Harrison & Abramovitz (also known as Harrison, Fouilhoux & Abramovitz; Harrison, Abramovitz, & Abbe; and Harrison, Abramovitz, & Harris) was an American architectural firm based in New York and active from 1941 through 1976. The firm was a partnership of
Wallace Harrison and
Max Abramovitz.
History
The firm, founded in 1941 by
Wallace Harrison (1895–1981),[1]J. André Fouilhoux (1879–1945),[2]Max Abramovitz (1908–2004),[3] was best known for modernist corporate towers on the East coast and Midwestern cities. Most are straightforward. One notable stylistic innovation was the use of stamped metal panels on the facade, first at the 1953
Alcoa Building in
Pittsburgh, and repeated at the 1953
Republic Center Tower I in Dallas and the 1956 former
Socony–Mobil Building at 150 East 42nd Street in New York City.[4][5]
Both Harrison and Abramovitz were design architects and worked independently. Some projects are clearly attributable to one or the other: for instance the buildings at
University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Abramovitz's alma mater, are his designs. Harrison's work at the
Empire State Plaza "commanded his attention almost exclusively" for 15 years, from 1962 through 1976,[7] which implies the other work of the partnership in that period is primarily attributable to Abramovitz. After 1976 Abramovitz partnered with others.
Also known by
The firm was also known as Harrison,
Fouilhoux & Abramovitz from 1941 through Fouilhoux's death in 1945, then as Harrison, Abramovitz, & Abbe, and finally as Harrison, Abramovitz, & Harris.
Several projects for
Brandeis University, including the general Master Plan (1950s), Three Chapels (1955), Slosberg Music Center (1957), Pearlman Hall (1957), Goldfarb Library (1959), Wien Faculty Center (1959),
Rose Art Museum (1961), Rapaporte Treasure Hall (1965), Spingold Theater (1965), and Sachar International Center[9]
^Bernstein, Gerald S (1999). Building & Campus: An Architectural Celebration of Brandeis University 50th Anniversary. Brandeis University Office of Publications. pp. 7, 32, 33, 36, 39, 56, 57.
ISBN0-9620545-1-8.
^A designated New York City Landmark. For designation report, see: Postal, Matthew A. Springs Mills Building, Manhattan, April 13, 2010.