Michael Sorkin

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American architect (1948–2020)

title: "Michael Sorkin" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1948-births", "2020-deaths", "mit-school-of-architecture-and-planning-alumni", "columbia-graduate-school-of-arts-and-sciences-alumni", "american-urban-planners", "deaths-from-the-covid-19-pandemic-in-new-york-(state)", "jewish-american-architects", "urban-theorists", "american-architecture-writers", "architecture-critics", "architecture-educators", "american-male-non-fiction-writers", "modernist-architecture", "architectural-design", "columbia-university-faculty", "the-nation-(u.s.-magazine)-people", "architects-from-washington,-d.c.", "university-of-chicago-alumni", "cooper-union-faculty"] description: "American architect (1948–2020)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Sorkin" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American architect (1948–2020) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox architect"]

FieldValue
nameMichael Sorkin
imageMichael Sorkin.jpg
nationalityAmerican
birth_nameMichael David Sorkin
birth_date
birth_placeWashington, D.C., U.S.
death_date
death_placeManhattan, New York City, U.S.
spouse
occupationArchitect, urban designer, writer, educator
practiceMichael Sorkin Studio
::

| name = Michael Sorkin | image = Michael Sorkin.jpg | mother = | father = | nationality = American | birth_name = Michael David Sorkin | birth_date = | birth_place = Washington, D.C., U.S. | death_date = | death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S. | spouse = | occupation = Architect, urban designer, writer, educator | practice = Michael Sorkin Studio | significant_buildings = | significant_projects = Michael David Sorkin (August 2, 1948 – March 26, 2020) was an American architectural and urban critic, designer, and educator. He was considered to be "one of architecture's most outspoken public intellectuals", a polemical voice in contemporary culture and the design of urban places at the turn of the twenty-first century. Sorkin first rose to prominence as an architectural critic for the Village Voice in New York City, a post which he held for a decade throughout the 1980s. In the ensuing years, he taught at prominent universities around the world, practiced through his eponymous firm, established a nonprofit book press, and directed the urban design program at the City College of New York. He died at age 71 from COVID-19 complications.

Early life and education

Sorkin was born in Washington, D.C., in 1948. He was an architect and urbanist whose practice spanned design, planning, criticism, and teaching. Sorkin received a bachelor's degree from the University of Chicago in 1969, and a masters in architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.Arch '74). Sorkin also held a master's degree in English from Columbia University (MA '70). He was founding principal of the Michael Sorkin Studio**,** a New York-based global design practice with special interests in urban planning, urban design and green urbanism.

Career

Early career

Sorkin was house architecture critic for The Village Voice in the 1980s, and he authored numerous articles and books on the subjects of contemporary architecture, design, cities, and the role of democracy in architecture.

Academia

Sorkin was an educator at the collegiate level. He held positions of professor of urbanism and director of Institute of Urbanism of the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna from 1993 to 2000, He was a visiting professor to many schools, including, for ten years, the Cooper Union in New York. Sorkin also held the Hyde Chair at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Architecture, the Davenport Chair at Yale University School of Architecture, and the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Eliel Saarinen Visiting Professorship, University of Michigan. He was a guest lecturer and critic at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, Harvard Graduate School of Design, Cornell University College of Architecture, Art, and Planning, University of Illinois: Urbana Champaign, Aarhus School of Architecture, Copenhagen, Denmark, and the London Consortium. He also taught at a number of institutions, including Columbia University, London's Architectural Association, and Harvard University.

Dedicated to architectural education for social change, Sorkin oversaw fieldwork in distressed environments such as Johannesburg, South Africa and Havana, Cuba. He co-organized "Project New Orleans" with collaborators Carol McMichael Reese and Anthony Fontenot, to support the post-Katrina city. In 2008, Sorkin was appointed Distinguished Professor of Architecture of the City University of New York.

Design practice

He was a principal in the Michael Sorkin Studio. The studio in New York City focuses primarily on professional practice in the urban public realm. Sorkin designed environmental projects in Hamburg, Germany, and proposed master plans for the Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem, and the Brooklyn waterfront and Queens Plaza in New York City. His urban studies have been the subject of gallery exhibits, and in 2010, he received the American Academy of Arts and Letters award in architecture. Sorkin presented regularly at regional, national, and international conferences, and he served as adviser and juror on numerous professional committees, including The Guggenheim Helsinki Design Competition, The Aga Khan Trust for Culture's Aga Khan Award for Architecture, Chrysler Design Award, the New York City Chapter of the American Institute of Architecture, Architectural League of New York, and in the area of design writing and commentary, for Core 77.

