User:JPRiley/Platt

William & Geoffrey Platt was an American architectural firm established in 1934 in New York City by brothers William Platt (February 6, 1897 – April 30, 1984) and Geoffrey Platt  (August 6, 1905 – July 12, 1985). The brothers, sons of architect Charles A. Platt (October 16, 1861 – September 12, 1933), established their partnership to succeed the practice of their father, who had died in 1933.

History and biography
William Platt was born February 6, 1897 in New York City to architect Charles A. Platt and his wife, Eleanor (Hardy) Platt. He was educated at Harvard University, graduating in 1919, followed by an architectural education at Columbia University, graduating with a BArch in 1923. He then joined his father's office as a drafter.

Geoffrey Platt was born August 6, 1905 in Cornish, New Hampshire, about eight years after his brother. Like his brother he was educated at Harvard and Columbia, graduating with the same degrees in 1927 and 1930, respectively. After his Columbia graduation he was awarded the Schermerhorn fellowship, which allowed him to study and travel in Europe for a year.

In 1933 the brothers became junior partners in their father's firm, which was then renamed Charles A. Platt, William & Geoffrey Platt. Upon their father's death later that year, the brothers reorganized the firm as William & Geoffrey Platt. The brothers continued their partnership until 1972, when William retired. Geoffrey continued with partners Ferdinand L. Wyckoff Jr. and Kenneth D. Coles under the name Platt, Wyckoff & Coles. Geoffrey later retired from the partnership but was retained as a consultant. William Platt died April 30, 1984, followed by Geoffrey on July 12, 1985.

Wyckoff and Coles retired in 1992, and the firm was continued under the direction of Page Ayres Cowley. As of 2023, she continues to head the practice, known as Page Ayres Cowley Architecture.

Architecture and legacy
The brothers were well known in the American architectural and design communities. Both members of the American Institute of Architects, William and Geoffrey were elected Fellows of the AIA in 1951 and 1953, respectively. Cowley would earn the same distinction in 2001. William and Geoffrey were elected to associate membership in the National Academy of Design in 1942 and 1975, with William being elevated to full membership in 1948.

Both brothers were designers, but Geoffrey had a focus on preservation. When the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission was formally established in 1965, Geoffrey was its first chair, serving until 1968, when he stepped down to become vice chair. As a leader of the early preservation movement, Geoffrey later stated that he wamted to make preservation credible by "weaving a way between zealots who would save everything and those who wanted to destroy what they wished." Under his leadership after William's retirement the firm developed its focus on preservation. His preservation projects included the restoration of the Bow Bridge in Central Park (1974).

Like their father the Platt brothers were committed traditionalists, preferring the Colonial Revival and other revival styles. A rare exception was their 1937 showroom and office building in New York City for the Steuben Glass Works, a Moderne design showcasing new materials. Lewis Mumford labeled it "simple and excellent" but found fault in the inclusion of old fashioned figurative sculpture by Sidney Waugh, which led Talbot Hamlin to judge it "a definite disappointment." In 1953, writing about their proposed Lamont House dormitory for Smith College, William noted that he found modern architecture "cold and impersonal." It was not until circa 1960 that they began designing modernist buildings, at the urging of Smith president Thomas C. Mendenhall and professor Henry-Russell Hitchcock. Nonetheless much of their continued output was traditional.

William Platt's son, Charles Adams Platt II (May 16, 1932 – August 10, 2020) was also an architect. Unlike his father he declined to join the family practice and cofounded the firm of Smotrich & Platt in New York City in 1965. In contrast to the family practice, this firm quickly began winning awards for their distinctive modern buildings, such as Exodus House (1968) in New York City, which was recipient of an AIA National Honor Award in 1969, though he shared with his father and uncle a strong interest in preservation. When Smotrich & Platt was dissolved in 1985 he continued as Charles A. Platt Partners, which was renamed Platt Byard Dovell Architects following the additions of Paul Byard in 1989 and Ray Dovell in 1990. Later works of the younger Platt include the New 42nd Street building (2001) in New York City. In 2002 the firm merged with Buttrick White & Burtis to form Platt Byard Dovell White Architects, and is now known as PBDW Architects. Platt died in 2020 at the Platt family compound in Cornish, New Hampshire.

