Pietro Belluschi: Modern American Architect

This is the first full-scale monograph on Belluschi, a talented Italian designer who emigrated to this country in the 1930s and became a major modern American architect in the 1950s and 1960s. Some measure of Belluschi’s importance is conveyed by the buildings and projects he designed or contributed to: the Pan Am Building and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, both in New York City, and the Equitable Insurance Company Tower in Portland, Oregon. The Equitable building was one of the first fully industrialized, international-style skyscrapers in the United States. Measured by the respect of his peers, Belluschi’s influence is readily apparent; he won the Gold Medal of the American Institute of Architects in 1972 and also served as dean of the M.I.T. School of Architecture. He was not only internationally known but also a fine regional architect specializing in the wood-frame modern idiom of the Pacific Northwest. Clausen’s (architectural history, Univ. of Washington) research is meticulous and her writing engaging. Recommended for larger public and academic architecture collections.
Peter Kaufman, Boston Architectural Ctr.