Bertrand Goldberg
*17. 7. 1913 – Chicago, USA
†8. 10. 1997 – Chicago, USA
Biography
Bertrand Goldberg was an American architect and designer, best known for his pair of sixty-story towers, Marina City (1961-64), in downtown Chicago, which were the tallest reinforced concrete buildings in the world at the time of their completion. He studied landscape architecture at a school in Cambridge (now part of Harvard University) and in 1932 went to Germany for the Bauhaus, while also working in the studio of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Due to political instability, he moved to Paris in 1933 and subsequently returned to Chicago, where he worked with modernist architects George F. Keck, Paul Schweikher, and Howard T. Fisher. In the 1930s, he was present at the famous meeting between F.L. Wright and L.M. van der Rohe at Taliesin. Among his friends was also the painter Josef Albers, who was his teacher at the Bauhaus. In 1937, Goldberg opened his own studio in Chicago, which became renowned for its innovative solutions to complex structural challenges. One of his first projects was a chain of ice cream stores called North Pole, where he devised a prefabricated system that allowed for the quick disassembly of the store and inexpensive transportation to another location. In addition to prefabricated houses and furniture, he also designed cars and a mobile vaccination laboratory. He collaborated on some projects with Richard B. Fuller. In 1946, he married Nancy Florsheim, the granddaughter of the shoemaker Milton S. Florsheim, with whom he had three children.
His most famous project, Marina City situated along the Chicago River, earned the nickname "corncobs," which, in addition to housing and parking, also included office spaces, a theater, a public square, a marina, an ice rink, and a bowling alley. Following the success of Marina City, Goldberg secured many other large contracts for hospitals, scientific and medical complexes, schools, and other public institutions. In his later years, Goldberg focused on the construction of social housing and published articles on historical and cultural issues in cities.
Bertrand Goldberg was an American architect and designer, best known for his pair of sixty-story towers, Marina City (1961-64), in downtown Chicago, which were the tallest reinforced concrete buildings in the world at the time of their completion. He studied landscape architecture at a school in Cambridge (now part of Harvard University) and in 1932 went to Germany for the Bauhaus, while also working in the studio of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Due to political instability, he moved to Paris in 1933 and subsequently returned to Chicago, where he worked with modernist architects George F. Keck, Paul Schweikher, and Howard T. Fisher. In the 1930s, he was present at the famous meeting between F.L. Wright and L.M. van der Rohe at Taliesin. Among his friends was also the painter Josef Albers, who was his teacher at the Bauhaus. In 1937, Goldberg opened his own studio in Chicago, which became renowned for its innovative solutions to complex structural challenges. One of his first projects was a chain of ice cream stores called North Pole, where he devised a prefabricated system that allowed for the quick disassembly of the store and inexpensive transportation to another location. In addition to prefabricated houses and furniture, he also designed cars and a mobile vaccination laboratory. He collaborated on some projects with Richard B. Fuller. In 1946, he married Nancy Florsheim, the granddaughter of the shoemaker Milton S. Florsheim, with whom he had three children.
His most famous project, Marina City situated along the Chicago River, earned the nickname "corncobs," which, in addition to housing and parking, also included office spaces, a theater, a public square, a marina, an ice rink, and a bowling alley. Following the success of Marina City, Goldberg secured many other large contracts for hospitals, scientific and medical complexes, schools, and other public institutions. In his later years, Goldberg focused on the construction of social housing and published articles on historical and cultural issues in cities.
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