Diane Lewis. Open City. An Existential Urbanity

Open City is an anthology of studio projects by students of the acclaimed architect Diane Lewis. The drawings and models are accompanied by essays on the city as a work of architecture and art, by international architects and artists who have participated in this work. This collection of studio work on the architecture of the city as conducted by Lewis and her studio team extends the legacy of Cooper Union's seminal Education of an Architect, volumes one and two. This compendium of 12 years of education is being published on the occasion of the Frederick and Lillian Kiesler Foundation's first Young Kiesler Award to Lewis and her studio team. Diane Lewis received her Bachelor of Architecture from The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture at The Cooper Union. Diane Lewis Architects, New York was founded in 1983, after her formative experience in design and urban planning work at the office of Richard Meier from 1977-78, followed by six years at I.M. Pei and Partners from 1978-83, under Jim Freed, as curtain wall and senior designer on 499 Park Avenue, MIT and the Jacob Javits Convention Center. Lewis was 2006 recipient of the Gehry International Chair in Design, University of Toronto, and the 2007 Brunner Grant from the AIA New York Chapter; in 2008 she received the National Design Award from the Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt in recognition of the first 25 years of her independent architectural practice. This award was coincident with the 2007 publication of the monograph of architectural work, Diane Lewis: Inside-Out. Lewis lives and works in Manhattan.