Sorkin was the co-president of the Institute for Urban Design, an education and advocacy organization, and vice president of the Urban Design Forum in New York.

Urban planning projects (selection)

  • 1994: Masterplan for the Brooklyn Waterfront.
  • 1994: Proposal for Südraum Leipzig
  • 1998: Alternative University of Chicago campus masterplan.
  • 2001: Proposal for Arverne Urban Renewal Area on the Rockaway peninsula, Queens, N.Y.
  • 2001: A Plan For Lower Manhattan.
  • 2004: Project for Penang Peaks, Penang, Malaysia.
  • 2005: Masterplan for New City, Chungcheong, South Korea.
  • 2009: Seven Star Hotel, Tianjin Highrise Building, Tianjin, China.
  • 2010: Case Study: Feeding New York in New York. 3rd International Holcim Forum 2010 in Mexico City.
  • 2010: Plan for Lower Manhattan. Exhibition, Our Cities Ourselves: The Future of Transportation in Urban Life Center for Architecture, Greenwich Village, N.Y.
  • 2012: concept for Xi'an, China Airport Office Building
  • 2013: 28+: MOMA PS1 Rockaway.
  • 2013: New York City Football Stadium Site Survey.
  • 2013: An alternative proposal for NYU.

Writing and publishing

Sorkin had a broad career as an architecture writer. He wrote on the topics of contemporary architecture and urban dynamics, along the dimensions of environmentalism, sustainability, pedestrianization, public space, urban culture, and the legacy of modernist approaches to urban planning. He was a member of the International Committee of Architectural Critics. For ten years, Sorkin was architecture critic for The Village Voice, and he wrote for Architectural Record, The New York Times, The Architectural Review, Metropolis, Mother Jones, Vanity Fair, the Wall Street Journal, Architectural Review, and The Nation. As a volume editor, he organized multi-authored publications, and he contributed essays to a range of architecture publications. He also authored 20 books.

Legacy

Death

Sorkin died on March 26, 2020, from complications brought on by COVID-19 in Manhattan. His death was among the design profession's most prominent losses during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic — making news internationally and met with an outpouring of tributes and obituaries in mainstream, leftist, and architectural media.

Awards and recognitions

Bibliography

Books

  • Sorkin, M. & Beede Howe, M. (1981) Go Blow Your Nose. New York: St. Martin's Press.
  • Sorkin, M. (1991) Exquisite Corpse: Writing on Buildings. London: Verso.
  • Sorkin, M. (1993) Local Code: The Constitution of a City at 42° N Latitude. New York: Princeton Architectural Press. (1993)
  • Sorkin, M. (1997) Traffic In Democracy. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan College of Architecture and Urban Planning.
  • Sorkin, M. (2001) Some Assembly Required. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
  • Sorkin, M. (2002) *Pamphlet Architecture 22 : Other Plans: University of Chicago Studies, 1998–2000.*New York: Princeton Architectural Press.
  • Sorkin, M. (2003) Starting From Zero: Reconstructing Downtown New York. New York : Routledge.
  • Sorkin, M. (ed.) (2005) "Against the Wall: Israel's Barrier to Peace." New York : Norton.
  • Sorkin, M. (2008) Indefensible Space : The Architecture of the National Insecurity State. New York : Routledge.
  • Sorkin, M. (2009) Twenty Minutes in Manhattan. London: Reaktion.
  • Sorkin, M. (2011) All Over The Map: Writing on Buildings and Cities. London: Verso.
  • Sorkin, M. (2018) What Goes Up: The Right and Wrongs to the City London: Verso.

Editor, contributor, selected

Source:

  • Sorkin, M., "The Domestic Apparatus." In Ranalli, G., "George Ranalli : buildings and projects." Princeton Architectural Press, 1988.
  • Sorkin, M., "Ciao Manhattan." In Klotz, H. "New York architecture, 1970–1990." New York, N.Y: Rizzoli International, 1989. Publications.
  • Sorkin, M., "Forward." In Vanlaethem, F.,"Gaetano Pesce : architecture, design, art." New York : Rizzoli, 1989.
  • Sorkin, M., "Nineteen millennial mantras." In Noever, P.(ed.), "Architecture in transition: Between deconstruction and new modernism." Munich: Prestel, 1991.
  • Sorkin, M., "Introduction: Variations on a Theme Park." In Sorkin, M. (ed.), "Variations on a Theme Park : Scenes From The Few American City and the End of Public Space." Hill and Wang, 1992, pp. xi-xv.
  • Sorkin, M., "Preface." In "Hugh Hardy, Malcolm Holzman, and Norman Pfeiffer: Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates Buildings and projects, 1967–1992." New York: Rizzoli International, 1992.
  • Sorkin, M., "Ten for TEN." In TEN Arquitectos (Firm), "TEN Arquitectos: Enrique Norten, Bernardo Gómez-Pimienta." New York: Monacelli Press, 1998.
  • Sorkin, M., "Introduction: Traffic in Democracy." In Joan Copjec, (ed.), "Giving ground : the politics of propinquity." London: Verso, 1999.
  • Sorkin, M., "Frozen Light." In Friedman, M. (ed.), "Gehry talks : architecture + process." New York : Rizzoli, 1999.
  • Sorkin, M. "Measure of Comfort." In Chambers, K. & Sorkin, M.(eds.), "Comfort : reclaiming place in a virtual world." Cleveland, Ohio : Cleveland Center for Contemporary Art, 2001, pp. i-xi.
  • Sorkin, M., "The Center Cannot Hold." In Sorkin, S. & Zukin, S.(eds.), "After the World Trade Center: Rethinking New York City." New York City: Routledge, 2002.
  • Sorkin, M. (ed.), "The next Jerusalem: sharing the divided city." New York, NY: Monacelli Press, 2002.
  • Sorkin, M., "Sex, drugs, rock and roll, cars, dolphins, and architecture." In Lewallen, C., Seid, S., Lord, C., & Ant Farm (Design group)(eds.),"Ant Farm, 1968–1978." Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004.
  • Sorkin, M., "More or less." In Brown, D.J.(ed.),"The HOME House Project : the future of affordable housing," Winston Salem: Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, 2004.
  • Sorkin, M., "Lunch With Emilio." In Ambasz, E. & Dodds, J., (eds.), "Analyzing Ambasz." New York, Monacelli Press, 2004.
  • Sorkin, M., "With the Grain." In Sirefman, S., Sorkin, M.(eds.), "Whereabouts: New architecture with local identities." New York: Monacelli Press, 2004.
  • Sorkin, M., "The second greatest generation." In Saunders, W. S., & Frampton, K. "Commodification and spectacle in architecture: A Harvard design magazine reader." Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2005, pp. 22–33.
  • Sorkin, M., "Introduction: Saratoga Springs!," in Ranalli, G., "Saratoga, George Ranalli" San Rafael, Calif.: Oro Editions, 2009, pp. 6–11.
  • Sorkin, M., "Forward." In "Miguel Ángel Aragonés" New York: Rizzoli, 2013.
  • Sorkin, M., Essay. In Abbott, C., "In/formed by the land: The architecture of Carl Abbott." San Francisco, Calif.: Oro Editions, 2013.
  • Fontenot, A., McReese, C., Sorkin, M. (eds.), "New Orleans under Reconstruction: The Crisis of Planning." London: Verso, 2014.
  • Sorkin, M., "Preface." In Durán Calisto, A.M., Altwicker, M., Sorkin, M., (eds.), "Beyond Petropolis: Designing a Practical Utopia in Nueva Loja." Shinzen, China: Oscar Riera Ojeda Publishers, 2015.
  • Sorkin, M., Can China's Cities Survive? In：Terreform (ed.) Letters to the Leaders of China: Kongjian Yu and the Future of the Chinese, pp. 8–17.

