1961 in architecture

The year 1961 in architecture involved some significant architectural events and new buildings.

Events

 * December - Demolition of the Euston Arch in London begins.
 * Archigram is founded as an avant-garde architectural group based at the Architectural Association, London, and publishes its manifesto Archigram I. It will work through hypothetical projects and an associated magazine.
 * Ahrends, Burton and Koralek is formed as an architectural practice in London.
 * Building Design Partnership is formed in Preston, Lancashire.
 * St Eusebius' Church, Arnhem, Netherlands, is restored by Berend Tobia Boeyinga.
 * The first apartment blocks in Hungary of Panelház (large panel building) construction are erected in Dunaújváros.
 * Construction of Jatiyo Sangsad Bhaban (house of the national parliament of Bangladesh) in Dhaka, designed by Louis Kahn, begins.
 * Double tee beams are first used by Gene Leedy in constructing his own office at Winter Haven, Florida.

Buildings opened

 * February 6 - Olin Library at Cornell University, designed by Warner, Burns, Toan & Lunde, opens.
 * March 11 - Benton Park School, Leeds, England, designed by Sir John Burnet, Tait and Partners, formally opened.
 * May 17 - Guildford Cathedral, England, designed by Sir Edward Maufe, dedicated.
 * May 18 - The Henninger Turm in Frankfurt, Germany, designed by Karl Leiser, inaugurated.
 * September 17 - The Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, United States, designed by Mitchell and Ritchey, is completed (demolished 2011-2012).
 * October 17 - The Kremlin Palace of Congresses in Moscow, Soviet Union, designed by a team led by M. Posokhin.
 * November 20 - Dungeness Lighthouse on the south coast of England, designed by Philip W. Hunt (engineer) and Ronald Ward and Partners (architects), illuminated.
 * December 17 - New Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church (Gedächtniskirche) in Berlin, designed by Egon Eiermann, consecrated.
 * date unknown - Rose Art Museum in Waltham, Massachusetts, designed by Harrison & Abramovitz.

Buildings completed

 * December 8 - The Space Needle in Seattle, Washington, United States, designed by Edward Carlson, John Graham and Victor Steinbrueck.
 * date unknown
 * Hyvinkää Church in Hyvinkää, Finland, designed by Aarno Ruusuvuori.
 * The Palazzo del Lavoro and Palazzetto dello sport in Turin, designed by Pier Luigi Nervi.
 * One Chase Manhattan Plaza in New York City, United States, designed by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill.
 * The Empress State Building in London, England, designed by Stone, Toms & Partners.
 * Brasenose College, Oxford, England, Staircases 16, 17 and 18, designed by Powell and Moya.
 * Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, England, Wolfson Quadrangle library and entrance, designed by Raymond Erith.
 * Yokohama Marine Tower in Yokohama, Japan.
 * Chungking Mansions in Hong Kong, China.
 * Park Hill Flats, Sheffield, England, designed by Jack Lynn and Ivor Smith.
 * Keelson (house for Olga Kennard), Hills Avenue, Cambridge, England, designed by Danish architect Eric Sørensen.
 * Embassy of the United States, Baghdad, Iraq, designed by Josep Lluís Sert, is completed (abandoned 1990).
 * Michael Faraday Memorial at Elephant and Castle in London, designed by Rodney Gordon.
 * Service station with hyperbolic paraboloid concrete shell roof at Markham Moor, Nottinghamshire, England, designed by Sam Scorer.

Publications

 * Jane Jacobs - The Death and Life of Great American Cities
 * Lewis Mumford - The City in History
 * Gordon Cullen - The Concise Townscape

Awards

 * AIA Gold Medal - Le Corbusier.
 * RAIA Gold Medal - Louis Laybourne-Smith.
 * RIBA Royal Gold Medal - Lewis Mumford.
 * Rome Prize - Max Abramovitz

Births

 * July - Simon Allford, English architect
 * November 18 - Dietmar Feichtinger, Austrian architect based in Paris
 * Patrik Schumacher, German-born architect

Deaths

 * January 5 - Yehuda Magidovitch, Israeli architect (born 1886)
 * July 18 - Olaf Andreas Gulbransson, German architect (born 1916)
 * August 3 - Gilbert Stanley Underwood, American architect best known for his National Park lodges (born 1880)
 * September 1 - Eero Saarinen, Finnish architect and industrial designer (born 1910)
 * September 16 - Walter Godfrey, English architectural historian and architect (born 1881)
 * October 19 - Jan Buijs, Dutch architect (born 1889)
 * December 13 - Henry Hornbostel, American architect and educator (born 1867)