Suzanne Stephens

The last time anyone made a fuss over the architecture of the New York Times’ headquarters was in the first decade of the 20th century. Then Cyrus Eidlitz, with Andrew C. MacKenzie, designed the Times’ offices, completed in 1905, for a new location far removed from its old home amid a cluster of newspaper buildings down by City Hall. Photo courtesy Suzanne Stephens Related Links: The New York Times Building Curtain-Wall Ingenuity Comments from Renzo Piano Videos Slide Show In an essay in RECORD, in 1903, Montgomery Schuyler, a staff member of the Times from 1883 to 1907 and a

[In an interview with RECORD deputy editor Suzanne Stephens in preparation for the magazine’s coverage in its February 2008 issue, the architect reflected on the building and underscored certain concerns relating to architecture at the current moment.] Photo © Annie Leibovitz/courtesy Renzo Piano Building Workshop Related Links: The New York Times Building Curtain-Wall Ingenuity A Look Back in History Videos Slide Show “Constantly present in my mind when designing the New York Times Building was that today's architecture should be inspired by what is happening with the climatic crisis. In the way the last [20th] century opened with an interest

  Photo by John Brooke, courtesy Irene Jenks Charismatic, daring, artistic. We don’t always associate these qualities with structural engineers, but the highly esteemed Bill LeMessurier, who passed away June 14 at the age of 81, embodied all of them. Trained as an architect at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, LeMessurier graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a master’s degree in building engineering and construction in 1953—“then all his [Harvard] classmates hired him,” remembers his wife, Dorothy, who married him the same year. Indeed, since LeMessurier started his eponymous practice in 1961, he distinguished himself with a

Margaret Helfand, FAIA, died June 20 at the age of 59. Her death was due to colon cancer. Since she opened her office in 1981, Helfand had created a body of work distinguished for its clean, Modernist vocabulary and skillful use of natural materials, combined with a quiet and subtle inventiveness. Her commitment to the craft of construction, the exploration of materials of varying textures, as well as her attention to details, set Helfand apart from a number of her colleagues. Photo: Courtesy Helfand Architecture Margaret Helfand Except for a brief partnership, Helfand practiced on her own and gradually broke