William & Geoffrey Platt, 1934–1972

 * 1937 – Steuben Glass Works building, 718 Fifth Ave, New York City
 * Altered beyond recognition after a 1959 sale to Harry Winston, Inc.
 * 1942 – Longue Vue, 7 Bamboo Rd, New Orleans
 * Ellen Biddle Shipman, landscape architect. NRHP-listed.
 * 1948 – Dining Hall, Deerfield Academy, Deerfield, Massachusetts
 * 1951 – Memorial Hall, Deerfield Academy, Deerfield, Massachusetts
 * Known as the Hess Center for the Arts since a 2014 renovation.
 * 1952 – Chapel additions, Suresnes American Cemetery and Memorial, Suresnes, Hauts-de-Seine, France
 * 1955 – Helen Hills Hills Chapel, Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts
 * 1955 – Lamont House, Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts
 * 1958 – National Academy School of Fine Arts, 5 E 89th St, New York City
 * The former school of the National Academy of Design.
 * 1959 – Lakewold, 12317 Gravelly Lake Dr SW, Lakewood, Washington
 * Thomas Church, landscape architect. NRHP-listed.
 * 1960 – Faculty Club, Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts
 * 1961 – Wright Hall, Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts
 * 1962 – Mount Kisco Public Library, 100 E Main St, Mount Kisco, New York
 * Demolished in 2007.
 * 1963 – Barton Dorm, Deerfield Academy, Deerfield, Massachusetts
 * 1963 – John N. Irwin II house, 848 Weed St, New Canaan, Connecticut
 * This property, now Irwin Park, also includes the modernist Gores Pavilion (1959) by Landis Gores.
 * 1964 – MacArthur Memorial, 198 Bank St, Norfolk, Virginia
 * A memorial to General Douglas MacArthur within the gutted shell of the former Norfolk City Hall.
 * 1964 – Rye City Hall, 1051 Boston Post Rd, Rye, New York
 * 1965 – Cleveland Botanical Garden, 11030 East Blvd, Cleveland
 * 1966 – Mellon Center for the Arts, Bennett College, Millbrook, New York
 * Demolished.
 * 1967 – Chrysler Museum of Art Houston wing, 1 Memorial Pl, Norfolk, Virginia
 * 1968 – Clay House, Middlesex School, Concord, Massachusetts
 * 1969 – Boyden Library, Deerfield Academy, Deerfield, Massachusetts
 * 1969 – Senior faculty apartments, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey
 * 1970 – Warburg Library, Middlesex School, Concord, Massachusetts
 * 1972 – LuEsther T. Mertz Library Watson addition, New York Botanical Garden, the Bronx

Platt, Wyckoff & Coles, 1972–1992

 * 1975 – Wood Theatre and Arts Center, Middlesex School, Concord, Massachusetts
 * Known as the Bass Arts Pavilion since a 2019 renovation.
 * 1976 – Pierpont Morgan Library annex addition, 225 Madison Ave, New York City
 * Demolished to make way for the Renzo Piano designed expansion, completed in 2006.
 * 1978 – Clay Science Center, Middlesex School, Concord, Massachusetts

Smotrich & Platt, 1965–1985

 * 1968 – Exodus House, 309 E 103rd St, New York City
 * Demolished.
 * 1984 – Gracie Mansion restoration, East End Ave, New York City
 * 1985 – New York City Police Department 49th Precinct 2121 Eastchester Rd, the Bronx

Charles A. Platt Partners, 1985–1989

 * 1987 – Bridge Harbor Heights Condominiums, 65-71 Polar St, Brooklyn

Platt Byard Dovell Architects, 1995–2002

 * 1996 – Chanel Building, 15 E 57th St, New York City
 * 2001 – New 42nd Street, 229 W 42nd St, New York City

Platt Byard Dovell White Architects, from 2002

 * 2004 – 47 East 91st Street, 47 E 91st St, New York City
 * 2005 – 50 Madison Park, 50 Madison Ave, New York City
 * 2006 – Hillside Mausoleum, Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn
 * 2006 – Reece School, 25 E 104th St, New York City
 * 2007 – Broadway + 110, 545 W 110th St, New York City
 * 2007 – Tranquility Garden, Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn