PlanPhilly: Planning Philadelphia's Future

No registration required.

Claude Bragdon (1866-1946) is a long-overlooked American architect who contributed significantly to modernism in architecture. To date, little consideration has been given to this architect and, in particular, to Bragdon’s influence on modern conceptions of space through his works on architectural theory, most notably The Beautiful Necessity: Seven Essays on Theosophy and Architecture (1910). By illuminating the past with the goal of informing the future, this talk will show how the beautiful necessity is present in Bragdon’s work, will place his architectural theory alongside his contemporaries, will discuss transcendentalist influences on philosophy and architecture, and will demonstrate the beautiful necessity in context with the development of modern architecture. Join author Eugenia Victoria Ellis, PhD, AIA (architect and assosiate professor at Drexel University) as she discusses her new book on Bragdon. The author will be available to sign books, which will be for sale in the AIA Bookstore during this event.