Item 714 - Stop the Five Gallon Flush: a Survey of Alternative Waste Disposal Systems

Architect Witold Rybczynski was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, to Polish parents. As a child he moved to Canada, where he studied architecture at McGill University, graduating with a B.Arch in 1966, M.Arch. in 1972, and S.D. in 2002. He was a faculty member at the McGill School of Architecture from 1973 and 1993 and is currently Emeritus Professor of Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania. His book "Home: A Short History of an Idea" was, notably, nominated for the 1986 Governor General's Award. It is one of the approximately 300 publications Rybczynski has authored on architecture and technology, including many for non-academic audiences.

Alvaro Ortega (1920-1991) was a Columbian, born in Bogota. He studied architecture at McGill University in the 1940s, then later at Harvard, although he had had earlier training in Brussels and Paris. He became fully absorbed in the cult of Modernism put forth by the pre-eminent architectural educators, Marcel Breuer and Walter Gropius, and he developed an architecture that attempted to merge the art of design with the art of engineering. Ortega explored the structural and aesthetic possibilities of reinforced concrete which is evident in his design for a baseball stadium in Cartagena (late 1940s). He practiced briefly in his native Bogota, then turned to teaching, at home and at McGill University. In the late 1950s, Ortega undertook the first of many series of Missions for the United Nations seeking to develop efficient and economical housing solutions for underprivileged peoples in Asia, Africa and South America. His commitment to the use of technology for the benefit of low-cost housing constituted the main thrust of his whole life's work. The CAC conserves drawings for two early projects in low-cost housing for the United Nations as well as Ortega's extensive library. A bibliography of this library is presently being prepared for publication by the CAC.

Alvaro Ortega (1920-1991) est né à Bogota (Colombie). Il a étudié l'architecture à l'Université McGill dans les années 1940 et plus tard à Harvard bien qu'il ait d'abord été formé à Bruxelles et à Paris. Il s'est laissé complètement absorber par le culte du modernisme mis de l'avant par les grands architectes Marcel Breuer et Walter Gropius et il a élaboré un style d'architecture qui tentait de fusionner le design et le génie. Ortega a exploré les possibilités structurales et esthétiques du béton armé, ce qui est particulièrement manifeste dans sa conception du stade de base-ball de Carthagène (fin des années 40). Il a exercé l'architecture brièvement à Bogota, sa ville natale, puis s'est tourné vers l'enseignement chez lui et à l'Université McGill. À la fin des années 50, Ortega entreprit la première de plusieurs séries de missions pour le compte des Nations unies à la recherche de solutions efficaces et économiques aux problèmes de logement des peuples sous-développés d'Asie, d'Afrique et d'Amérique du Sud. Sa volonté de mettre la technologie au service des populations à faible revenu a été la motivation principale du travail de sa vie. La CAC conserve les dessins de deux de ses premiers projets d'habitations à frais modiques réalisées pour les Nations unies de même que sa très riche bibliothèque. Un répertoire des ouvrages de cette bibliothèque est en voie de préparation et sera publié par la CAC.