, Illinois. What made this garage so famous? A: It was featured in the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986), as the garage in which the father of Ferris’s best friend, Cameron Frye, kept his vintage Ferrari. In the climactic scene of the movie, the valuable car—actually a fiberglass replica—crashes through one of the huge panes of glass enclosing the sleek, minimalist structure and goes flying into the ravine below. The structure is, in fact, a garage intended for the display and storage of vintage cars and art. It and the main house were designed by Speyer and architect David Haid for client Ben Rose, and were completed in 1953. November 2009 National Building Museum Online
Q: What is unusual about the mortar used in the construction of the Puente de Piedra (Bridge of Stone) that connects Lima and Rimac, Peru? A: The mortar was supposedly mixed not with water but with the whites of some 10,000 sea birds’ eggs. As a result, the structure, designed by Spanish architect Juan del Corral and built in the early 17th century, is nicknamed the Bridge of Eggs. September 2009 National Building Museum Online
Q: In 1890, the year in which How the Other Half Lives: Studies Among the Tenements of New York, by Jacob Riis, was published, what was the average number of residents per dwelling in New York City? A: According to the 1890 U.S. Census, there were 18.52 people per dwelling in New York City. By some estimates, nearly 80 percent of the city’s population lived in tenements or other substandard housing. July/August 2009 National Building Museum OnlineQ: Andrea di Pietro della Gondola is better known by what surname? A: Palladio. One of the most influential architects in history, Palladio (1508-80) was given the new name by his mentor, Gian Giorgio Trissino, who chose it to evoke Pallas Athena, the ancient Greek goddess of wisdom and crafts (as well as war). Images of some of Palladio’s works are included in the National Building Museum’s exhibition Form and Movement: Photographs by Philip Trager, on view from July 11, 2009 through January 3, 2010. June 2009 National Building Museum OnlineQ: What do the Golden Gate Bridge, San Antonio River Walk, LaGuardia Airport, and presidential retreat Camp David have in common? A: They were all projects of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), one of the most famous of the New Deal agencies established in the 1930s. Collectively, the workers employed by the various New Deal agencies built more than 50,000 bridges, built or renovated thousands of schools, hospitals, airports, and other institutional structures, and planted some three billion—yes, billion—trees! May 2009 National Building Museum OnlineQ: The Haughwout Department Store building in New York, built in 1857, has a beautiful cast iron façade, but that's not why it made history. Why is this building so important?
A: The Haughwout was home to the world’s first “passenger safety elevator,” installed by Elisha Otis in April 1857. Contrary to popular belief, Otis did not invent the elevator—basic mechanical hoists had existed for centuries—but he did invent a braking device that made such machines safe for passengers. The Haughwout still stands, though the original elevator has been removed. April 2009 National Building Museum OnlineQ: When Eugène-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc was appointed to restore the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris in 1847, what then-innovative technology did he employ to document the existing conditions of the building? A: He used daguerreotypes, which he commissioned in large numbers to record as much detail as possible. The project thus became one of the first architectural restorations to employ documentary photography in a systematic way. March 2009 National Building Museum OnlineQ: While packing your bags for a business trip to another city, you call the mechanical engineer who is hosting the meeting and ask her how you should plan to dress based on the weather there. She responds casually, "Oh, one Clo should be fine," and hangs up. What do you pack? A: A regular business suit should suffice, with no overcoat needed. A "Clo" is an informal measure of the thermal insulation of clothing, sometimes used by mechanical engineers and other building professionals when assessing comfort levels in various spaces. One Clo is equal to the amount of insulation provided by a typical men's or women's business suit. If someone invites you to a place where the standard of dress is zero Clo, assume it's a nudist camp. February 2009 National Building Museum OnlineQ: The Pharos (Lighthouse) off the coast of Alexandria, Egypt, was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It is believed to have been destroyed by a series of earthquakes in the 14th century, but if the tower still existed today and estimates of its height are accurate, how would it rank among the tallest lighthouses in the modern world?
