Recent Researches in Urban Sustainability, Architecture and Structures

   

Edward Durell Stone: Architectural Works in Asia & North Africa

Timothy Reinen (Graduate Student)
Mohammad Gharipour, PhD (Assistant Professor)
School of Architecture and Planning, Morgan State University
1700 E. Cold Spring Lane Baltimore, MD 21251
United States
tirei1@morgan.edu
Abstract: “A great building should be universal, not controversial.” This quote allows one to ascertain a
concept that the distinguished architect, Edward Durell Stone (1902-1978) originated his architectural vision
around. Stone, a pivotal designer in American history, proved to exhibit most of his work in the United States
but it was his global design projects that set him apart from other American architects. With a premonition of
environmental building strategies, Stone created architecture that hinted at sustainability as the norm. His life
experiences continued to shape his attitude towards the built environment. He preached that in his trips, he
“scarcely encountered a place where land was used wisely and where what has been built is beautiful [1].

Key Words: architect, Edward Durell Stone, modernism, embassy, International Style, Islamic architecture

1. Introduction: The Beginning
Stone started his design venture as a young artist,
growing up in Fayetteville, Arkansas. His initial
interests steered towards decorating and
woodworking crafts. His mother, Ruth, promoted
the pastime by installing a workshop within the
house for him and his friends. At age fourteen
Edward Stone submitted his first design sketch for
a birdhouse competition supported by a local
lumber company. His design vision took first place
and later was credited in the local newspaper [2].
until the summer of 1921 when Edward Stone
developed a passion for architecture. His brother
provided him lodging in Boston while he started to
self-process his capability of designing buildings
similar to the existing works in the city [3]. He
recognized that Fayetteville was not a positive
place to gain any architectural inspiration or
opportunity. Multiple visits to Boston proved to
deliver Edward valuable architectural precedence.
Another memorable trip for the young man was to
New York City with his brother in the summer of
1920. His first person perspective standing on the
Brooklyn Bridge looking towards the building
skyline was said to have “marked him for life.” It
was that summer than Stone decided that he wanted
to become an architect [4].

Subsequently, Stone uprooted his life to the

Figure 1
Figure 2
He progressed his skills when attending the
University of Arkansas and excelled studying art.
Despite his absence as an elite student, Stone had a
fine eye for free-hand drawing and sketching. His
instructor noticed incredible talent in the young
aspiring artist and transmitted this news to Stone’s
professionally established older brother, Hicks
Stone, whom she had taught previously. It wasn’t
Northeast working at the firm Strickland, Blodgett
& Law as an office assistant. He mostly filed
drawings and completed administrative duties but
was well immersed within the office studio culture.
After hours, Stone attended the Boston
Architectural College and gained a new perspective
on architecture predominately influenced by his
instructor Henry R. Shepley. Shepley specifically
noticed Stone as a student that had incredible talent
in design drawing and continued to be at the top of
his class. However, in his other technical classes,
he proved to be inadequate and unenthusiastic.
Stone entered a competition in 1925 for placement
into Harvard University’s School of Architecture.
He was accepted and furthermore received a
financial scholarship to the university. Over the
next couple years, Stone advanced his skills while
studying architecture at Harvard and then
transferring to MIT. A well-known professor at

