Bernard Cywinski
Bernard J. Cywinski, FAIA, (March 29, 1940 – March 2, 2011) was an American architect, whose works included the , built in 2003, which houses the Liberty Bell on Independence Mall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Cywinski was a founding partner and principal of the architectural firm, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, one of Philadelphia's highest profile firms.
Cywinski was raised in Trenton, New Jersey. Cywinski graduated from Columbia College at Columbia University and the Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation.
In 1979, Cywinski merged his own architectural firm with another operated by architect Peter Bohlin, who was based in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, at the time. The merger created a new company, which would be called, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Cywinski and Bohlin had a mutual interest in sketching, though Cywinski used a mechanical pencil while Bohlin used a traditional pencil. 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 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 best known for redesigning Independence Mall in Philadelphia, as well as the chief architect and designer of the , which opened in 2003. Cywinski began work on sketches for a redesigned Independence Mall during the 1990s.
Bernard Cywinski suffered from cancer for more than ten years. His last sketches were of a series new, proposed light poles, which he hoped would help to brand parts of the Avenue of the Arts on Broad Street in Phildelphia. The sculptural lighting prototypes were first tested on March 2, 2011. Cywinski died the same day, March 2nd, at the age of 70. He was survived by his wife, Nancy Oklesson Cywinski.
References
Retrieved from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Cywinski