References

References

  1. (February 3, 1982). "Michael Sorkin Weds Joan K. Copjec, Editor". New York Times.
  2. (March 28, 2020). "Michael Sorkin, architecture's brilliant sage, has died of complications from Covid-19". [[Quartz (publication).
  3. Giovannini, Joseph. (2020-03-29). "Michael Sorkin, 71, Dies; Saw Architecture as a Vehicle for Change". The New York Times.
  4. Caves, R. W.. (2004). "Encyclopedia of the City". Routledge.
  5. (March 27, 2020). "'Fierce and brilliant' architect and critic Michael Sorkin dies of coronavirus". [[Dezeen]].
  6. (March 27, 2020). "CORONAVIRUS CRISIS: Celebrated architect and critic Michael Sorkin dies from COVID-19 complications". [[Fast Company]].
  7. Pacheco, Antonio. (March 26, 2020). "Michael Sorkin, visionary and incisive architect, educator, critic, has passed away from COVID-19". Archinect News.
  8. (July 12, 2005). "Encyclopedia of the City". [[Routledge]].
  9. "The Design Future of New York as Seen by Urbanist Michael Sorkin". Cooper-Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum.
  10. (February 2004). "Everybody's A Critic: Michael Sorkin, AB'69".
  11. (2015). "Michael Sporkin: Architecture Critic".
  12. (July 7, 2009). "Vexed Village: An Architect's Daily Commute Inspires Sweeping Critique of City". The Observer.
  13. (1996). "A city nearby : Michael Sorkin summer studio 94, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna". Böhlau.
  14. (August 23, 2003). "The City Reader". Routledge.
  15. (2016). "The Hyde Chair of Excellence visiting faculty position honors the College's collaborative spirit and genuine interest in student learning and the pursuit of academic success.". University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
  16. (2016). "The William B. and Charlotte Shepherd Davenport Visiting Professorship of Architectural Design". Yale School of Architecture.
  17. "Architectural Association Critical Juncture CICA Session – Architectural Critics at the crossroads". AA School.
  18. "Writing Architecture: Christopher Hawthorne, Florencia Rodriguez, Michael Sorkin and Oliver Wainwright on criticism today; moderated by Michael Hays". Harvard Graduate School of Design.
  19. (November 18, 2014). "Michael Sorkin: How Green Was My City". Cornell University.
  20. "Keynote Presentation: Michael Sorkin, The City After Now. Plym Auditorium, Temple Buell Hall".
  21. "The Aarhus protocols : the Michael Sorkin Workshop at the Arkitektskolen Aarhus 2005 October 3rd – 8th".
  22. "Masters & Doctoral Programme in Humanities and Cultural Studies: Visiting Faculty". The London Consortium: a collaboration between the Architectural Association, Birkbeck College (University of London), the Institute of Contemporary Arts, Science Museum and TATE.
  23. (2014). "GRANTEE Carol McMichael Reese, Michael Sorkin & Anthony Fontenot". Graham Foundation.
  24. (January 31, 2008). "CUNY Board of Trustees Names Michael Sorkin Distinguished Professor of Architecture at CCNY". The City University of New York.
  25. (1998). "Michael Sorkin Studio : Wiggle". Monacelli Press.
  26. (April 15, 2015). "How Green Could New York Be?".
  27. "The American Academy of Arts and Letters Announces Newly Elected Members and Award Winners". The American Academy of Arts and Letters.
  28. (1989). "Michael Sorkin : model city". Artists Space, New York..
  29. (January 22, 2015). ""We Mean to Be Provocateurs": Michael Sorkin on the Next Helsinki Competition". Metropolis.
  30. (June 23, 2015). "AIANY Housing Awards Winner Symposium". AIA New York.
  31. (June 5, 2003). "Chrysler Design Awards Dropped After 10 Years". [[The New York Times]].
  32. "2×4, GRADE, Hargreaves, Andre Kikoski, and Sorkin Studio & Terreform". The Architectural League of New york.
  33. (March 12, 2012). "Core77 Design Awards 2012: Meet the Jury, Alice Twemlow – Design Writing and Commentary". Core 77.
  34. "Urban Design Forum: Leadership". Urban Design Forum.
  35. (2002). "Beyond the Edge: New York's New Waterfront". Princeton Architectural Press.
  36. (2004). "Extreme Sites". Wiley Academy.
  37. (2002). "Pamphlet Architecture 22: Other Plans: University Chicago Studies Michael Sorkin Studio". Princeton Architectural Press.
  38. "Arverne: Housing on the Edge". The Architectural League NY.
  39. "Witness and Response: September 11 Acquisitions at the Library of Congress". The Library of Congress: Prints and Photographs Division.
  40. (June 11, 2012). "The Shape of The Green: : Aesthetics, Ecology, and Design". Island Press.
  41. (2014). "The Greening of Architecture". Ashgate Publishing, Limited.
  42. (May 2013). "Origin of Species". Architectural Design.
  43. (2010). "Re-inventing construction". Ruby.