A: It would be first. The tallest lighthouse in the world today is the Yokohama Marine Tower, in Japan, which stands 106 meters (348 feet) tall. Even the more conservative estimates of the Pharos’s height put it at 115 meters (377 feet). January 2009 National Building Museum OnlineQ: In 1960, Washington architect Robert Paul Brockett was commissioned to design a structure for one of the city's most prestigious addresses–1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. But you won't see his innovative, strikingly modern design today. Why?
A: Because his design was for a temporary structure–the inaugural reviewing stand for President John F. Kennedy. Brockett's structure was the first reviewing stand to break away from more traditional architectural styles. December 2008 National Building Museum Online
Q: Julian Abele received an architecture degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1904, and went on to study at the prestigious Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Upon his return to Philadelphia in 1906, Abele joined the prominent firm of Horace Trumbauer & Associates, becoming the firm’s chief designer within a couple of years. Over the next four decades or so, he personally designed or oversaw the design of more than 600 projects across the United States. His significant works include the Philadelphia Museum of Art, a mansion for the Vanderbilt family on Long Island, and the main campus of Duke University. Despite this stellar career, however, Abele was not elected to membership in the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Institute of Architects until 1941. Why? A: Abele was denied membership until 1941 because he was black. Practicing in an era in which there were very few African American architects, Abele achieved remarkable success thanks to his great talent and his mutually supportive relationship with Trumbauer, who served as the primary contact with clients while Abele led the design studio. Abele died in 1950. November 2008 National Building Museum OnlineQ: In 1931, a man named C.W. Glover proposed building an airport in the King's Cross area of central London. How did he plan to insert such a large facility into a densely built urban area? A: Glover proposed building the runways atop enormous bridges spanning the tallest structures of the neighborhood. There were to be four runways aligned in different directions but all crossing in the center, with a circumferential taxi-way connecting them, thus creating an enormous wheel-like pattern in plan. Needless to say, the idea was never realized. October 2008 National Building Museum OnlineQ: What do Manila and the small city of Baguio, both in the Philippines, have in common with San Francisco and Chicago? A: All of the cities listed were the subjects of grand—though largely unexecuted—urban plans by architect Daniel Burnham. Burnham went to the Philippines, then a U.S. Territory, in 1904, and soon produced a majestic plan for Manila befitting its role as the territorial capital. His plan for Baguio City, which is located at an altitude of more than 5,000 feet and served for a time as the semi-official “summer capital,” was notable for its imposition of urban geometries onto a hilly landscape. September 2008 National Building Museum OnlineQ: You are about to use a time machine to go back to ancient Rome. Before you leave, your friend the Classical scholar says, “Be sure to see the velarium.” Where would you go and in what direction would you look once you got to Rome? A: You would head to the Colosseum and look up toward the sky. The velarium was a huge awning that would be pulled across the top of the Colosseum to shield spectators from rain or excessive sun. July / August 2008 National Building Museum OnlineQ: What famous early American architect's son, who occasionally practiced architecture himself, played a major role in the establishment of the African nation of Liberia? A: Benjamin Henry Latrobe's son, John H.B. Latrobe, was a leading supporter of the controversial American Colonization Society, whose goal was to establish a colony in Africa for freed American slaves. The group succeeded in creating the colony of Liberia in 1822, and a large region of the new settlement was named Maryland, after the state where the younger Latrobe spent most of his life. Liberia became an independent nation in 1847. John Latrobe's own son, Ferdinand, served several terms as mayor of Baltimore between 1875 and 1893. June 2008 National Building Museum OnlineQ: Eero Saarinen’s father, Eliel, famously won second place in the 1922 design competition for the Chicago Tribune Tower. Ten years earlier, in 1912, he won second place in another famous international design competition. What was it? A: In 1912, Eliel Saarinen won second place in the competition to design the new Australian capital of Canberra. The winner was Walter Burley Griffin, whose wife, Marion Mahony Griffin, collaborated on the design although she was largely uncredited at the time. May 2008 National Building Museum OnlineQ: As of 2008, the Pritzker Architecture Prize has been award 30 times to architects from a total of 16 countries. Only five countries have produced more than one Pritzker Prize winner. What are those five countries? A: The five countries that have produced multiple Pritzker Architecture Prize winners are the United States (8), the United Kingdom (4), Japan (3), Italy (2), France (2), and Brazil (2). 
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