The Driehaus Prize is awarded to an architect whose work embodies the principles of traditional and classical architecture in contemporary society.
The
University of Notre Dame School of Architecture presented the second
annual Richard H. Driehaus Prize for Classical Architecture to Dr.
Demetri Porphyrios. A leading architect and theorist, Dr. Porphyrios was
honored in a ceremony March 20 at the Ballroom at The School of the Art
Institute of Chicago. Dr. Porphyrios received $100,000 and a bronze and
stone replica of the Choregic Monument of Lysikrates in Athens.
Principal of the London-based Porphyrios Associates, his work in traditional and classical architectural forms includes buildings and urban projects in Europe, the United States and the Middle East. Dr. Porphyrios designed the Grove Quadrangle at Magdalen College, Oxford University, and most recently, he designed Whitman College, Princeton University's newest and sixth residential college. Other projects include the town of Pitiousa in Spetses, Greece; the new Duncan Galleries in Lincoln, Nebraska; and the King's Cross master plan in London.
Dr. Porphyrios has been Thomas Jefferson Professor at the University of Virginia, and Davenport and Bishop Professor at Yale University. His books include Sources of Modern Eclecticism, Classicism Is Not a Style, and Classical Architecture. Dr. Porphyrios was educated at Princeton University where he received his master of architecture and his Ph.D. in the history and theory of architecture.
Richard H. Driehaus, the founder and chairman of Driehaus
Capital Management in Chicago, endowed the annual award to honor a major
contributor in the field of traditional and classical architecture or
historic preservation. He established the prize through the University
of Notre Dame's School
of Architecture because of its reputation as a national leader in incorporating
the ideals of traditional and classical architecture into the task of
modern urban development.
In addition to Richard H. Driehaus, the selection committee of leading architects and educators included: Adele Chatfield-Taylor, President of the American Academy in Rome; Michael Lykoudis, Dean of the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture; Jaquelin Robertson, Principal of Cooper Robertson in New York and former Dean of the University of Virginia School of Architecture; and David Watkin, architectural historian, fellow at Peterhouse College, Cambridge.
Whitman College, Princeton University
Project information (pdf)
Interamerican Headquarters Office Building,
Athens, Greece
Project information (pdf)
One Forbury Square Office Building, Reading,
UK
Project information (pdf)
Duncan Galleries, Lincoln, Neb.
Project information (pdf)
SANE Research Centre, Oxford, UK
The Grove Buildings and Auditorium, Magdalen
College, Oxford
Project information (pdf)
Trowbridge Masterplan, Wiltshire
Project information (pdf)
Town of Pitiousa, Spetses, Greece
Project information (pdf)
Three Brindleyplace, Birmingham
Project information (pdf)
One of the world's leading architects and theorists, Dr. Demetri Porphyrios is the principal of the London-based Porphyrios Associates. Known for the use of traditional and classical architectural forms, his work has been acclaimed in Europe, the United States and the Middle East. Dr. Porphyrios designed the Grove Quadrangle at Magdalen College, Oxford University and, most recently, Whitman College, Princeton University's sixth residential college. Other projects include the Brindleyplace office buildings; the town of Pitiousa in Spetses, Greece; the new Duncan Galleries in Lincoln, Nebraska; the King's Cross master plan in London and a number of urban projects for resort towns and inner-city developments in the United Kingdom and around the world.
An advisor to the Prince of Wales, Dr. Porphyrios is known for designs responsive to region, climate, nature and culture. His architecture gives new insight into the use of tradition and modernity. "A work is classical," Mr. Porphyrios says, "not because it is immutable, eternal and sacred but because it continually searches for and brings out the new. Classicism is not a style. Classicism is not a doctrine; it is philosophy of life. It is the philosophy of free will nurtured by tradition."
Dr. Porphyrios has been Thomas Jefferson Professor at the University of Virginia and Davenport and Bishop Professor at Yale University. He also has taught at the Architectural Association, Polytechnic of Central London and the Royal College of Art in London. His books include Sources of Modern Eclecticism, Classicism Is Not a Style, and Classical Architecture.
Dr. Porphyrios was educated at Princeton University, where he received his Master of Architecture and Ph.D. in the History and Theory of Architecture.
Richard
H. Driehaus, a life-long Chicago resident,
has enjoyed business success earning a reputation within the investment
management industry as an accomplished investor. In addition to his career,
he has also focused his attention and energy on a variety of philanthropic
and community-service oriented projects, individually and through the
efforts of the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation.
Many of Mr. Driehaus' charitable endeavors have been devoted to DePaul University where he received his B.S.C. degree in 1965 and an M.B.A in 1970. He has endowed DePaul's Driehaus Center for International Business Studies and the Richard H. Driehaus Center in Behavioral Finance. Mr. Driehaus has also provided scholarships to full-time M.B.A. candidates.
Having a strong commitment to historic preservation and design excellence, Mr. Driehaus' efforts have included the restoration of the Ransom Cable House in Chicago and the award-winning restoration of a 1905 Georgian Revival style country house in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. He has also made major contributions for the restoration of Old St. Patrick's Church and St. Ignatius High School in Chicago. Mr. Driehaus is involved in the activities of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois, the Wisconsin Trust for Historic Preservation and several preservation organizations in the U.S. Virgin Islands. He has also been involved in the preservation and restoration of historic homes in the Bronzeville and Prairie Avenue Districts of Chicago, as well as a variety of religious-oriented restoration projects.
Mr. Driehaus has promoted design excellence through his sponsorship of a design competition for a campus center building at Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) and his funding of Herman Driehaus scholarships at IIT for five years. He sponsored the Millennium Gate Foundation design charrette that resulted in the conceptual design of this monumental entry at Washington's Barney Circle, and has also sponsored design competitions to produce designs for Chicago Public Schools and non-profit public housing. Mr. Driehaus also supports design programs at the University of Illinois at Chicago's College of Architecture and the Arts. In addition, the Richard H. Driehaus Museum at Navy Pier in Chicago features significant Tiffany stained glass pieces from Mr. Driehaus' personal collection.
The Choregic Monument of Lysikrates in Athens is best known as the first use of the Corinthian Order on the
outside of a building. This exquisite monument is minor in size but has
served as an expression of Corinthian elegance in exterior and interior
applications throughout the United States and Europe. The monument, one
of the most delightful remains of Hellenistic antiquity, was initially
built as a monumental base to support a now-lost bronze tripod won by
a young man as the trophy for a musical competition in 334 B.C. His proud
parents exalted this victory by constructing a blue-marble structure
from Mount Hymetos not only to raise the bronze tripod on a pedestal, but
to create a lasting architectural icon. The square base supports a cylindrical
tower surrounded by six columns of white marble from Mount Penteli,
the same marble used in the Parthenon. The number of columns is divided
in half to culminate in a three-pronged finial covered with intertwining
acanthus leaves and stalks that provided the rests for the tripod.
The Choregic Monument of Lysikratis Award, created by Chicago artist Michael Chupich, is a sculpted scale model of the original monument created using miniature tools specifically designed for the piece and molded using a lost wax process from which the bronze monument is cast. The bronze casting sits upon a hand-cut limestone base with engraved bronze plates. The award measures 11.5 inches tall, 3.5 inches wide, and weighs 12 pounds.
Click here to view photos of the 2004 reception honoring Demetri Porphyrios
Click here to view photos of the 2003 reception honoring architect and urbanist Léon Krier
