Masonry Magazine May 1978 Page. 22
Clever Routine Promotes Masonry
High on the list of popular attractions at the recent Northern Illinois Home Builders Show at the Yorktown Shopping Mall in Lombard was the Metropolitan Chicago Masonry Council's booth dubbed "That Old Brick Magic. Here folks watched "Professor Brickini" and "Miss Brick" perform sleight-of-hand magic tricks while using brick props accompanied by brick patter. The most popular trick Professor Brickini performed was done with dollar bills showing the virtues of using brick over other materials and having the original amount of dollar bills after paying for all other construction features.
When the Professor and Miss Brick were not performing, they were kept busy distributing handy plastic shopping bags with the Masonry Council's insignia. More than 100,000 persons visited the mall during the four days the Home Builders Show was on.
AIA to Honor Johnson and Weese For Architectural Excellence
The American Institute of Architects has announced it will present its two top awards for 1978 honoring an individual and an architectural firm to New York architect Philip Johnson and to Harry Weese & Associates of Chicago. The presentation will be made in May at AIA's national convention in Dallas.
Johnson will receive the Gold Medal, the Institute's most distinguished award of honor. Johnson, partner in the firm of Johnson/Burgee, has been associated with a number of landmark projects. His influence on modern architecture as a writer/critic and designer spans from the late 1920's to the present.
Among other honors, in 1975 he received the Louis Sullivan Award for Architecture. Established in 1970, the biennial award and prize is sponsored by the International Union of Bricklayers & Allied Craftsmen (BAC) and administered by the American Institute of Architects.
The Sullivan Award demonstrates the concern of masonry craftsmen for architectural excellence and honors the memory of Louis H. Sullivan, the "father of modern architecture."
Along with three distinguished colleagues, Ulrich Franzen, Warren Cox and George Hartman, all FAIA, Johnson is featured in the highly acclaimed film, Architects Architecture, produced by the International Masonry Institute (IMI). The 36-minute, color/sound film has been distributed to each accredited school of architecture in the United States and Canada, and is composed of the thoughts and the buildings of four of America's leading designers.
(Prints of Architects/Architecture may be purchased from IMI and are available to local regional masonry promotion groups on a free loan basis.)
AIA's 1978 Architectural Firm Award will be given to Harry Weese & Associates for architectural achievements that have proved "outstanding and enduring."
Weese, a 31-year-old firm with offices in Washington, D.C. and Chicago, is noted for its diversity of interest and excellence of design. Its William J. Campbell Courthouse Annex in Chicago, a unique highrise prison facility, received an AIA Honor Award last year.
Also in Chicago, the stately, Weese-designed Time-Life Building and the Auditorium Theatre Restoration won AIA national Honor Awards in 1975 and 1969, respectively.
Canadian Construction Safety Awards Given to Key Masonry
This happy group of Canadians is jubilating over the presentation of two important construction safety awards. Both of the awards for an outstanding safety record in 1977 were won by the same firm, Key Masonry Ltd., Downsview, Ontario. In the top picture, E. Tobia (2nd from left) of Key Masonry accepts the Metro Toronto MCA Safety Award from Peter L. Martini (left) and Richard Martini (far right) of Twin Masonry Ltd., donor of the plaque. Beaming his approval is L. Sylvester (2nd from right), general manager of the Construction Safety Association of Ontario. In the bottom picture, Sylvester presents the other award, his association's Citation of Merit, to Tobia.