# 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 and structures
### 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)