ISBN: 978-960-474-331-5 232

 Recent Researches in Urban Sustainability, Architecture and Structures
MIT, Jacques Carlu, began to experiment with
modernist design at that time. Edward was
intrigued and soon after latched on to that notion
which in turn would later mold the entire breadth of
his career [5].
Figure 3
In the fall of 1927, Stone entered and won the
competition for the Rotch Traveling Fellowship that
allowed him to study architecture at a global level.
He spent two years studying in Europe and North
Africa while slowly evolving a taste for the
modernist movement [6]. Stone grew a fascination
to the implementation of courtyards in Pompeii
which would develop into his works of
International Style. He sketched countless
typologies of motifs throughout Europe that
showed in many of his later works. In Lisbon, he
sketched and profiled details composing sunlight
filters made of reed mats. His travels on the
scholarship proved to be an invaluable experience
that later would form a prolific architecture career
[7].
2. Professional Work
Stone relocated to New York after his travel period
abroad. He took a position working with Schultze
& Weaver, a major architecture force on the east
coast. At that point, European modernism had
made an impacting influence on American design.
The applications of ornamentation within
architecture had been in decline. Schultze, a
partner of the firm, stated design implementation of
New York’s Waldorf Astoria’s “ornament was
eliminated as largely as possible and projections
that serve no useful purpose, such as cornices,
columns, ect. were avoided [8].” Stone began to
embrace the modernistic approach to buildings and
it’s European influence. After a short time at the
firm, Stone began to make design decisions and
took certain parts of the Waldorf Astoria under his
wing. He remarked about the columns in the main
lobby and how they were expressed, “The columns
ISBN: 978-960-474-331-5
go up and disappear into the ceilings without any
expressed beams, no cornices, no capitals. The
ceiling is now a flat plane and the columns go up
and end in a flat plane…Such ideas were the result
of my trip to Europe [9].”
Figure 4
An addition remark regarding patterning stated,
“the installation of the Starlight Roof- where the
roof slides back with the grille overhead [-was] a
very nice pattern quite compatible with what I do
today [10].” These selected quotes define a bit of
foreshadowing to his future career and the
application of these components. He started to
apply these techniques to a select few residential
works that he was commissioned to especially the
Mandel House located in Bedford Hills, New York
[11].
3. Middle East
His specific works within the nations of India and
Pakistan is where the ‘International Style’ gained
traction in his designs. In his publications,
American architect Phillip Johnson coined the term
outlining his modernist view in design. Advancing
the architectural trend that Stone embraced were
leading architects Walter Gropius (1883-1969) and
Ludgwig Mies van der Rohe (1896-1969). The
style promoted interpreting spaces based on
volumes rather than exterior masses. The vision
was an idea that implied more than just pure
‘functionalism’, clearly exhibiting a discernible
style. The style lended itself as the most dominant
modern implementation, “the problem of
establishing one dominant style, which the
nineteenth century set itself in terms of alternative
revivals, is coming to a solution,” said Johnson. It
was a contradiction to all buildings that presented
elegance and decoration as a primary feature [12].
3.1 Indian Architecture
Stone was commissioned in 1954 to design the
American Embassy in New Delhi, India. The
building was regarded as a leading tourist attraction
in the nation’s capital and proclaimed by Frank
Lloyd Wright as one of the greatest buildings in the
233
 Recent Researches in Urban Sustainability, Architecture and Structures
past century. Its connection to Indian culture
through the use of architectural details captured an
interest from the general public [13].
Traditionally Indian architecture has been
influenced by usage of delicate and ornate materials
to promote ornamentation of a certain building
typology. In the time of the Maurya Empire (322
B.C.-185 B.C.) cities like Pataliputra were
composed of buildings held up by teak beams with
iron bracing. Religious buildings, known as stupas,
were comprised of monolithic stones which was the
most available material in the region. The stones
were painted to denote religious connotations and
symbols of importance. During the period of the
Sunga Dynasty (178 B.C.E.-78 B.C.E.) stone
railings and gateways were decorated surrounding
the Buddhist stupa. Details within these markers
included floral motifs, busts of turbaned Rajas, and
artistic scenes for the life of Buddha. Under the
Kushana Empire (100 A.D.) the use of ivory and
glass were implemented within building details and
friezes depicting important figures with ornamental
draperies.
Medieval Indian Architecture marks a point where
the shift of building styles was influenced further
by religion. Muslim architecture shaped the era of
the Tughluq Dynasty (1320 A.D.) most effectively
in the city of Delhi. Double-domes were built and
more ornate materials were utilized such as
enameled tiles and grey sandstone. Persian
architecture was sampled in many works within
Delhi with the use of stone and decoration. Under
Emperor Akbar’s rule, Fatehpur Sikri was built in
1572 out of sandstone which was abundant in the
region [14].
The architecture of Delhi has been diverse through
the centuries but has always had a rich and ornate
connection to the Indian culture. Older buildings
still present a connotation of Muslim rule with its
Gothic temples, monuments and forts spreading
throughout the city. The first building erected in
Delhi was the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque (1206
A.D.) and signified construction techniques of
typical Muslim tradition. Another building built in
the same period is the Qutub complex in which
depicts mosques composed of pillars and arches.
Rarely any decoration is provided within these
structures especially the drawing of animals and
humans upon the walls based on the forbiddance by
Islamic rule [15].
The Mughal era was a distinct change from the
Islamic period. Gardens were stressed as sacred
ISBN: 978-960-474-331-5
spaces with Char bagh initiating a major design
and organizational influence. Char bagh was
defined as axially shaping a garden space in four
equal spaces with a defined center where the spaces
intersect. The Tomb of Humayun (1570 A.D.) was
built with local material including red sandstone
and marble.
During the tenure of Britain’s control over India in
the mid-eighteenth centrury, the Britain’s renamed
the city New Delhi and promoted a city plan
designed for combining building typologies of
Gothic, Imperial, English renaissance and
Victorian. After India claimed its independence
from Britain’s stronghold, New Delhi planned to
create buildings that were relevant on the global
scale but yet drawing inspiration from typical
Indian tradition [16]. The new city aligned to a set
symmetry that presented a formal association. Axis
and center lines are dominant within the city and
reinforced by certain elements such as domes,
spires, and plazas. There was a careful effort of
blending materials like sandstone and other
ornamentations that helped transition the city into
an orderly metropolis but yet still exhibiting
indigenous architectural artifacts and intent.
Chhattris, trelliswork, sun shades, window details,
cornices, and moldings were all characteristics of
traditional Indian elements that were introduced
into new building projects. Maintaining a color
scheme throughout the city was also an important
scheme. Using sandstone containing red and
lighter pink on new construction maintained the
visual urban fabric of New Delhi. Conforming to
the color and material palette created a cohesive
and well defined urban city [17].
3.2 Foreign Buildings Office
Initializing in the same year as Stone’s commission
in New Delhi was the United States Department of
State ordered ‘Foreign Buildings Office’. This
program appointed a panel of well-established
architects to advise all foreign embassy building
projects. All architects were to produce schemes
that favored a ‘distinguishable American flavor’ but
also addressing the local built and natural
precedence of the country. “Embassies are unique
architectural subjects. Perhaps no other public
buildings are of such symbolic importance: much
more than our domestic public buildings, their
appearance establishes an image of the American
government and people,' said Daniel Patrick
Moynihan June 12, 1981. The FBO program of
1954 radically changed the impressions of foreign
234
 Recent Researches in Urban Sustainability, Architecture and Structures
   

