Big Red/Meier White: A Cornell story of architect Richard Meier '56

Abstract

This video features Cornell-educated architect Richard A. Meier, class of 1956, founder of the architectural firm Richard Meier & Partners Architects. Created in honor of Meier's 50th Reunion in June 2006, the video is illustrated with vintage photos of Meier's days on the hill, his friends in college, his family, and his earliest projects including his first houses. Meier is heard describing why he selected Cornell, telling about his years as an architecture student as well as his friendships with ZBT fraternity brother Marc Meshorer and Profs Arch and Esther Dotson for whom he did an Ithaca house very early in his career. There is spectacular video footage of his most famous work, the billion dollar Getty Center, combined with voice-over from a 1992 Cornell University lecture by Meier in which he describes his architecture. Meier and architect Peter Eisenman '54 describe the origin of The New York Five (The Whites.) Meier's continued connection to Cornell is described with mention of the design of the new Cornell Life Science Technology Building and with brief commentary and appearances from his Cornell architecture classmates, fraternity brothers, and Cornell friends.