Pietro Belluschi Exhibit at the Oregon Historical Society

The Architecture and Legacy of Pietro Belluschi, a new exhibit at the Oregon Historical Society in Portland, Ore., focuses on Pacific Northwest Regionalism and the style’s midcentury pioneer. The Italian-born local architect began his career as a Northwest regionalist with work reflecting that of Frank Lloyd Wright, the Arts and Crafts Movement, as well as Modernism. In 1951 he joined the School of Architecture and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as its dean while broadening the geographic scope of his own work by collaborating with firms nationwide. His designs were notable for their use of indigenous materials such as wood in residential structures and aluminum in tall office buildings—a concept he dubbed “eloquent simplicity.” Belluschi was born in Ancona, Italy on August 18, 1899. He earned a degree in civil engineering in 1922 from the University of Rome before studying the subject at Cornell University. He died Feb. 14, 1994, in Portland. The exhibit offers an overview of Belluschi’s contributions to the field and includes personal mementos from his family’s archives. The exhibit closes September 9. Check the museum’s website for exhibit hours and ticket information. www.ohs.org.