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Biographical Summary
Stuart Cohen was born 1942 in Chicago, Illinois. He studied architecture
at Cornell, receiving his B.Arch in 1965 and his M.Arch in 1967.
After working in various architectural offices in New York, he
founded his own office in Chicago in 1972. During the 1970s, he
joined the "Chicago Seven," a diverse group of architects
who held a series of influential exhibitions and symposia to encourage
new approaches to architecture in Chicago. He has been associated
with Sisco/Lubotsky Associates (1978-81) and with Anders J. Nereim
(1981-88). In 1991 he formed a partnership with his wife, Julie
Hacker. He has been a visiting lecturer at various universities
and is currently a professor at the University of Illinois at
Chicago. Cohen was elected to the College of Fellows of the American
Institute of Architects in 1985.
Interview Highlights
Cohen speaks about studying at Cornell and memorable professors,
including Colin Rowe; working in several architectural offices
in New York City; returning to Chicago, "One Hundred Years
of Architecture in Chicago" and "Chicago Architects"
exhibitions in Chicago; Stuart's role in organizing the "Chicago
Architects" exhibition; the Chicago Seven takes shape; several
exhibitions by the Chicago Seven and related conferences; Cohen's
writings; teaching at the University of Illinois, Chicago; "Late
Entries to the Tribune Tower Competition"; reviving the Chicago
Architectural Club; assessing the value of the activities of the
Chicago Seven.
Townhouse, "Exquisite Corpse" exhibition, Walter
Kelley Gallery, Chicago, 1977. Photo courtesy of Stuart Cohen.
Townhouse, "Exquisite Corpse" exhibition, Walter
Kelley Gallery, Chicago, 1977. Photo courtesy of Stuart Cohen.
Interview Excerpt
"So the ["Chicago Architects"] show had two motives
and two objectives. Stanley [Tigerman]'s objective, and in part
my objective, was to make some space, to say that there were other
people here who had some legitimacy--this was not just about Mies,
SOM, C.F. Murphy, and the people that they trained and their disciples.
Even if it was, why should they usurp and misinterpret what was
happening in Chicago at the turn of the century? By claiming parentage,
it was like they were saying, "I'm Anastasia, or the lost
prince. I have good blood. I'm the legitimate heir to these people
and therefore I should be the one doing these buildings."
We said, fine, this was not entirely the only way to see the history
of early Chicago, why don't we deal with that and why don't we
deal simply with the fact that there's all this other stuff that's
happening at the same time that nobody pays attention to because
there's been a conscious effort to suppress it. So our motives
were to rewrite history and to undermine a position of power that
existed for Murphy and SOM and IIT. Maybe it was not as much to
undermine it as to say, "Look, it's not what it's claiming
to be and it's not the only game in town." We wanted to make
space for other people in other firms." (page 59)
Other Resources at The Art Institute of Chicago
See the oral histories of other members of the Chicago Seven:
Tom Beeby, Larry
Booth, James Ingo
Freed, James Nagle,
Stanley Tigerman,
and Ben Weese;
see also the oral histories of other architecture professors at
the University of Illinois at Chicago: Ezra
Gordon and John
Macsai.
Funding for Stuart Cohen's oral history was provided by the
Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts. Additional
funding for the electronic presentation of this transcript was
provided by a grant from the Illinois Humanities Council.
About the Chicago Architects Oral History Project
Department of Architecture • Ryerson & Burnham Archives
Send questions or comments to:
Ryerson & Burnham Archives, Chicago Architects Oral History Project
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