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On Architecture




In the field of architecture, projects are classified by type depending on their use, among them residential, commercial, educational, retail, hospitality, and transportation. Most early architects by training designed just about anything: houses, churches, libraries, schools, and theaters. But given increased complexities within today’s industry, many architects now specialize in few types—sometimes one—either as sole practitioners or associates in a large firm.

Featured Architects
Philip G. Freelon, FAIA; Henry Hobson Richardson

Philip G. Freelon, FAIA

African-American, 1953–2019

“I don't do casinos or prisons; I like to do projects that enhance the lives of everyday people, like campus buildings, libraries, museums and government buildings. That's why I love working in the public sector.”

1. National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta, Georgia 2. Tenley Friendship Library in Washington, DC 4. Interior of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC 3. Exterior of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC

The Freelon Group was founded in 1990 by Philip Freelon. The North Carolina-based architecture firm focused on many project types, among them libraries, corporate offices, and university buildings. Many of the firm’s cultural projects were dedicated to black culture in the United States: National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta, Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco, and—as Freelon Adjaye Bond/SmithGroup—National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC. In 2014, the firm merged with Perkins&Will. According to a statement by Perkins&Will, Philip Freelon “was, arguably, the most significant African American architect in recent history.”

PGF Photo Credits
1. Photo by Maciek Lulko (CC BY-NC 2.0)
2. Photo by angela n. (CC BY 2.0) / Brightened from original
3. Photo by Frank Schulenburg (CC BY-SA 4.0)
4. Photo by Michael Muraz (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Henry Hobson Richardson

American, 1838–86

“I’ll plan anything a man wants, from a cathedral to a chicken coop. That’s the way I make my living.”

1. Portrait of Henry Hobson Richardson by Hubert Von Herkomer from 1886 2. Trinity Episcopal Church in Copley Square, Boston, Massachusetts 4. Warder Mansion, as it is known today, was saved from demolition at its original site by architect George Oakley Totten Jr. who reconstructed it north of Meridian Hill on 16th Street NW 3. Interior of the Warder House on K Street NW, completed in 1888 by Richardson’s firm two years after his death

H. H. Richardson attended Harvard University, but didn’t study architecture until his time at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in the early 1860s. For several years, he lived and worked in New York City where he partnered with Charles D. Gambrill. Frederick Law Olmstead was his neighbor and they collaborated on several projects. Boston’s Trinity Church was one of Richardson’s earliest designs and one of his most celebrated. Richardson’s work has been classified as Richardsonian Romanesque, characterized by its proportions, massing, and use of stone masonry, a blending of the Romanesque style of medieval France with the picturesque style popular in England and the United States.

HHR Photo Credits
1. Photo courtesy National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
2. Courtesy of the Library of Congress, HABS MASS,13-BOST,131--37 (CT)
3. Courtesy of the Library of Congress, LC-USZ62-56819
4. Photo by AgnosticPreachersKid at English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)

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