  44. (June 15, 2010). "Imagining Lower Manhattan Without Cars". The Wall Street Journal.
  45. "Cooper Hewitt Names New Director and Announces National Design Awards". Architect Magazine: The Journal of the American Institute of Architects.
  46. (June 28, 2013). "28+: MOMA PS1 Rockaway Call for Ideas Winning Proposal / Michael Sorkin Studio". ArchDaily.
  47. (July 13, 2005). "Ten Better Places for a Football Stadium". The Architect's Newspaper.
  48. (April 9, 2013). "Michael Sorkin Studio". The Architect's Newspaper.
  49. "Members". Comité International des Critiques d'Architecture.
  50. (November 16, 2005). "Feature: On Criticism". The Architect's Newspaper.
  51. "Everybody's a critic: Michael Sorkin, AB'69". University of Chicago Magazine.
  52. (May 20, 2013). "The Design Future of New York as Seen by Urbanist Michael Sorkin: A theorist who can't stop planning has big ideas for his hometown on sustainability, equity and the right to the city". Smithsonia Magazine.
  53. "The Collective Work of Art We Call the City".
  54. (April 8, 2020). "Missing Michael Sorkin".
  55. (April 21, 2009). "CCNY Distinguished Professor Michael Sorkin Elected Fellow Of American Academy Of Arts & Sciences". [[City College of New York]].
  56. (2016). "UR (Urban Research)". Terreform.
  57. "Graham Foundation > Grantees > Robin Balles, Christian Eusebio & Michael Sorkin".
  58. (July 23, 2019). "2013 National Design Award Winners {{!}} Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum".
  59. "Michael Sorkin: Current Fellow". John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fondation.
  60. (1981). "Go Blow Your Nose". St. Martin's Press.
  61. (1991). "Exquisite Corpse : Writing on Buildings". Verso.
  62. (1993). "Local code : the constitution of a city at 42°N latitude". Princteton Architectural Press.
  63. (1997). "Traffic in democracy". University of Michigan College of Architecture and Urban Planning.
  64. (2001). "Some assembly required". University of Minnesota Press.
  65. (2001). "Pamphlet architecture 22 : other plans : University of Chicago studies, 1998–2000". Princeton Architectural Pres.
  66. (2003). "Starting From Zero". Routledge.
  67. (2005). "Against the wall : Israel's barrier to peace". W.W. Norton.
  68. (2008). "Indefensible space : the architecture of the National Insecurity State". Routledge.
  69. (July 5, 2009). "DISCOVERIES 'Twenty Minutes in Manhattan' by Michael Sorkin; 'Drift' by Victoria Patterson; 'A Day in the Life of Ancient Rome' by Alberto Angela". Los Angeles Times.
  70. (2011). "All over the map : writing on buildings and cities". Verso.
  71. (August 19, 2011). "All Over the Map: Writing on Buildings and Cities by Michael Sorkin". The Telegraph.
  72. (2018). "What Goes Up: The Right and Wrongs to the City". Verso.
  73. why "selected"? please include all bibliographic entries.
  74. (1988). "George Ranalli : buildings and projects". Princeton Architectural Press.
  75. (1989). "New York architecture, 1970–1990". Rizzoli.
  76. (1989). "Gaetano Pesce : architecture, design, art". Rizzoli.
  77. (1991). "Architecture in transition : between deconstruction and new modernism". Prestel.
  78. (March 1992). "Variations on a Theme Park: The New American City and the End of Public Space". Hill and Wang.
  79. (1992). "Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates : buildings and projects, 1967–1992". Rizzoli.
  80. (1998). "TEN Arquitectos : Enrique Norten, Bernardo Gómez-Pimienta". Monacelli Press.
  81. (1999). "Giving ground : the politics of propinquity". Verso.
  82. (1999). "Gehry talks : architecture + process". Rizzoli.
  83. (2001). "Comfort : reclaiming place in a virtual world". Cleveland Center for Contemporary Art.
  84. (2001). "Comfort: Reclaiming place in a virtual world: Franz Ackermann, Peter Land, Sarah Morris". Cleveland Center for Contemporary Art.
  85. (2002). "After the World Trade Center : rethinking New York City". Routledge.
  86. (2004). "Ant Farm, 1968–1978". Berkeley Art Museum.
  87. (2004). "The HOME House Project: The future of affordable housing". Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art.
  88. (2004). "Analyzing Ambasz". Monacelli Press.
  89. (2004). "Whereabouts : new architecture with local identities". Monacelli Press.
  90. (2005). "Commodification and Spectacle in Architecture: A Harvard Design Magazine Reader".
  91. (2009). "Saratoga". Oro Editions.
  92. (2013). "In/formed by the land : the architecture of Carl Abbott". ORO Editions.
  93. (2014). "New Orleans under reconstruction : the crisis of planning". Verso.
  94. (2015). "Beyond petropolis : designing a practical utopia in Nueva Loja". Oscar Riera Ojeda.

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