Bernard J. Cywinski

FAIA Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA) is a postnominal title or membership, designating an individual who has been named a fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Fellowship is bestowed by the institute on AIA-member ...

(March 29, 1940 – March 2, 2011) was an American architect and teacher, based in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. His works include the

Liberty Bell Center The Liberty Bell, previously called the State House Bell or Old State House Bell, is an iconic symbol of American independence, located in Philadelphia. Originally placed in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House (now renamed Independence ...

Independence National Historical Park Independence National Historical Park is a federally protected historic district in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that preserves several sites associated with the American Revolution and the nation's founding history. Administered by the National P ...

and the G. Wayne

Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons The G. Wayne Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons (Clough Commons), commonly referred to by its acronym CULC, is an academic building on the main campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology. The five-story, building houses classrooms, scienc ...

at the

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

. He was a founding partner and a principal of the architectural firm,

Bohlin Cywinski Jackson Bohlin Cywinski Jackson is a United States-based architectural practice that was founded in 1965 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania by Peter Bohlin and Richard Powell. Bohlin's firm then merged with John F. Larkin and Bernard Cywinski's Philadelphia ...

of Philadelphia. Cywinski was raised in

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.Columbia College at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

and the Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. In 1979, he and his partner, John F. Larkin, merged their architectural firm, Larkin Cywinski, with that of

Peter Bohlin Peter Q. Bohlin (born 1937 in New York City, United States) is an American architect and the winner of the 2010 AIA Gold Medal, Gold Medal of the American Institute of Architects. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA) and ...

, who was based in

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in th ...

. The merged company would be called Bohlin Powell Larkin Cywinski, later Bohlin Cywinski Jackson. According to ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

'', Cywinski and Bohlin had a mutual interest in sketching, though Cywinski used a

mechanical pencil A mechanical pencil, also clutch pencil, is a pencil with a replaceable and mechanically extendable solid pigment core called a "lead" . The lead, often made of graphite, is not bonded to the outer casing, and can be mechanically extended as its ...

while Bohlin used a traditional

pencil A pencil () is a writing or drawing implement with a solid pigment core in a protective casing that reduces the risk of core breakage, and keeps it from marking the user's hand. Pencils create marks by physical abrasion, leaving a trail ...

. Within the firm, Cywinski concentrated largely on projects and affairs at the firm's Philadelphia headquarters, while Bohlin designed projects farther from the city. In 1994, the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...

awarded both Cywinski and Bohlin the Firm Award for their work. The firm grew to include five offices located in Wilkes-Barre, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Seattle, and San Francisco. Cywinski was a co-author of the master plan for the redesign of Independence Mall in the 1990s, and was the chief architect and designer of the

, which opened in 2003. He suffered from cancer for more than ten years. His last sketches were of a series of new, proposed light poles, which he hoped would help to brand parts of the Avenue of the Arts on Broad Street in Philadelphia. The sculptural lighting prototypes were first tested on March 2, 2011. Cywinski died the same day, March 2, at the age of 70. He was survived by his wife, Nancy Oklesson Cywinski.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cywinski, Bernard 1940 births 2011 deaths 20th-century American architects Fellows of the American Institute of Architects Architects from Philadelphia Artists from Trenton, New Jersey Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation alumni Columbia College (New York) alumni