embassy building throughout the world [18].
Stone’s embassy project was on a clear instruction
from the FBO panel that detailed: To the sensitive
and imaginative designer [an embassy commission]
will be an invitation to give serious study to local
conditions of climate and site, to understand and
sympathize with local customs and people, and to
grasp the historical meaning of the particular
environment in which the new building must be set.
He will do so with a free mind without being
dictated by obsolete or sterile formulae or clichés,
be they old or new; he will avoid being either
bizarre or fashionable, yet he will not fear using
new techniques or new materials should these
constitute real advance in architectural thinking
[19].
architecture and political figures. Stone
exemplified the International Style in the embassy;
however there were some slight deviations. Within
the design of the building, Edward Stone
implemented an inner-courtyard that was a typical
feature for local vernacular architecture. The open
aired court sustained itself as a dominant design
method to cool the encompassing workers within.
A decorative metal grate was added to relieve the
space from harsh rays of the sun [21].

3.3 American Embassy in New Delhi

Figure 6
Edward Stone thought up the original design for the
U.S. Embassy in New Delhi in his bathrobe. After
marrying his second wife, Maria Stone, in a
reception located in Beruit, Stone sketched out
what was to be the preliminary concepts of the
embassy. On the terrace of their honeymoon suite,
he provided key concepts into the organizing
structure and design parti that led to the final design
of the building. After accidently spilling coffee
onto his primary sketches, Stone threw the
Figure 7
document into the trash. His wife luckily salvaged
it that would in turn later be a valuable artifact to
one of Stone’s greatest architectural achievements
[20].

