Classicists Double the Stakes

It was announced last week that philanthropist Richard Driehaus has doubled the dollar amount for the annual Driehaus Prize, the counter-Pritzker recognizing anti-modernist architects, from $100,000 to $200,000. The Henry Hope Read award, given to classical supporters who are not architects, also doubles, to $50,000.

Both awards are administered by the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture. The jury for the 2008 award, whose recipients are to be named later this month, included Driehaus, Notre Dame architecture dean Michael Lykoudis, and New Yorker architecture critic Paul Goldberger, among others. Last year's winner was Jaquelin T. Robertson, whose Charleston Judicial Center is show here. Other past receipients include Quinlan Terry, Demetri Porphyrios and Leon Krier.

Meanwhile, the opening of Driehaus' Museum of Decorative Arts in the restored Nickerson Mansion has been pushed back indefinitely. For a preview of its spectacular interiors, check out the photos accompanying this October Chicago Magazine profile of Driehaus here. You can also read Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin's interview with Richard Driehaus about his doubled efforts here.

Also this week, classicist Thomas Gordon Smith will be delivering The Classical Perspective, a talk about the "current reanimation of classical architecture", at a Landmarks Illinois Preservation Snapshots lecture 12:15 P.M. this Thursday, November 15th, at the Claudia Cassidy Theater at the Chicago Cultural Center, 77 East Randolph.