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Paul Thiry (architect)

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Name
  
Paul Thiry

Books
  
Eskimo artifacts

Died
  
June 27, 1993

Role
  
Architect




Structures
  
Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI), Frye Art Museum

Education
  
University of Washington

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Paul Thiry (1904–1993) was an American architect most active in Washington state, known as the father of architectural modernism in the Pacific Northwest. Thiry designed "some of the best period buildings around the state of Washington during the 1950, 60s and 70s."

Contents

Paul Thiry (architect) Seattle DJCcom local business news and data

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Life

Thiry was born in Nome, Alaska, of French parents. He was a 1928 graduate of the architecture school at the University of Washington and studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in France traveled in Europe and met Le Corbusier, before returning to Seattle in 1935.

Paul Thiry (architect) httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommons44

He designed his own house upon his return but had few commissions in the 1930s. Those he built "showed a clear understanding of the European International Style in his use of spare, geometric forms, clean lines, and new building technologies."

Paul Thiry (architect) Thiry Paul Albert 19041993 HistoryLinkorg

Thiry came to national attention in 1937 with a cement-based stuccoed residence for a manager at Portland Cement, Frank J. Barrett. The innovative house was published in The Modern House in America in 1940: the garage and house formed two rectangles, with a "smooth, undecorated exterior", its doors and windows flush with the surface. Steel window frames were painted blue-green, and glass-brick was used around the entry and along the walls of the partly sunken living room.

Thiry served as supervising architect for the Seattle World's Fair, responsible for the overall plan and coordinating the work of contributors like John Graham Jr. (for the Space Needle), Minoru Yamasaki, and the landscape architect Lawrence Halprin. Thiry's own designs for the fair included the Washington State Pavilion, now the KeyArena.

Thiry has been compared to other modernists in the Northwest such as Pietro Belluschi (1899–1994) and John Yeon (1910–1994). Thiry is quoted as having said that "Buildings should be good neighbors." He is credited with being "instrumental" to introducing International Style architecture in Seattle.

Lewis and Clark College

Paul Thiry (architect) Thiry Paul Albert 19041993 HistoryLinkorg

Thiry designed the Agnes Flanagan Chapel, the Watzek Library, and the Biology-Psychology Building at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon.

Paul Thiry (architect) Thiry Paul Albert 19041993 HistoryLinkorg

The Flanagan chapel is "a creatively designed 16-sided structure" with an 85-rank Casavant Frères organ and seating for 600 people. According to the Lewis and Clark website the building "serves as a meeting place for lectures, musical performances, and religious services. The entry is a bridge flanked by Northwest Coast Indian-style statues depicting the four evangelists (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) created by the native artist Chief Lelooska.

Projects

Paul Thiry (architect) PCAD Paul Albert Thiry Sr

  • Paul Thiry residence (1935–1936)
  • Frank J. Barrett residence (1937)
  • Thiry architectural office, 800 Columbia Street (1946)
  • Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) (1952) at 2700 24th Avenue East in Seattle, Washington
  • Frye Art Museum (1952) at 704 Terry Avenue in Seattle (later remodeled and expanded)
  • Washington State Library, Olympia, Washington, 1959
  • U.S. Embassy Residence, Santiago, Chile, 1961
  • Nalley's Fine Food pavilion (1961)
  • supervising architect for Seattle's Century 21 Exposition, along with his own design for the Washington State Pavilion, now the KeyArena (1961)
  • Delta Upsilon chapter house, Washington Chapter, Seattle, Washington (1967).
  • Watzek Library (1968) and the Agnes Flanagan Chapel (1969) at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon
  • concrete sanctuary addition to the North Slope section, Christ Episcopal Church, Tacoma, Washington (1970)
  • consulting architect for the Libby Dam project, Libby, Montana (1975)
  • References

    Paul Thiry (architect) Wikipedia