Figure 8

Stone recalled his experiences traveling through

Figure 5
Stone designed a building that could be simply
understood as a political architectural icon. He
presented a simple cube set on a plinth that had its
center removed for the inner courtyard and water
garden. The exterior skin wrapped around the
outside of the building, composed of perforated
terrazzo block. Materials and building techniques
were to synchronize with local materials to show of
the American willingness to acclimate to its new
political counterparts. The New Delhi Embassy
began attaining widespread pull from both the
Europe, most significantly the architecture through
Greece and Italy for his original inspirations for the
Embassy. Elevated on a podium, he created a
cultural and iconic significance by separating the
building from the surrounding built environment.
In turn, the move was a successful response to
current sociology and the dependence on cars and
parking garages. The raised elevation allowed for
an increase of vehicular parking below the structure.
The idea played into not only a vernacular intention,
but also personal taste that responded to a dislike
for vehicles blocking views of the architecture.
The building was oriented around a dominant,

ISBN: 978-960-474-331-5 235

 Recent Researches in Urban Sustainability, Architecture and Structures
central atrium. The open-aired atrium was relieved
from the sun by a light filtered screen. This
delicately detailed screen allowed for visitors and
workers to enter the atrium space comfortably but
also providing ornamentation. The light screen
promoted details recognized from Estufa Fria, an
outdoor space in Lisbon. However, Edward
Stone’s design implementations were not mostly
shaped for aesthetic reasoning, but instead logically
favorable thermal gain and loss outcomes.
Overlooking the atrium space were offices that
wrapped around the central core. Stone encouraged
convection of the warm air leaching from the
interior office into the atrium that would in turn be
transferred through the outdoor screen back into the
environment. Fountains were strategically placed
within the atrium not just for decoration, but for
providing a cooling microclimate for visitors. The
evaporated water vapor rising in the air created a
distinct comfort from neighboring spaces. Based
on the overpowering Indian sun, an intermediate
roofing structure was applied to below the primary
roof slab to create additional ventilation and
insulation layers [22].
The entry to the embassy clearly portrays a block
wall as the main architectural element. However,
the block wall has no structural properties in the
overall building typology. Rather, the blocks are
used as ventilation through linear reveals at the top
and bottom of the plane. Columns that appear to
vary in width based on structural capability instead
are ornamental variations aimed to provide
monumentality. Stone hinted at the concept of
mannerist architectural behavior with his material
choices and execution [23].
Through the entire design process and building of
the U.S. Embassy in India, Stone stayed true to his
world known designs. Despite the amount of
cultural precedence within New Delhi, he designed
with materials and methods that he was confident in
from previous projects. Implementing his blocking,
well-known in his American works, was an element
that he didn’t shy away from. Instead, he provided
further decoration into the blocking detail with
patterning and reveals that reinforced his consistent
strength in tectonics as an architect. In addition,
Stone forced the notion of prominence with
material selections and finishing. Marble and
bronze represented affluence and celebration
respective of the United States, but also forged the
prosperity of past Indian dynasties [24].
ISBN: 978-960-474-331-5
3.4 Hotel Phoenicia
A building that Edward D. Stone designed prior to
the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi was the Hotel
Phoenicia in Beirut, Lebanon. The city of Beirut
stands on the coast of the Mediterranean within
Lebanon and serves as the country’s financial and
governmental capital. Beirut was formed as a
political entity in the early 19th century under new
rule and soon became an architectural significant
metropolis [25]. Beirut adopted a modernist city
fabric in the 1930’s when European design started
to gain traction in certain areas in the Middle East.
New Building techniques applying concrete were
performed and in turn developed a new spatial
variety within the city [26].
