This event is currently sold out. To be placed on a waitlist, please email [email protected].
Please join the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art (ICAA) as Architect Steve Bass presents a view of the proportional idea based in the ancient philosophical systems of Pythagoras, Plato, and later Neo-Platonists. In this view, number and geometry, the substance of proportion, are endowed with qualitative, harmonic, and life-like properties. These ideas are then linked to numerical and geometrical methods of application: the methods used to describe the elements of classical architecture in reference to literature such as Vitruvius, Vignola, and Palladio. A central theme is the philosophical nature of beauty as a form of the good, beauty's relation to proportion, and its significance in classical art. In his lecture, Steve will explain how such a view of beauty not only fully justifies the study of the classical elements today, but could even provide a pathway out of the alienation, anxiety, and intentional ugliness of modernism.
Steve Bass grew up in New York City, where he has maintained a small personal architectural practice since 1974. He holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Pratt Institute, a Master of Arts from the Royal College of Art, London, and was a participant in the initial Prince of Wales's Summer Course in Architecture. Steve is currently a Fellow at the ICAA, where he teaches on the theoretical and applied aspects of proportion and geometry in design. He has also taught at Notre Dame University, the Grand Central Academy of Art, the New York Open Center, and other venues. He has written for the Classicist, Traditional Building, and American Arts Quarterly. His book, Beauty Memory Unity - A Theory of Proportion in Architecture and Design, part of the ICAA's Classical America Series of Art and Architecture, will be available for purchase at the lecture.
To register for an event hosted by the ICAA National Office, you can use the registration link noted on the program page, email [email protected], or call 212-730-9646 x105. ICAA Chapters manage event registration for their own events. While Chapter events may be listed on classicist.org, you should check the Chapter website, or contact the Chapter directly, for the most up-to-date details including dates, times, pricing, and information on how to register.
If your membership level permits you to invite guests, please reach out to [email protected] or call 212-730-9646 x105 to share your guest's name with us. Or, you may register your guest online and then reach out to confirm that they are attending as your guest. If you would like to confirm how many guests your membership allows, please contact [email protected] or call 212-730-9646 x104.
Not all programs require membership to the ICAA. Details for each are noted on the program page; those that are not open to the general public should indicate that the event is open to ICAA members only. As many programs are free or reduced price for ICAA members, the ICAA does encourage you to sign up as a member if you are not currently.
The ICAA tries to keep programs free or at a reduced price for members. These details will be listed on the program page and registration page. The fee for non-members to attend programs hosted by the ICAA National Office is typically $30. Fees for Chapter events may vary. Note: If you are an employee of a firm that is an active member of the ICAA, you may be eligible to receive member benefits and to register at the member price. You are welcome to contact [email protected] or call 212-730-9646 x104 to confirm.
To be added to the wait list for an event hosted by the ICAA National Office, please email [email protected], or call 212-730-9646 x105. For any questions related to ICAA Chapter events, please check the Chapter website, or contact the Chapter directly for the most up-to-date details including dates, times, and pricing.
If you would like to suggest an idea for an ICAA event, please email [email protected] with a title, description, and short biography six to ten months in advance of the available time frame for consideration. Note that the ICAA is able to offer a limited number of programs each season. If you would like to lecture for one of the ICAA's regional Chapters, please contact the Chapter directly.