Hasta La Ideas

Back in the summer of 2009, legendary architect Charles Gwathmey seemed to pass away in perhaps the best way possible (well, in so far as dying can go). You’ll recall that he passed less than a year after christening his addition to Yale‘s Art and Architecture building, wherein he was given the chance to build upon the work of a legend before him, Paul Rudolph. In the two years since his death, and after his archives were sent to Yale, the question has been what might happen to his longstanding firm, the aptly named Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects, given that it was co-founded with partner Robert Siegel. Now there’s an answer by way of adding another name to that title. The NY Times reports that high-profile architect in his own right, Gene Kaufman, has taken over a majority stake in the firm and it’s soon set to be renamed Gwathmey Siegel Kaufman & Associates. As of this writing, neither of the firms‘ websites have reflected the change yet, and according to the report, it appears things might stay that way, with the two staying relatively independent from one another, other than Kaufman now leading the charge on both fronts. Here’s a bit:

Mr. Kaufman’s own firm will retain its name, Gene Kaufman Architect (GKA). In addition to serving as the principal of the new Gwathmey Siegel, Mr. Kaufman will serve as the chief executive of both firms. Mr. Siegel will continue in a leadership role at the firm. “We wanted to increase the body of new work,” Mr. Siegel said. “Our design expertise combined with his development expertise will make projects more likely to happen economically but also be much more exciting from an architectural point of view.”

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