The hotel building was conceptualized as an eleven
story structure containing guestrooms on a two-
story platform [27]. The interior service core
presents itself as a solid projecting through the
volume. The extended first floor contains retail
shops at street level. The second floor houses
administrative offices and public rooms for guests.
Overhung balconies and a cantilevering roof
assembly lend itself to compare to some of Frank
Lloyd Wright’s works. The same architectural
vocabulary was applied to his later mid-rise
buildings. Located on the roof of the second floor
was an outdoor space with pool amenities and
seating areas. Stone created opportunities with
apertures in the roof extension that resembles a
trellis-like structure. This allowed for a dominant
pedestrian circulation, planting areas, and shade
casting for guests of the hotel. Native religious
motifs were inscribed on the guardrails of the roof
top that were visible from the street. These motifs
created interruptions in the concrete cast railings
that created visual appeal and resonance with the
adjacent buildings [28].
Figure 9
236
 Recent Researches in Urban Sustainability, Architecture and Structures
Figure 10
3.5 Works in Pakistan
In February 1961, Stone received the design
commission for a reactor for the government of
Pakistan. President Eisenhower’s Atoms for Peace
program initiated the effort for peaceful reactors
worldwide. The commission allowed Stone to
acquire further works in the Middle East including
the Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and
technology, Pakistan International Airlines office
buildings and mosques, the Water and Power
Development Authority in Lahore, and the
Presidential Palace for General Ayub Khan [29].
Stone became a leading architect in the region for
his seamless implementing of Islamic design and
site planning [30]. Mostly all the works typified an
organization of spatial systems that was initiated on
compressed entries into large vast colonnades and
courtyards. Stone continued utilizing ornamental,
religious patterning and detailing of materials to
resemble typical historic Islamic architecture. His
utilization of grillwork elicited historical
significance from the Mughal period of architecture.
Figure 11
Figure 12
ISBN: 978-960-474-331-5
Figure 13
Figure 14
4. Conclusion: Stone’s Legacy
The incorporation of landscape, especially Islamic
gardens, played an important role in the succession
of Stone’s Islamic architecture era. Outdoor
gardens were sacred spaces and considered a vital
extension of the building. He used water and
enclosed geometrical spaces as a cohesive element
in garden design while always adhering to the
quadripartite always used in paradise gardens.
Stone used materials of elaborated luxury that
detailed precious marble, wood veneers, and bronze.
Many Islamic clients were keen on presenting a
celebration of their financial wealth and status [31].
Edward Durell Stone’s contribution to the world of
architecture incorporated enhanced design
intentions and perceptiveness to architectural trends.
Look before the green movement, Stone utilized
theories of strong relationships of the natural
landscape and context. He further propelled the
modernist movement with the implementation of
‘The International Style.’ Stone positively deviates
from the typical modernist behavior which is
described as ignoring contextualism when
designing buildings. Modernism usually is known
for producing a building as a singular entity or
abstract object with little relationship to the
surrounding environment [32]. Stone’s ideals were
more in tune with Sigfried Giedion’s perspective
when written in his 1928 Building in France, “In
the future architecture might no longer limit itself
to the design of representative buildings but should
develop instead into a more comprehensive
discipline that considers the whole environment and
merges with social reality as well as with daily life
[33].” Stone’s travels abroad and awareness of
history shaped his career to be architecturally
significant on the global stage.
237
 Recent Researches in Urban Sustainability, Architecture and Structures
References:
[1] "Edward Durell Stone." Edward Durell Stone.
N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Feb. 2013.
<http://www.edwarddurellstone.org/>. [2]
Hicks Stone, Edward Durell Stone: A Son's Untold
Story of a Legendary Architect. (New York: Rizzoli
International Publications, 2011), 15. [3]
Dominic Ricciotti, "The 1939 Buildings of The
Museum of Modern Art: The Goodwin-Stone
