Neumann, Dietrich 1956-

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NEUMANN, Dietrich 1956-

PERSONAL: Born May 4, 1956, in Goettingen, Germany; son of Guenter and Jutta (maiden name, Hein) Neumann. Education: Technical University, Munich, diploma in architecture, 1982; Ph.D., 1988.

ADDRESSES: Offıce—History of Art and Architecture, Brown University, Box 1855, Providence, RI 02912. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Professor, writer, and architectural historian. Technical University, Munich, Germany, 1983-89; Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, assistant professor, 1990-96, associate professor, 1996-99, professor, 1999—; Society of Architectural Historians, member of board of directors, 1998-2002; Yale University, New Haven, CT, visiting professor, 2000; Centre Canadien d'Architecture, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, visiting professor, 2001; Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, member, 2002. Sackler Museum, Harvard University, Boston, MA, chief curator and catalogue editor for an exhibition on Richard Neutra's Windshield House, 2001.

MEMBER: Society of Architectural Historians.

AWARDS, HONORS: Recipient of teaching awards, Brown University, 1993-94, 1999; Rhode Island Professor of the Year, Carnegie Foundation, 1995; Founder's Award and Ann van Zanten Medal, Society of Architectural Historians, 1996, for essay "'The Century's Triumph in Lighting': The Lux for Prism Companies and Their Contribution to Early Modern Architecture"; first prize for an architecture exhibition outside of New York, NY, International Association of Art Critics, and Philip Johnson Award, Society of Architectural Historians, for an exhibition on Richard Neutra's Windshield House and accompanying catalogue.

WRITINGS:

Die Wolkenkratzer kommen!, Vieweg (Braunschweig, Germany), 1995.

(Editor) Film Architecture: Set Designs from "Metropolis" to "Blade Runner," Prestel (New York, NY), 1996.

Joe and the Skyscraper: The Empire State Building inNew York City (for children), Prestel (New York, NY), 2000.

(Editor) Richard Neutra's Windshield House, Yale University Press (New Haven, CT), 2001.

(Editor) Architecture of the Night: Illuminated Building, Prestel (New York, NY), 2003.

SIDELIGHTS: Dietrich Neumann is an architectural historian. He was raised in Germany and attended university there. He now resides in the United States and teaches at Brown University. He has edited several books and has also written a children's book called Joe and the Skyscraper: The Empire State Building in New York City. The book is about a real boy named Joe and the people he meets while he works as a water-boy during the construction of the Empire State Building. In a review for Booklist Susan Dove Lempke wrote, "This particualr title is outstanding, bringing architecture, history, and human drama to children so they can appreciate skyscrapers in a whole new way." Film Architecture: Set Designs from "Metropolis" to "Blade Runner," is a coffee table art book on the subject of set design. Neumann compiled the book as a companion to an exhibit that he had put together on the same subject. A reviewer for Film Criticism said that the book "lovingly dissects and illuminates us on the high points of set design."

Neumann's latest work, Architecture of the Night: Illuminated Building, is about the art of architectural floodlighting. The book explores the history of exterior building lighting and also explores the medium as an abstract art form. Neumann touches on modern issues such as light pollution and preservation. "Engaging essays by the author and other scholars explore outline lighting, diffused lighting, and projected lighting," commented David R. Conn in a review for Library Journal. He went on to say that Architecture of the Night is a "fine and accessible work of historical scholarship."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, April 15, 2000, Susan Dove Lempke, review of Joe and the Skyscraper: The Empire State Building in New York City.

Building Design, January 17, 2003, Rob Gregory, review of Architecture of the Night: The Illuminated Building, pp. 16-17.

Film Architecture, November 8, 1996, Peter J. M. Wayne, review of Film Architecture: Set Designs from "Metropolis" to "Blade Runner," p. 32.

Film Criticism, spring, 1997, Marshall Deutelbaum, review of Film Architecture, pp. 115-120.

Kirkus Reviews, November 15, 1999, review of Joe and the Skyscraper, p. 1814.

Library Journal, March 15, 2002, Jay Schafer, review of Richard Neutra's Windshield House, p. 77; May 1, 2003, David R. Conn, review of Architecture of the Night, p. 111.

School Library Journal, April, 2000, Jeanette Larson, review of Joe and the Skyscraper, p. 118.