Coy Howard introduces Stanley Saitowitz

Saitowitz begins his lecture with an explanation of San Francisco, its landscape, diversity, history and the relationship of these to his work. He continues with a presentation of residential projects throughout Northern California. He views these projects as lenses which bring the site and its specific qualities into focus. His more recent residential works explore a “bar house” parti, in which the site is occupied with minimal divisions.

Saitowitz proceeds with his lecture, discussing several urban projects through which he has attempted to challenge conservative decision-making in the San Francisco zoning office. He presents a building which took advantage of code allowing for sectional inclusion of outdoor space in the Floor Area Ratio in addition to integrating a structural type which allows for greater programmatic flexibility. He goes on to show his work on several lager-scale urban complexes which integrate post-tensioned structural members and describes continued navigating around zoning roadblocks.

Saitowitz describes a park in Indiana which integrates elements derived from site and program requirements. The original attempt was to draw the city into the park, but as the park became a popular primary destination the project was expanded in order to draw park-goers into the city. He goes on to present a continuous yet programmatically and organizationally modulating light/bench/wall system along the Embarcadero in San Francisco. The project’s unforseen appeal to skateboarders lead to a skatepark commission in Kentucky. This park utilizes continuous surface movement which integrates interior and exterior spaces. The park provides a link to the surrounding modes of movement as skaters flow above internal spaces at the level of an adjacent highway.

Saitowitz concludes his lecture with a presentation of a synagogue and ceremonial objects and his New England Holocaust Memorial. Saitowitz reads a text which explains his intention to materialize a connection between the memorial and Boston’s Freedom Trail. He concludes describing the combination of memories and materials in the project.