Collaboration." The American Art Journal 17, no. 3
(1985): 47. [4]
Stone, Hicks. Edward Durell Stone: A Son's Untold
Story of a Legendary Architect. (New York: Rizzoli
International Publications, 2011), 20 [5] Stone,
Hicks. Edward Durell Stone: A Son's Untold Story of
a Legendary Architect. (New York: Rizzoli
International Publications, 2011), 24 [6]
Ricciotti, dominic. "Edward Durell Stone and The
International Style in America: Houses of the 1930's."
The American Art Journal 20, no. 3 (1988): 48.
[7] Ricciotti, dominic. "The 1939 Buildings of The
Museum of Modern Art: The Goodwin-Stone
Collaboration." The American Art Journal 17, no. 3
(1985): 65
[8] Stone, Hicks. Edward Durell Stone: A Son's
Untold Story of a Legendary Architect. (New York:
Rizzoli International Publications, 2011), 36
[9] Stone, Hicks. Edward Durell Stone: A Son's
Untold Story of a Legendary Architect. (New York:
Rizzoli International Publications, 2011), 37
[10] Stone, Hicks. Edward Durell Stone: A Son's
Untold Story of a Legendary Architect. (New York:
Rizzoli International Publications, 2011), 37
[11] Ricciotti, dominic. "Edward Durell Stone and
The International Style in America: Houses of the
1930's." The American Art Journal 20, no. 3 (1988):
65.
[12] Ricciotti, dominic. "Edward Durell Stone and
The International Style in America: Houses of the
1930's." The American Art Journal 20, no. 3 (1988):
48.
[13] Loeffler, Jane . "The Architecture of Diplomacy:
Heyday of the United States Embassy-Building
Program,." Society of Architectural Historians 49, no.
No. 3 (1990): 265. [14] "Fatehpur
Sikri Palace » Fatehpur Sikri." Fatehpur Sikri. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 11 June 2013.
<http://www.fatehpursikri.org/fatehpur-sikri-
palace.html>.
[15] "Architecture Of Delhi." Encyclopedia & Web
Portal on Indian Culture & Lifestyle.
http://www.indianetzone.com/42/architecture_delhi.ht
m (accessed June 12, 2013).
ISBN: 978-960-474-331-5
[16] "Architecture Of Delhi." Encyclopedia & Web
Portal on Indian Culture & Lifestyle.
http://www.indianetzone.com/42/architecture_delhi.ht
m (accessed June 12, 2013).
[17] "Architecture Of Delhi." Encyclopedia & Web
Portal on Indian Culture & Lifestyle.
http://www.indianetzone.com/42/architecture_delhi.ht
m (accessed June 12, 2013).
[18] Jane Loeffler, "The Architecture of Diplomacy:
Heyday of the United States Embassy-Building
Program,." Society of Architectural Historians 49, no.
No. 3 (1990): 251. [19] Martin,
Reinhold . "Multi-National City: From Silicon Valley
to New Delhi." The MIT Press 39, no. 1 (2007): 140.
[20] Stone, Hicks. Edward Durell Stone: A Son's
Untold Story of a Legendary Architect. (New York:
Rizzoli International Publications, 2011), 153
[21] Loeffler, Jane . "The Architecture of Diplomacy:
Heyday of the United States Embassy-Building
Program,." Society of Architectural Historians 49, no.
No. 3 (1990): 265. [22] Stone, Hicks.
Edward Durell Stone: A Son's Untold Story of a
Legendary Architect. (New York: Rizzoli
International Publications, 2011), 153 [23]
Stone, Hicks. Edward Durell Stone: A Son's Untold
Story of a Legendary Architect. (New York: Rizzoli
International Publications, 2011), 158 [24]
Stone, Hicks. Edward Durell Stone: A Son's Untold
Story of a Legendary Architect. (New York: Rizzoli
International Publications, 2011), 158 [25]
"Beirut." India Architecture. www.encyclopedia.com
/topic/Beirut.aspx (accessed June 13, 2012).
[26] Andre Trad, "WORLDVIEW."
WORLDVIEW.http://www.worldviewcities.org/beiru
t/legacy.html (accessed June 12, 2013).
[27] Stone, Hicks. Edward Durell Stone: A Son's
Untold Story of a Legendary Architect. (New York:
Rizzoli International Publications, 2011), 149
[28] Stone, Hicks. Edward Durell Stone: A Son's
Untold Story of a Legendary Architect. (New York:
Rizzoli International Publications, 2011), 152
[29] Stone, Hicks. Edward Durell Stone: A Son's
Untold Story of a Legendary Architect. (New York:
Rizzoli International Publications, 2011), 242
[30] Stone, Hicks. Edward Durell Stone: A Son's
Untold Story of a Legendary Architect. (New York:
Rizzoli International Publications, 2011), 245
[31] Stone, Hicks. Edward Durell Stone: A Son's
Untold Story of a Legendary Architect. (New York:
Rizzoli International Publications, 2011), 245 [32]
Mark Hewitt, "Architecture for a Contingent
Environment." Association of Collegiate Schools of
Architecture 47, no. No. 4 (1994): 197.
[33] Heynen, Hilde . "Positioning Architecture."
Books and Journals University of Minnesota Press no.
0 (2008): 44.
238